With more people flocking to networks than ever before, social media and consumer behavior have evolved in lockstep, so understanding how to reach your target audience remains a necessity.

In this article, we’ll discuss the top six ways social media influences consumer behavior and what each means for your brand’s social strategy.

1. Consumers buy directly from social

Index data shows the top reason consumers follow brands on social media is to stay informed about new products/services, followed by getting access to exclusive deals and promotions.

But why is social commerce so popular? One reason is that it meets consumers where they already are. According to data from McKinsey, the majority of consumers use at least three channels for each purchase journey. For many, checking Facebook, Instagram or TikTok daily—whether they’re casually scrolling or searching for new products—has become as routine as brushing their teeth.

Networks continue to experiment with and formalize ecommerce capabilities to bring convenience to consumers and present brands with new revenue streams. For example, TikTok Shop launched in September 2023, enabling users to find and shop for items even more easily.

US annual social commerce sales per buyer are projected to double from $628 million to $1.224 billion in 2027, based on a forecast from Insider Intelligence.

How you can use this insight

Social commerce makes it infinitely easier for brands to deliver the seamless purchase experience buyers want. You can turn a casual scroller into a new customer in a couple of clicks. For example, if you’re a retail business and a holiday is coming up, you can create a shoppable Facebook ad or offer a limited time offer using Instagram Shops for your seasonal product lines.

If you’re not already, look into what social commerce functionality is available on the channels your audience spends the most time on. From TikTok to YouTube livestream shopping, there is a growing number of ways to connect with ready-to-buy consumers.

If you’re a Sprout user, take advantage of our integrations with Shopify and Facebook Shops by connecting your product catalogs with our platform—you can quickly add product links in your outbound posts and customer replies.

2. Consumers expect two-way engagement with brands

Social media adds another dimension to the brand-customer relationship. A brand is no longer a remote, faceless entity that we only learn about in publications, press releases or Google searches. Looking at a brand’s social networks helps you gauge their values, relevant news and offerings, and how they relate to their audience.

Social lets consumers engage and interact with businesses in a multitude of ways, from liking posts and following their accounts to sharing brand-related content, shouting out brand love or asking product questions. And of course, social shopping makes conversions faster.

Don’t be too shy to engage with your audience, jump on relevant trends, ask questions or run polls and Q&As. And don’t forget to respond to direct messages, comments and @-mentions.

The Index found 51% of consumers said the most memorable brands on social respond to customers. Across all age groups, consumers want to know they’re being heard.

Brand authenticity will drive a customer to choose you over a competitor—and stick with you. This means upholding your organization’s claimed values, listening to your audience, discussing what matters to them, anticipating their needs and delivering on the promises you make.

How you can use this insight

Engagement happens perpetually across multiple channels and formats. With a tool like Sprout’s Smart Inbox, you can set up rules to automatically tag and categorize inbound messages so you never miss an opportunity to engage.

Analyze trends and patterns across these conversations to gain a deeper understanding of your customers. What’s delightful and what’s frustrating them? What are they praising, and what are they criticizing? What are they sharing about your brand and your competitors with their own audiences?

Of course, brands should address complaints and negative inbound messages, but tools like Sprout can help brands get the answers to these questions so they can proactively engage versus reactively. For example, with social listening, you can uncover opportunities to surprise and delight your customers.

Elicit and listen to feedback and share it with your organization. Channel this feedback to your colleagues across the business from sales and marketing to product and operations to deliver more tailored customer experiences in the future.

3. Consumers turn to social media for customer service

The evolution of social media and consumer behavior has transformed customer service interactions. Before social, consumers could expect to interact with a brand by calling, emailing or visiting locations in person—complete with the infamous wait times to talk to a representative. Today, social is consumers’ preferred choice for sharing feedback and reaching out with a customer support issue or question.

The days of long telephone hold times punctuated by elevator music are dwindling. Consumers with a product question or order issue are much more inclined to reach out via a brand’s Facebook page, X (formerly known as Twitter) @-mention or Instagram direct message. But social media moves fast, which means customers expect faster answers.

Index data shows customer service isn’t just about responding quickly either. Although 76% of consumers value how quickly a brand can respond to their needs, 70% expect a company to provide personalized responses to customer service needs.

Regardless of whether it’s a busy season, customer service teams may already be spread thin or lack resources, which can result in missed messages, slower responses and suboptimal replies. Prevent frustration, reduce delays and improve communication by evolving your approach to social customer service.

Social customer care starts even before a customer reaches out to you. It means getting a clear understanding of what your customer wants from you, reducing room for error and building long-term relationships with your audience.

How you can use this insight

How can you create and maintain a social customer care strategy? Start by making it easy for customers to find you. Include relevant contact info on your organization’s social media profiles and bios. Make sure you’re monitoring Meta Messenger and direct messages on X, Instagram or TikTok (or consider recruiting a chatbot’s help) if that’s the communication channel your customers flock to most.

If your business has dedicated teams for social media and customer care, collaboration across departments is a must. Implementing a social customer relationship management (CRM) tool gives you a single source of truth to provide customer service while getting a more holistic view of customer behavior.

Another critical step is proactive message management. If a customer feels like they’re being ignored, they’ll move on to a more attentive competitor. Do you have ways to centralize inbound support messages across different social networks? Can your social customer care agents easily access important client information via CRM or help desk integrations? Do you have an efficient process for approving replies to customer questions on social?

If you answered “no” to any of these, don’t be afraid to turn to tools like Sprout to help your team work smarter and build stronger customer relationships.

4. Consumers demand authenticity in the age of AI

Index data shows authentic, non-promotional posts are ranked as the number one content type consumers don’t see enough of from brands on social. However, with limited bandwidth and resources, it can be difficult to consistently produce authentic, creative content at scale. Enter: artificial intelligence (AI).

And although 81% of marketers say AI has already had a positive impact on their work, consumers aren’t as eager to jump onto this technology wave. Over a third (42%) of consumers say they are slightly or very apprehensive about the use of AI in social media interactions.

How you can use this insight

So how does this impact your brand’s content strategy? Consider pulling back on trendjacking and prioritizing original content that’s true to your brand.

Shaping genuine connections and building community can’t be replicated by machines alone, but adding that golden human touch requires time. Leverage AI to handle manual, time-consuming tasks like social media reporting. If you use AI to create spreadsheets and reports, marketers can focus their energy and efforts into developing more impactful content and engagement strategies. Research and identify where to incorporate AI across your teams’ tasks and workflows.

5. Consumers want more transparency and less performative activism

A few years ago, consumers wanted brands to take a stand on important causes. The latest Index shows only 25% of consumers think brands must speak out on causes and news relevant to their values to be memorable on social.

