Passenger, which creates branded social networking platforms for companies that want to interact with and observe their customers, announced an $8.3 million Series B funding round Tuesday.

Founded in 2005, Los Angeles, California-based Passenger helps “companies redefine their customer relationships by fundamentally changing the way consumers are able to communicate with their brands,” Steamboat Ventures Managing Director Dan Beldy said in a statement.

Companies such as ABC Studios, Sara Lee, and Coca-Cola hire Passenger to set up sites that marry social networking to market research. Customers join the branded networks by responding to an email invitation or by clicking on a banner ad. After completing a screening poll, users enter the network, where so-called community managers ask questions to determine how to modify a company’s advertising or products. Users can also interact with one another on the sites, and brands can monitor those interactions.

Consumers tend to join the branded communities because the sites are selective about membership and give users a sense of belonging, a Passenger representative said, adding that the sites also give users a sense of ownership because they enable them to influence a company’s content or programming. For example, ABC Studios has used Passenger’s software to gather viewer opinions on the plotlines of Ugly Betty and Lost. In exchange for user feedback, ABC Studios offered certain users a DVD box set of a TV series.

Passenger co-founder and CEO Andrew Leary said a platform where companies can engage with consumers is important because “customers are out talking about their experiences with brands every day, and the big challenge is that the brands themselves aren’t part of that conversation.”

The round was led by Disney offshoot Steamboat Ventures, Shelter Capital Partners, and StarVest Partners and the funding will go to expanding the company’s operations, including the opening of a New York office. Passenger’s Series A round of $4.2 million was funded by Shelter Capital Partners.