Hero Media Launches GoodFeed, a Social Platform Catered to Women

Black-owned media and tech company Hero Media launched its own social platform, GoodFeed, catering its content toward women-identifying audiences. The platform launched in October to select users and was made publicly available this week.

Similar to YouTube, users can create a channel to host editorial content like written articles, audio and videos.

Chief executive officer and founder Joe Anthony told Adweek his team worked on the tech for GoodFeed while its front end was steered entirely by women from Hero, like vp of social media Theresa Myrill spearheading its marketing strategy and steering its content strategy is content director Donette Lowe. According to Hero, it’s aiming to have the platform available on Android and Apple by the first half of 2023.

“At its core, it’s women impacting women,” Anthony told Adweek. “And not to sound cliché, it’s for women, by women,” he added. “You see Twitch, Clubhouse or LinkedIn. Those are great examples of communities that have been built around a specific cultural idea,” Anthony told Adweek.

Anthony points to a study by Horizon Media and Blue Hour Studios from earlier this year that shows 91% of those surveyed aged 18 to 25 said there is no “mainstream” pop culture anymore and that subcultures are now the new demographic to the audience.

“A lot of these platforms have evolved in a direction that was outside of their core mission when they launched,” said Anthony drawing to how some platforms have grown to be harmful to the impressionable, younger audience in their pursuit of social status rather than using it as a learning tool.

For marketers, there’s a bigger worry: the possible user exodus from social platforms. With Elon Musk taking over Twitter as chief executive officer and owner, it’s forecasted that 30 million users are expected to leave Twitter over the next two years, in part of Musk’s pursuit of what he terms free speech.

Anthony told Adweek GoodFeed’s purpose is to align with today’s learning economy, where people are looking for college alternatives to prepare them for real life. It’s the driver behind the deals locked down with content creators Lauren Maillian, chief executive officer of nonprofit digitalundivided, music executive Alicia Gooding and trans rights activist Jodie Patterson who will all be launching channels in the new year. GoodFeed currently has a channel live with TV personality and journalist Dana Blair discussing all things lifestyle and her hair journey.

GoodFeed will monetize with ads. Hero is splitting the ad revenue 50/50 on a per-impression basis with creators and predicts the platform will generate at least $7 million in ad revenue in 2023 but it could “exponentially increase contingent upon how fast our community grows.” Anthony said the goal is to gain 200-250,000 users by end of 2023.

For now, programmatic will make up between 50 and 60% of its ad revenue but with plans to lean more towards direct partnerships with brands.

Sephora is one of the brands working with GoodFeed, said Anthony, adding that other brands will make content like starting their own channels on the platform.