Consumers want brands to share more about their business values and practices, and how their products are made/sourced—but they aren’t necessarily looking for them to “take a stand” on larger issues. Due to the rise of performative activism, some efforts read as disingenuous and inauthentic. In other words, consumers don’t just want brands to talk about their values, they must walk the walk too.

How you can use this insight

This slight shift in consumer behavior is an opportunity for social teams to collaborate with colleagues beyond marketing. Work to develop messaging around your company’s supply chain, operations, labor practices and culture that will resonate on social. Consider featuring more employees in your social content such as a behind-the-scenes series, or connect with C-suite executives to refine their social presence and thought leadership on platforms like LinkedIn. And to amplify those efforts even more, implement employee advocacy into your content strategy.

6. Consumers are heavily influenced by social media reviews

Social media is a living document for social proof—which is increasingly a make-or-break factor for buying decisions.

Data from the Yale Center for Customer Insights shows almost 90% of`consumers trust online reviews as much as they trust personal recommendations. And half of consumers 18-54 look for online reviews before deciding to visit a local business.

Even the most dazzling, high-budget television ads can’t always deliver what social media offers for free: authenticity. Consumers take to channels like X and review hubs like Yelp and Google Reviews to praise, champion and criticize different products and businesses. Buyers are more likely to trust this unfiltered peer feedback from people who have already tried a product or engaged with a brand.

From a brand perspective, reviews are key for audience growth and reputation management. Every review post, comment and @-mention is either an opportunity to reflect on ways your business can improve—or a glowing testimonial worth sharing more broadly with your audience.

How you can use this insight

Online review management is tricky, but it’s a must for maintaining a positive reputation. It’s hard to distill review data from disparate sources into a quantifiable metric. With a social listening tool like Sprout’s, you can easily analyze the sentiment of messages that mention your brand so you can dig into positive, neutral and negative feedback.

Sprout’s review management capabilities ensure you never miss a message (or a chance to engage) by centralizing reviews from Facebook, Glassdoor, Google My Business, TripAdvisor, Yelp, Google Play Store and Apple App Store in one place.

You can also conduct sentiment analysis in Sprout’s Smart Inbox and Reviews feed. Sprout will automatically assign sentiment to messages in your Smart Inbox and Reviews, but you can dig in further by adding filters and custom views.

Social media and consumer behavior: An ongoing transformation

Social media leveled the playing field between buyers and brands. Consumers can learn about and engage with brands more easily, and vice versa. Brands can listen to what matters to their audience at the most individual level and help solve problems faster.

Thanks to social, consumers expect much more from the businesses they support. With the right tools, organizations of any size can rise to the challenge.

Looking to learn more about social media and consumer behavior and the right next steps? Learn more data insights in The Sprout Social Index™.

The post 6 ways social media impacts consumer behavior appeared first on Sprout Social.

In this guide, we’ll dive into the what, why and how of UGC, so you can use all types of media content like candid snapshots, rave reviews and spontaneous videos to boost your brand’s relatability.

What is user-generated content?

User-generated content is unpaid or unsponsored content your customers create related to your brand—think reviews, photos, videos and even social posts. It’s real, it’s authentic and it’s priceless for your credibility.

Encouraging and featuring UGC on your social accounts shows that people are loyal to your brand. Sharing and resharing UGC multiplies a content asset’s reach and attracts more eyeballs toward your brand.

For example, Growth Marketing Manager at Biteable, Haily Moulton (@hailymoulton), created a reel on how to use AI as a social media manager.

She discusses people’s burning questions regarding AI. Haily is also a Sprout Ambassador who swears by our all-in-one social media tool. By reposting her reel, Haily gets new eyes on her video and we get valuable content.

Types of UGC

UGC comes in all shapes and sizes. Customers can feature your brand in multiple ways, including:

Customer reviews and testimonials

Users showcase their love for your brand through posts and stories.

Project management tool Trello, for example, reposted this Tweet from Tony Lango, the world’s first Engagement Relationship Manager (ERM):

Posts like Tony’s are personal endorsements on platforms like Instagram and X (previously known as Twitter). This content generates positive buzz and attracts lots of attention to your brand.

Photos

Photos of your brand or products by customers add credibility and social proof. They also have the potential to attract new customers who want to see your product in action.

Gymshark’s Insta feed, for example, is full of fitness influencers posting high-quality photos of themselves wearing the brand’s activewear.

Regular UGC showcases the products in use and highlights the influencer’s loyalty and trust in the brand.

Videos

Your audience posts videos using your product. It’s like digital word-of-mouth. Benefit, for example, reposted this TikTok from makeup artist Colleen (@colleen.makeupp).

This timely Halloween makeup post using Benefit’s products is a great example of UGC that showcases the brand’s products in action. It also highlights the creativity and talent of their customers, making it relatable and aspirational for other potential customers.

Blogs

Sometimes, your customers write detailed experiences or stories about your products on their blogs.

Hostinger, for example, featured Grammarly as the best grammar assistant in its roundup article.

Grammarly can then reshare this blog, feature a snippet from the review or collaborate with the blogger for future content. Collaborations build a positive relationship and expose Grammarly to new audiences through the blogger’s followers.

Comments

Comments are a treasure trove of opinions and insights. Glassdoor created this Facebook post from existing responses in its Interview Tips Bowl, a social media series featuring interview tips from its audience.

These comments have a twofold effect: they show other users actively engage with your brand and also give valuable audience insights.

Why user-generated content is good for your brand

UGC turns your customers into your biggest fans and your most authentic spokespeople. Here’s how it impacts your brand:

Provides a consistent source of inspiration

Struggling with content ideas? You’re not alone—29% of marketers, per the Content Benchmarks Report, feel that pinch. Luckily, UGC is a goldmine for inspiration. It hands you a content bank brimming with customer posts, reviews and stories.

Here’s why a rich content bank is important: The Sprout Social Index ™ 2023 shows that 68% of consumers follow a brand on social to stay informed about new products or services.

Staying visible means staying on top-of-mind. Plus, UGC is original. The same research highlights that 38% of customers believe the most memorable brands prioritize original content over following trending topics.

A consistent and regular social presence keeps your brand top-of-mind. Each customer interaction is a potential post that keeps your feed active and your audience engaged.

Builds social proof and drives purchase intent

User-generated content turns customers into your most credible salespeople—every photo, review or testimonial is an authentic endorsement. And here’s why that matters: people trust people.

When they see others—real users, not actors—enjoying your product, it’s like a recommendation from someone they know. Social proof uses the ‘follow the herd’ instinct people have. If everyone’s buying this, it must be good, right?

This kind of validation makes potential customers feel more comfortable and confident in their decision to choose you. It’s the reassurance they need to take the leap from interested to invested.

