The Columbist
building the most influencial
Berlin community on Instagram
Berlin community on Instagram
In 2024, engagement on Instagram was relatively low across all Berlin lifestyle magazines' accounts. However, The Columbist had the opportunity to step up and secure a leading position.
The Columbist is a Berlin lifestyle magazine, with Instagram being the main channel of communication with its audience. This is the newest lifestyle magazine in the city, and, along with two other online magazines, The Columbist serves as a key source of lifestyle content, event updates, and restaurant recommendations for Berliners.
Engagement Rate of The Columbist and its competitors on Instagram in 2024
Task:
To Increase engagement and establish The Columbist Instagram account as the leading and most influential Berlin community on Instagram.
Strategy:
To drive engagement in a cluttered media space, we decided to make The Columbist more relevant to the current narratives and conversations Berliners are having. While inviting the magazine to participate in these conversations, we ensured that the messages remained aligned with the brand identity.
After thorough research and analysis of the media field, defined the emerging narrative that we decided to leverage in our strategy: the narrative that "Berlin is over".
After thorough research and analysis of the media field, defined the emerging narrative that we decided to leverage in our strategy: the narrative that "Berlin is over".
Berlin has always had a reputation as a "poor but sexy" city, celebrated for its unmatched art and club scenes, as well as its raw and wild spirit. However, this trend has been fading with the influx of investors into the city’s real estate market, the development of a tech scene, and skyrocketing rents forcing artists and creatives to leave. The "poor but sexy" concept reached its lowest point at the end of 2024, when several iconic Berlin clubs announced closures due to financial difficulties, and the Berlin government announced a 12% cut in cultural budget financing.
These developments made it truly feel like Berlin was over.
These developments made it truly feel like Berlin was over.
Berlin in not over
While people were considering leaving the city, feeling confused and down, especially with Berlin’s winter bringing endless grayness, we suggested that The Columbist offer its followers understanding, support, and, most importantly, a positive perspective on the city’s future. The strategy’s headline was "Berlin is not over."
While crafting a powerful and empathetic message, we also ensured the content format was creative and innovative. We experimented with post formats and leveraged the latest Instagram algorithm updates.
We developed a series of posts leveraging this idea, which gained incredible engagement and went viral.
While crafting a powerful and empathetic message, we also ensured the content format was creative and innovative. We experimented with post formats and leveraged the latest Instagram algorithm updates.
We developed a series of posts leveraging this idea, which gained incredible engagement and went viral.
Content examples
The post highlighting the good things about Berlin, amid conversations about the city’s decline, sparked a strong emotional response and went viral.
This post leveraged a newsworthy topic — the anniversary of Bowie’s first Berlin album release — while celebrating the city’s unique power to inspire creativity. It encouraged Berliners, especially the many creatives among them, to pursue and develop their own projects. This empathetic approach resonated emotionally, prompting people to share the post in their stories.
Results
The new strategy proved to be a success. Engagement increased sevenfold, and organic decline was replaced with organic growth. The Columbist surged far ahead of competitors in terms of engagement. More importantly, the content now resonates with followers on an emotional level, fostering a genuine connection with the brand — an essential foundation for building a true community.
Comments
Saved
Likes
Engagement Rate of The Columbist and its competitors on Instagram in January 2025
Shares
Anna Butochnikova
Thank you ;)
Founder and Senior Strategist
Bestteller Agency
Bestteller Agency