Now, consider this—the Content Benchmark report also shows 26% of consumers find UGC the most engaging type of content in their social feeds. That’s a quarter of your audience that doesn’t just scroll past UGC—they stop, they look, they engage. Why? Because it speaks to them on a personal level. It’s relatable and, therefore, more believable.

Generates brand awareness

UGC puts your brand on the radars of new audiences. Every share, tag and mention extends your reach and spreads your brand’s message.

Brand awareness is the first step in the marketing funnel. Familiarity breeds trust—when people recognize your brand, they’re more likely to consider you when they’re ready to buy.

Each user’s content is a personal shout-out to your brand, and their followers are all ears. It’s a network effect—every post introduces your brand to a new circle. And because it’s coming from someone they trust, it makes a lasting impression.

Creates authenticity

UGC puts your brand on the map in a way that feels organic, not intrusive. It’s shared by real people in real-time, giving it an authenticity that paid ads just can’t match.

Our research highlights an obvious gap in brand content—consumers don’t see enough authentic, non-promotional content on social media. Even when they work with influencers, our research shows that 62% of marketers encourage influencers to share their real experiences, while 50% choose influencers who are genuine fans of their product.

There’s an opportunity for brands to bridge this gap and curate content that resonates on a personal level and builds trust.

When you showcase UGC, you’re not just adding content to your feed—you’re building a community around your brand. You’re telling your customers, “We see you, we hear you and we value what you have to say.” This recognition motivates them to engage more and even contribute their own content.

Builds brand loyalty

When you actively showcase user content, you acknowledge and celebrate your customers. It makes people feel connected to your brand and feel like they’re a part of something.

You notice your customers and they’ll stick around—1 in 5 consumers will happily spend 50% more on brands they trust.

Every piece of UGC is a chance to boost that trust and build brand loyalty. Your most loyal customers are your biggest cheerleaders. Actively building a relationship with them and acknowledging their efforts encourages them to invest more in your brand—with money and more user-generated content.

3 real user-generated content examples

These three UGC strategies show how brands can use real customer content to drive engagement and authenticity and build brand loyalty.

1. Nutrisense

Health and technology company Nutrisense provides personalized nutrition advice based on continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) data. Users wear a CGM device that tracks their blood glucose levels in real-time, providing insights into how their body responds to different foods.

Nutrisense’s platform analyzes this data and pairs users with registered dietitians to optimize metabolic health, improve diet and support weight loss.

In July 2021, Nutrisense had about 25,000 followers across its social media profiles. The brand wanted to amplify its presence so it started creating UGC and paired it with Sprout’s insights.

Sprout’s reports highlighted the kind of content that resonated with its target audience. By the end of 2022, Nutrisense’s social media engagement grew by 45% and their community had expanded to more than 130,000—an increase of 469%.

2. Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift isn’t just a music superstar—she’s a master at making fans the heart of her brand. Instagram account, Taylor Nation, is a part of Taylor’s PR and marketing muscle and acts as her official fan club too. The account pumps life into user-generated content campaigns that fans absolutely adore.

For the “TS The Eras Tour,” Taylor Nation called on fans to post their tour outfits using #TSTheErasTour. Fans went all out—they showcased their Swift-inspired looks, complete with glitter and friendship bracelets.

But Taylor Nation didn’t stop there—they reposted their favorite picture. Fans got to be the stars, and it happened in every city on the tour.

UGC is one trick in a detailed customer marketing strategy in how Taylor and her team create a tight-knit community. Fans don’t just buy a ticket—they buy into a shared story and a collective experience.

3. Wahl Professional

Wahl Professional specializes in the production and sale of professional grooming equipment, including hair clippers and trimmers. Professional barbers and stylists trust Wahl for its durable, reliable and precise tools.

Wahl has been around for 97 years. It needed a fresh strategy to target and appeal to a new generation of customers.

Since June 2015, Wahl’s pivoted its approach to active engagement and used Sprout Social to manage and monitor conversations across multiple Instagram accounts, particularly @wahlpro. This shift led to a curated strategy of sharing UGC content.

Wahl’s target audience—a vibrant community of stylists and barbers—was already sharing their work with the hashtags #Wahl and #WahlPro.

Wahl monitored these Brand Keywords with Sprout and transformed its social feed into a showcase of professional talent and authentic user experiences.

In less than a year, @wahlpro increased its engagement on Instagram by 4,307% and grew its followers by 84,788 with Sprout.

5 tips to help you add UGC to your content strategy

Adding UGC isn’t just hitting the reshare button now and then. It’s about listening to what your customers are sharing, and weaving it into your brand’s narrative in a way that feels seamless and authentic.

Here are some tips to help you make UGC a cornerstone of your content strategy.

1. Find and repost UGC on relevant social platforms

You need to know where your audience lives on social media and where potential advocates have the most influence. For example: Instagram is naturally great for sharing visuals, but reference the data to double-check if that’s the network where your target audience lives.

Consider your audience and goals when choosing a social network. Select the right network and create a social environment to deliver content and engage with customers to nurture long-term relationships.

At the same time, identify what types of UGC perform best on each network and how to present them based on each app’s culture.

• Facebook: Use Facebook to share full video content and stories that boost engagement (and possibly go viral). Facebook’s algorithm is tough for organic reach, but don’t rule out posting user-generated content on ads.
• X: Despite the smaller character count, X is a great platform for image-sharing. If you host events, consider using this space to create a live X feed for real-time coverage and easily capture UGC to reshare. Using X this way is a great opportunity to capitalize on hashtags.
• Instagram: As the mecca of visual sharing, Instagram is the go-to for UGC. It’s critical to know how to regram, use Instagram Explore and find content through hashtags. Seeing products in action makes Instagram the spot for brands to get creative and connect with those who support your business. Reposting Story mentions (maybe even making a Highlight for them) is a great low-lift way to show off your customer UGC. The user may even repost the repost, leading more of their following to your page.
• TikTok: There’s no shortage of UGC on TikTok, and it’s not hard to find. TikTok’s culture is all about authentic, scrappy videos, rather than refined reviews or stories. Engage with a customer in the comments of their video, ask permission to share and credit properly on your own page.
• LinkedIn: This is the world’s largest social network for professionals, so vet any UGC you share here and make sure it’s relevant to your brand’s goals. This isn’t the spot to repost just any user’s content. Instead, use LinkedIn to promote above and beyond user-generated content that aligns with your brand in a professional sense.

And then, bring it all together with Sprout. Centralize posting on one platform and create a single source of truth. With analytics, posting features, and content calendars under one roof, executing your UGC strategy requires only a fraction of your time.

2. Always ask permission and credit creators

When you spot a gem—a user post that just nails it—you’re halfway to great UGC. But before you hit ‘Share,’ ask for permission. It’s about respect and legality. You don’t want to be the brand that gets called out for taking someone’s creativity for free.

Send a quick message—it can be as simple as, “Hey, we love your post! Can we feature it on our page with credit to you?”

A simple “Photo by @username” or even a tag in the caption (like how skincare brand La Roche Posay does it) is enough.

It shows respect and keeps things transparent. Plus, it builds a sense of community. When creators see you treating others well, they might want you to feature them, too. Tagging the creator might even give you a boost. Their followers see it, and you potentially have new eyes on your brand.

Take the gratitude a step further. A DM saying “Thanks!” can turn a one-time poster into a brand ally. Relationship-building makes UGC a permanent part of your content strategy.

3. Use employee advocacy to amplify UGC

Turn your team into brand ambassadors with employee advocacy. Encourage them to share and engage with user-generated content on their personal channels.

When employees share UGC, it does two things: it amplifies the reach and puts a human face to your brand. A post from a person rather than a brand page often gets more traction, feels more genuine and can spread like wildfire.

Start by creating a culture where sharing is celebrated. Offer guidelines, sure, but don’t micromanage. You want authenticity, not a copy-paste vibe.

Instead, offer templates. Templates give employees a headstart and make them more likely to post. Our report shows that 72% of engaged users would post about their company if content was written for them.

Pro tip: make it fun. Throw in a monthly contest or highlight the best employee-shared UGC. Make your team feel like they’re part of the brand’s story.

And lastly, track your progress. Use employee advocacy tools like Sprout Social to identify and distribute content that resonates most, increase employee participation with curated content and increase social ROI.

An employee advocacy strategy that covers all bases turns your workforce into a powerhouse of authentic brand promotion 

4. Monitor the impact of UGC with a dedicated tool

To bring it all home, if you want your UGC strategy to work, you have to measure. No matter what your goals, benchmarking is a must.

According to The 2023 State of Social Media report, 91% of marketers agree data from social enables them to better their target audience. This finding emphasizes the crucial role good reporting plays in a UGC strategy.

With Sprout Social, you have social analytics tools to track your overall engagement with UGC.

Whether you’re posting to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram, access detailed audience reports that reveal which content is driving the most engagement and growth on your profiles. 

Using our social listening tools, analyze your social data to understand the content and conversations happening around your brand.

Insights on what others are tagging you in are quite useful to your brand’s UGC strategy, too. Sprout’s tag report pinpoints how well your UGC is doing compared to your campaign imagery. Use this data to allocate budgets to different creative assets based on how engaging it is.

Whether it’s contextual analysis of keywords, hashtags or customer experiences, these powerful social tools let you measure your efforts and uncover new opportunities to source and share user-generated content.

5. Check music copyright

When adding UGC to your content mix, check the music copyright. It’s easy to get caught up in the visuals and forget that tunes need clearance too. If there’s music in any user-submitted videos, make sure it’s all above board.

And here’s why—it’s not just about following the law (which you should). It’s also about respecting creators’ rights. That song in the background? It’s someone’s art and they deserve credit (and maybe royalties).

Before you repost that catchy customer review or that dance-off video featuring your product, check if the music is licensed for commercial use.

Sometimes, it’s as easy as reaching out to the artist. Other times, you might need to swap the track with royalty-free options. Bottom line—clear those tunes. It’ll save you a headache and keep your brand on the right side of copyright law.

Add the power of UGC to your workflow

UGC is that secret sauce you need to add authentic flavor to your brand’s social presence. But it isn’t just a one-off strategy. It’s a steady conversation.

Make UGC a cornerstone of your social strategy. Keep asking for that content, keep crediting those creators and keep that content flowing. And manage it all with Sprout Social.

Sprout keeps a pulse on the UGC that resonates with your audience, helping you track, curate and showcase the content that tells your brand’s story through the eyes of your customers.

Want to see how it fits into your workflow? Try it out today and see how it streamlines your UGC strategy.

The post User-generated content (UGC): what it is and why it matters for your brand appeared first on Sprout Social.

In this article, we’ll explore how brand collaboration works and strategies to find the best partnership for your business. And we’ll explore some of the best brand collaborations we’ve seen this year to help inspire your next campaign.

• What is a brand collaboration?
• How do brand collaborations work?
• Strategies to find collaboration partners
• Benefits of brand collaborations
• Best brand collaborations we’ve seen this year
• Begin planning your next partnership

What is a brand collaboration?

A brand collaboration is a mutually beneficial partnership between two or more businesses that work together to create an experience, product or service to achieve a common goal. This alliance leverages the strengths and customer segments of each brand to boost sales, increase brand awareness and expand reach to new audiences.

How do brand collaborations work?

Think of a brand collaboration as a group project. Each business works together to combine its resources, audience reach and creativity to co-create products, campaigns or activations. Brand collaborations are facilitated by influencer marketing or working directly with other businesses through co-marketing or co-branding efforts.

How do brands collaborate with influencers?

Influencer marketing campaigns are common brand collaborations. They rely on a creator’s influence and personal brand to sell products or offerings. These influencers resonate with a brand’s target audience or have credibility with a new segment they’re trying to reach.

How do you collaborate with other brands?

You can work with other businesses through product collaboration—also known as co-branding—which involves two brands creating a new product or service. For example, e.l.f. and Dunkin’ dropped a donut-inspired makeup line last year.

Co-marketing is another option for partnership. It’s a strategy that leverages each company’s reputation and customer base to introduce its brand to a new audience, driving additional revenue and awareness. Co-marketing is effective for brands that aren’t direct competitors but have overlap either by audience or industry. For example, GoPro and Red Bull have an ongoing partnership and cross-promote each other’s events. GoPro is adored by athletes, mountain bikers and other adventurers so working with an energy drink brand is the right fit.

Strategies to find collaboration partners

Deciding how to partner with brands can seem tricky. If you’re thinking about creating some collaboration magic, you’ll want to keep a few things in mind. Here are a few strategies to help you find the right partners for your brand collaborations.

Identify your goals for collaboration

Whether you want to increase sales or reach, you need to start by identifying your goals. From there, your brand can connect with complementary partners within your industry or target audience. If you’re leaning towards an influencer marketing campaign, consider using the Five Ws + H framework to help you measure return on investment and plan effectively across the customer journey.

Search for complementary brands familiar with your audience

Try to focus on what you might have in common with potential partners. Identify what your audiences associate with your brands and don’t be afraid to go bolder than you might on a solo campaign. Maybe your perfect partnership revolves around the types of feelings your product evokes, shared interests your audiences have or the priorities of your target market. For example, Dunkin’ and e.l.f. had common market segments they tackled together. Keeping something in common will keep your brand collaboration on track later on.

Test early

Social is a great barometer for your audience’s interest in potential co-branded activations or products. Through social listening, you can figure out which parts of a collaboration to lean into—and which you should cut. Consider teasing a collaboration with an interested brand and see how your audience responds.

Benefits of brand collaborations

Let’s walk through several benefits of brand collaborations:

1. Reach new audiences

If your business is looking to appeal to a new target demographic, such as younger consumers like Millennials or Gen Z,  partnering with another company that has an established customer base enables your brand to get in front of audiences that you haven’t been able to reach before.

2. Generate buzz and improve revenue

Everyone loves a limited edition product or collection from their favorite brands. Creating a new product/service that’s marketed as an exclusive or limited-time offering can ignite interest across your business, generate demand and increase sales.

3. Marketing resource-sharing

Marketing efforts can be expensive at scale, but brand collaborations are more cost-effective since resources are shared between both partners. Not only can the partnership save costs, but you also have access to more talent across teams.

4. Leverage another brand’s strengths

The beauty of a mutually beneficial partnership is that each brand has something unique to bring to the table. Capitalizing on each other’s strengths helps all parties achieve their goals. For example, one brand might have an excellent product team, but a small creative team, so collaborating with a company that is known for its originality and innovation could be a perfect match.

Best brand collaborations we’ve seen this year

It might sound cliche, but teamwork really does make the dream work! Here’s a brief overview of some of our favorite brand collaborations over the past year.

Google Pixel x Druski

Google Pixel, the official fan phone of the NBA and WNBA, launched a season-long campaign during the NBA opening games. The mutli-channel campaign titled “Built Different” features content creator and comedian Druski. The campaign features Druski in a series of vignettes with cameos from athletes and sportscasters like Jimmy Butler, Flau’jae Johnson, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ernie Johnson Jr. and Taylor Rooks.

Druski is known for his social media skits, Instagram Live sessions and parody music label, Coulda Been Records. Like the campaign, his content is often star-studded with some of the biggest names in the entertainment and sports industry. His relatable content touches on everything from music to college sports—and you’ll probably see Drake or Jack Harlow if you ever tune into one of his livestreams. He also recently launched his sports agency, 4Lifers.

Why the partnership works: Druski’s audience and his connection to the sports and entertainment industry make the partnership with the NBA feel authentic and fresh, making for laughs between professional athletes and fans alike.

Liquid Death and MeUndies

Liquid Death and MeUndies are on a mission to brainwash doctors. The brands collaborated to create an underwear collection with Liquid Death imagery. Both brands are known for their humorous brand voice and whimsical social media posts so it’s a match made in marketing heaven.

Both brands co-marketed the underwear collection on their social channels. Although customers can’t purchase from the Liquid Death site, they can purchase on MeUndies, as you can see in the image below that shows a redirection message:

Why the partnership works: Refreshing beverages and underwear may seem like an unlikely duo, but Liquid Death and MeUndies’ partnership illustrates the power of seamless co-branding and co-marketing. The collection evokes MeUndies’s mission to inspire authentic self-expression through comfortable, creative designs through Liquid Death’s punk rock imagery.

Telfar and UGG

Telfar and UGG started their partnership in 2021. The collection combined each brand’s most iconic designs: Telfar’s Shopping Bag and UGGs sheepskin-lined boots. Two years later, the collaboration is still running strong and remains one of Telfar’s most highly anticipated drops. In 2023, they expanded the collection to include several new materials. In September, they launched Telfar x UGGs denim collection, later dropping crinkle patent leather as the next material addition to the collection.

The fashion brands didn’t stop there either. Their campaign features several celebrities and social media figures including Lil Kim, Morris Chestnut, Rolling Ray, Tezzo Touchdown, and Yung Miami.

Why the partnership works: Designer Telfar Clemens won the Best Fashion Campaign of the Year at Essence’s 2023 Best in Black Fashion Awards. Telfar’s slogan is “Not for you, for everyone,” a testament to the brand’s value of championing inclusivity, affordable luxury and revolutionary pricing models. Like Telfar, UGG is known for its cult fashion following and revered as a must-have fashion staples for everyone’s wardrobe. Merging some of the most sought-after pieces in the fashion space with influencers and stand-out photography shapes an experience that resonates with audiences.

Jeni’s and Lonely Ghost

On Jeni’s landing page for the collaboration, the ice cream brand expresses how adults forget the magic of ice cream and how it’s always better with friends. They explain they partnered with Lonely Ghost because they are like-minded brands centered on community and positivity.

The brands worked together to create Jeni’s first cookie dough flavor and a limited edition merch line featuring T-shirts, a sweatshirt and hat with positive affirmations to highlight the collaboration’s tagline, “Melt in the Moment.” Lonely Ghost held a pop-up at a local scoop shop in Chicago to sell the new merch and ice cream.

Each brand promoted the collection on social media as well:

Why the partnership works: Jeni’s and Lonely Ghost are both anchored by community and living a positive, experiential lifestyle. Through creating a limited-edition flavor and apparel collection, they successfully created anticipation for a customer-centric experience. After all, what’s better than snuggling up in a sweatshirt while devouring a pint of ice cream?

Begin planning your next partnership

As you can see, collaborations are a testament of the magic that can happen when two or more brands join together to shape something special for their customers. Use our product launch checklist to jump start your next brand collaboration.

The post Strategic brand collaborations: Finding successful partnerships appeared first on Sprout Social.

But every social network is different, their user demographic is unique and not all comments, such as trolling, deserve responses. Knowing how to interact with audiences on different social platforms and respond to various kinds of comments is crucial to a successful social communications strategy.

In this guide, we help you navigate through different approaches for a variety of social comments and show you the best way to respond to them.

Why responding to social media comments is important

According to The Sprout Social Index™ 2023, 51% of surveyed consumers say the most memorable brands on social respond to customers. It’s no surprise that prompt responses also help nurture customer loyalty and elevate brand satisfaction.

Further, 68% of customers follow brands on social to stay informed about new products and services, another 46% look for exclusive deals and promotions. That’s why responding to queries diligently and providing relevant responses can lead to better sales conversions.

Positive comments feel great and give you a chance to further boost your brand reputation. And, while nobody likes negative comments, they have the potential to give you in-depth insights into your brand strategy so you can prioritize areas that need improvement to enhance customer satisfaction.

Similarly, responding to neutral comments is a great way to let customers know you hear them and are in tune with them. This fosters closeness and nurtures your brand community.

With this in mind, let’s get to know different types of social comments and how to approach them.

How to handle different types of social media comments

Social media comments can oscillate between positive and negative emotions but you can’t afford to ignore either because they’re vital to your conversions. According to a Q4 2023 Sprout Pulse Survey of 1,623 consumers, 65% of customers reach out to brands on social with questions about products and services before making a purchase. The way you respond can impact a potential sale. These comments are important for tracking brand sentiment as well so you know how audiences perceive your brand.

Here’s a look at how to handle different types of comments common in social media marketing.

1. Positive comments or feedback

Responding to positive comments is an important part of building and maintaining a positive brand image. When a customer thanks you or shows appreciation, it’s best practice to reciprocate the feeling.

Be sincere in your response, thank them for their time and remember to personalize your message. These gestures show how much you value and appreciate their feedback. It also helps build a sense of trust and community.

2. Neutral comments

Neutral comments can be tricky because you may think they don’t require a response. Yet, responding to such comments builds brand loyalty because it shows you’re listening to your audience and available whenever they need you to be. It also gives you an opportunity to engage with your audiences in a fun way.

3. Negative comments

Negative comments can be about a range of issues revolving around products and customer care. Responding to such comments with tact and empathy is vital to maintain brand health. A respectful, calm and personalized approach can turn a disgruntled customer into a happy one, and potentially earn repeat business.

While some negative comments may be general complaints, some need to be handled more carefully so they don’t escalate. It’s best practice to have an escalation management protocol in place to handle such cases smoothly so they don’t turn into bigger issues. More on that later.

Analyzing sentiment in social media comments

By measuring brand sentiment from positive, negative and neutral social media comments, you can monitor and analyze how the market perceives your brand in real-time. This helps you proactively track brand health and take corrective measures where needed. Sentiment analysis insights also enable you to spot your strengths and weaknesses to inform product and business strategies for more holistic growth.

For example, Sprout’s AI-driven sentiment analysis capability enables you to analyze sentiment in keywords and hashtags across social platforms like Instagram, Twitter and YouTube to understand customer satisfaction so you can improve their experience. You can also get a competitor comparison of key performance metrics across social networks such as engagement, impressions, share of voice and user sentiment all in a unified stream.

Conversational analytics from social media comments further let you dig into social chatter about you and your competitors. It helps you monitor competing brands and spot market trends and topics that interest your audience.

Navigating responses to tough comments

There’s a difference between negative comments and hate speech—comments that aggressively attack a brand or an individual. Similarly, common complaints like late deliveries or late customer care responses are not the same as those that can turn into a potential PR problem. These need to be handled differently.

Offensive comments and hate speech

In such cases, it is important to maintain calm and professional candor and remember that trolling is meant to provoke and upset. You must set boundaries for inappropriate behavior and make it clear that dehumanizing language, personal attacks, hate speech and offensive language are not acceptable. You may also block the person and report it on the social network.

Comments related to a crisis

Social media comments related to a crisis may cause serious repercussions to your brand and require a comprehensive crisis communication plan. It’s necessary to handle issues that could adversely affect your reputation with a potential PR or legal backlash. Being prepared with a social strategy to manage a crisis helps you jump into action immediately while ensuring you’re following your company’s legal and brand protocols.

In such cases, it’s important to keep records of interactions and feedback garnered from social comments and DMs. Document screenshots of relevant comment threads and send them to your HR, legal and other stakeholders as required so everyone is on the same page. This is necessary to develop an effective plan to handle the situation successfully. Using Sprout, you can also create a unique Tag to label DMs and posts that fall into this category. Then you can use Tag reporting to simplify how you share information with those across the organization.

How to respond to social media comments

Every social media network is unique by way of its demographic and how customers use it to interact with brands, especially for customer service. Audiences use social for customer care because they can reach a brand instantly while, according to McKinsey, brands benefit from being able to provide higher customer satisfaction at lower costs. That’s why mastering how to respond to comments on different social networks is essential to enhancing customer experience.

Let’s look at how responding to comments organically works on each social network.

1. Facebook

Facebook remains a thriving social network where audiences go to discover and engage with content that resonates and to stay updated on the latest trends. It’s also where people go to interact with a brand and in return expect brands to engage with them authentically.

In a fast-paced world where customers are spoilt for choice, being attentive to your customers is key to building lasting relationships. Whether it’s a positive, negative or neutral comment, responding to them builds genuine connections and lets your customers know you appreciate them.

To make sure you don’t miss a comment, click Inbox in the left sidebar of your Facebook Page manager. Access comments from there and click Reply to respond.

2. X (formerly known as Twitter)

Customers love X for its real-time, bite-sized content format that allows for quick and easy conversations. That’s one of the reasons why it’s so popular forcustomer service. Customers voice their concerns with brands, share opinions and engage in discussions freely, and before you know it, there’s a trending hashtag.

When you respond to social media comments on X, it’s important to remember that they’re visible to all and there may be others following your conversation. You must be timely and polite, even when facing complaints. This gives you an opportunity to highlight your brand personality and elevate brand perception by showing how gracefully you handle customer issues.

To respond to a mention onX, click on the comment bubble icon at the bottom of the post. A pop-up will appear for you to type out your response. Click Reply to write your message and Send.

3. Instagram

Customers often use Instagram to browse products, ask clarifying questions and make purchases. In fact, Instagram is built to encourage purchases. The network’s Product Tags feature enables you to highlight your products directly in your videos and posts so customers find them easily and get all the information they need. Here is where they might also be interested to know more about specific products or deals. That’s why monitoring and responding to comments on Instagram regularly is important for your brand.

Apart from being prompt in your responses, it’s also ideal you show interest in customers by acknowledging neutral comments. This nudges customers to consider your brand during a purchase, nurtures your relationship with them and builds your reputation as a brand that’s appreciative of its followers.

To view your Instagram notifications, tap the heart icon in the top right corner of your app. Click on the comments you want to respond to and you’ll automatically see the post. Tap Reply to respond to the comment. If you want to leave a response on someone else’s post, tap the comment bubble icon directly below the photo and you’ll reach the comments page. Type your comment and tap Post to send.

4. LinkedIn

Responding to social media comments on LinkedIn is different from other social channels. Since it’s a platform geared toward professionals, you need to respond in a friendly but formal manner. Acknowledge comments by liking them and express your thoughts succinctly in your response.

To comment on LinkedIn posts, click on the Comment option under the post and type your message in the box that appears. To reply to someone else’s comment on your post, open the post, click on the comments and tap on Reply to respond.

5. Pinterest

People use Pinterest as a visual search engine and often draw inspiration or discover new products. In fact, 80% of weekly users have found a new product or brand on the network. While commenting may not be as common as other interactions on the platform, audiences can see comments that have been left on their Pins.

Use this opportunity to provide relevant information and answer queries about your products and respond to feedback.

To view comments left on your pins, click on the megaphone icon. Click Reply underneath the comment to leave your response and tap Enter. To leave comments on other Pins, open the Pin, click Comments and type in a message.

6. TikTok

TikTok is a fun social network to bring out your creativity and boost your brand presence, audience reach and engagement. The best part? You can experiment with different types of content and don’t have to be formal while interacting with customers. Choose how you want to write in keeping with your brand voice, keeping it light and friendly.

That said, TikTok comments are great for understanding what your audience wants and expects from you. Monitor conversations and engage with your followers to keep up with audience sentiment and see what aspects of your brand are most popular with them.

To view comments on a video, tap the comment bubble icon on the right side of your screen and reply to the comment and a a Reply to [username] text box will appear.

Streamline social media comments with Sprout Social’s Smart Inbox

Monitoring and engaging with social media comments on all your different social channels can be a daunting task. Sprout’s Smart Inbox enables you to unify all your social streams into a single source of truth so you easily monitor incoming messages, quickly respond to audiences and efficiently manage conversations.

It enables you to prioritize messages by tagging, filtering and hiding completed messages in your inbox so you don’t miss out on a single comment. Review your messages to find the most urgent ones and respond to comments across platforms from one app. Plus monitor keywords, hashtags and locations to discover unique engagement opportunities.

Start managing your social media comments

An​​ effective communication plan to engage and respond to social media comments empowers you to build your brand, foster brand loyalty and connect with the right audience. Boost your brand reputation where it counts and navigate critical moments that can adversely affect your brand. Check out our social communications plan template to plan for all possible scenarios on social and tackle your social strategy more efficiently.

The post Your guide to social media comments: How to post and respond appeared first on Sprout Social.

As algorithms continuously evolve and become more complex, social media marketers must embrace change, adapt swiftly and navigate these algorithmic shifts. The best strategy is to stay updated on trends and optimize your social strategy to maximize engagement.

This guide covers everything about social media algorithms, including important factors to watch out for and how to adapt your social media marketing strategies accordingly.

• What is a social media algorithm?
• Why are social media algorithms important?
• Understanding how social media algorithms work
• Social media algorithms by platform
• 10 Tips for staying ahead of the algorithm and optimizing your content
• AI’s role in social media algorithms
• Start mastering the algorithm
• Social Media Algorithm FAQs

What is a social media algorithm?

An algorithm is a series of instructions designed to solve specific problems, perform tasks or make decisions. In computer programming, algorithms direct the computer’s actions, such as sorting elements, locating data or identifying objects.

In social media, algorithms are rules, signals and data that govern the platform’s operation. These algorithms determine how content is filtered, ranked, selected and recommended to users. In some ways, algorithms influence our choices and what we see on social media.

Why are social media algorithms important?

Every social media platform comprises a mix of users with different preferences. Without a filtering system, users must navigate through a flood of posts, which can be overwhelming.

This is where algorithms come into play. Social media platforms employ sophisticated algorithms as intelligent guides, carefully sorting and matching content to audiences with similar preferences. Understanding the ins and outs of algorithms and why they are important is essential for any social media marketing strategy:

Filter out the content noise

When a new TikTok video or a Facebook post is published, it joins millions of other content pieces online. Algorithms function as librarians, sorting and connecting users with their preferences. This prevents overwhelming users with endless content and helps them find what they like faster. Algorithms enable users to uncover valuable posts, connect with like-minded individuals and explore their interests.

Show users more of what they’re interested in

Social media platforms use sophisticated algorithms to prolong user engagement. These algorithms control content visibility, sequence and recommendations based on user data like actions, behaviors and interests. For instance, if you interact with gadget-related posts, you’ll see more of such content. This personalization improves user engagement and in turn, creates a positive user experience.

Personalize user experience

Today, users have greater control over their content experience. Algorithms leverage data to personalize content recommendations. On platforms like Instagram, you can customize your feed by hiding posts, filtering comments, or selecting “Not interested” to curate your content.

Maximize organic reach

Understanding social media algorithms can boost your online social presence. As more users find your content, the algorithm becomes better at targeting users with similar interests. Creators and marketers can optimize their content for algorithms to leverage its distribution potential. When a post gains high engagement, the algorithm promotes it to a wider audience.

Understanding how social media algorithms work

Understanding how social media algorithms work is like unraveling the intricate threads that govern the digital tapestry of user experiences. These algorithms, like invisible guides, determine the content on our feeds. Let’s explore how social media algorithms function and how social teams can take advantage of it.

Algorithms search for relevant and valuable content

Algorithmic-driven content curation systems such as the Facebook News Feed and Instagram Feed monitor user behavior, interests and actions to recommend relevant content. For instance, if you engage with basketball content, you’ll likely see more of it.

These algorithms aim to refine content suggestions by adapting and learning from user interactions, ensuring content remains relevant.

Signals and important factors social algorithms consider

Algorithms collect user signals to match them with relevant content. Key signals include:

• User engagement: Likes, shares and comments indicate that users find the content interesting and relevant.
• Relevance: Keywords and hashtags give content context and improve its visibility.
• Timing and frequency: Posting consistently and at the right time when your audience is active can boost visibility.
• Recency: Newer posts are prioritized over older ones.
• User interactions: Accounts followed, interactions and click-through rates on links signals relevance and content quality.
• Profile authority: Follower count, consistency and engagement impact organic reach.
• Location: Algorithms take into account the location and demographics of users when curating content. Content may be promoted to users in similar locations.
• Content type: Different content types, like videos, images and text, are treated based on user interaction. Many platforms favor videos because they’re more engaging.
• Virality: Content gaining popularity and shares signals relevance to the algorithm.
• Watch time: This is the duration users spends watching videos (IG Reel, YouTube Shorts)

Social media algorithm example

If you use any social media platforms, there’s a huge chance that you’ve come in contact with the algorithm in play. Here are some examples you might have missed.

1. Twitter shows content based on the keywords users follow. For example, I follow the “SEO” keyword, and X (formerly known as Twitter) recommends posts with the keyword on my Explore page.
   
2. LinkedIn’s algorithm shows content that my 1st-degree connections are engaging with. In this post, for example, over 313 of my 1st-degree connections follow this account, so LinkedIn prioritizes the sponsored post on my Feed.
   
3. LinkedIn suggests content for users with similar keywords. I love reading about social media and content marketing on LinkedIn, so it’s no surprise they push this content type my way.
   
4. Twitter suggests accounts to follow based on the content they post and what you’ve liked.
   

Social media algorithms by platform

Every social media platform has its unique algorithm for content curation and display. These platforms look for specific ranking signals to discern user preferences. Let’s explore some social media platforms and their platform-specific rank signals to keep in mind.

Twitter algorithm

The Twitter algorithm is an AI-powered algorithm designed to curate content based on the user’s interests, preferences and past interactions rather than chronologically. According to Twitter, their algorithm looks through about 500 million daily Tweets to display only relevant ones on your timeline.

In 2023, the updated Twitter algorithm considers:

• Location and language: Twitter shows you content based on your location, especially in their “Trends for You” section.
• User interactions: Content is recommended based on your activity, including who you follow and interact with.
• Engagement level: Tweet popularity is determined by user engagement metrics such as likes, Retweets and replies.
• Relevancy: The relevance of a Tweet is based on the keywords used, the user’s interests and previous interactions.
• Recency: Recent Tweets hold importance, especially in the “Trending Topics” and “What’s Happening” sections.
• Profile Reputation Score: Active profiles engaging with others gain higher visibility; Twitter also uses TweetCred, a PageRank algorithm, to rate a profile’s credibility based on its followers, past activities, safety status and device usage.
• Similar accounts: Profiles are categorized based on the niche or topic discussed.

Facebook algorithm

With over 2 billion active users, Facebook is the largest social media platform yet. To moderate content on the platform, Facebook employs several algorithms to determine what content users will find interesting. The updated algorithm considers:

• Timing: Facebook’s algorithm prioritizes timing as a key signal for ranking content in user’s feeds.
• Demographics: The user’s location, language and gender can help predict their content preferences.
• Account credibility: The algorithm ranks accounts with credibility, a strong following, and engaging content.
• Content type: Facebook’s algorithm prioritizes the type of posts users engage with most. So, users who watch more videos will get more video content.
• Relevance: Posts with similar keywords or hashtags are recommended to users with shared interests.
• Engagement levels: High engagement, including comments, shares and likes, indicates quality content and since Facebook is all about creating meaningful posts, it ranks it higher.
• Facebook connections: Content from the accounts you follow is prioritized over those you don’t follow.

Facebook’s algorithm combines these signals to give the post a relevancy score, which predicts how likely a user is to interact with a post.

Instagram algorithm

Instagram’s algorithm is one of the most diverse social media platforms. According to Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri, Instagram is divided into 5 sections: Feed, Stories, Explore, Reels, Search. Each section uses algorithms, classifiers and processes to tailor content recommendations based on user behavior.

Instagram Feed

Your Instagram feed is a mix of content from accounts you follow, similar profiles you’re likely to enjoy and personalized ads. In the feed, posts are ranked based on several signals:

• Post recency: Recent posts from accounts take priority, appearing before older ones.
  
• People you follow: Posts from those you follow appear organically on your feed. For creators, this means having more followers increases your visibility.
• User activity: Posts you’ve liked, shared, saved or commented on convey your content preferences.
• Content type: Users who prefer photos will see more photos. The same goes for videos and carousels.
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• Post information: Posts with many likes, shares, comments and saves signal relevance to users with similar interests or locations.
• Interaction history: Your interactions with an account’s posts and frequency influence the appearance of their content in your feed.

Instagram Stories

Stories is an in-app feature that allows users to post photos or videos that disappear after 24 hours. Here’s what it looks like:

The ranking factors for stories are quite similar to those of the IG Feed. Stories use engagement signals such as:

• Viewing history: Frequently viewing an account’s stories would result in its prioritization.
• Engagement history: Liking or responding to stories is an engagement metric that impacts story rankings.
• Closeness: The algorithm considers your relationship with the story’s creator, including mutual follows, shared locations, and DM interactions.

Instagram Explore

Explore simplifies the discovery of new posts without needing active search. Here’s what it looks like on Instagram:

The grid comprises content recommendations from accounts you don’t follow but Instagram believes you might enjoy. Signals Instagram considers include:

• User’s past interaction: Content is ranked based on previous engagements with posts.
• Post popularity: The number of likes, comments, shares, and saves influences visibility.
• User’s explore activity: history of a user’s interaction on the Explore page, including liked posts and similar content.
• Account information: the frequency of interaction with the account in the past few weeks.

Instagram Reels

Reels are designed for users to explore new content from accounts they don’t follow, similar to Explore. Key signals for Reels content include:

• User’s activity: Recent interactions with Reels, such as likes, saves, shares, comments, and engagement.
• Interaction history: Your interaction history with accounts, even if you don’t follow them.
• Relevance: The content’s relevance is determined by popularity signals like likes, saves, and comments.
• Account information: An account’s popularity, including follower count and engagement level, informs content recommendation.

TikTok algorithm

TikTok’s algorithm is a recommendation system designed to curate the For You Feed for each user considering the following signals:

• User interactions: Your likes, views, shares, comments, searches, and interactions with accounts shape your feed.
  Accounts you follow or suggested for you
• Location: Recent and popular content in your region impacts your feed.
• Video details: TikTok uses video quality, captions, sounds or hashtags to recommend content.
• Device and account settings: This includes the language, device type and country.
• Watch time: The number of replays and completed videos influences your feed.

YouTube algorithm

YouTube’s algorithm considers many signals to rank videos on its homepage, including:

• Video performance: YouTube video performance is measured in terms of engagement metrics such as likes, shares and comments.
• Click-through rate: YouTube’s algorithm assesses the likelihood of user interaction with a video to recommend it to other users.
• Watch time and retention: Videos with longer watch time indicate quality content that retains viewer attention.
• Recency: Newer videos are promoted to subscribers who interact with the channel.
• User watch history and actions: Video watch time and post-interaction actions, like liking and commenting, signal relevance to the algorithm.
• Search history: What has the user searched for? Is it a recurring search?
• Demographics and location: Videos uploaded by creators in a particular location are pushed to local viewers before broader promotion.

LinkedIn algorithm

LinkedIn’s algorithm uses several ranking signals that contribute to the success of a post on the platform. Here are some to watch out for:

• Quality over quantity: LinkedIn’s algorithm filters posts into three categories: spam, low-quality and high-quality.
• Relevance: The algorithm assesses post relevance based on keywords, hashtags, and comments.
• Engagement probability: LinkedIn uses machine learning models to predict post engagement, especially within the first hour.
• Personal connections: LinkedIn’s algorithm prioritizes posts from your 1st-degree connections and those you engage with.
• Consistency: The algorithm rewards pages that post regularly with increased visibility.
• Credibility: Author expertise, insightful content and meaningful comments enhance post ranking.
• Recency: Recent posts hold significance for LinkedIn’s algorithm.
• Content type: The algorithm loves short-form videos and well-structured long-form content.

Pinterest algorithm

The Pinterest algorithm ranks content using key ranking signals such as:

• Topic relevance: Keywords, hashtags, and user interactions determine content relevance to users.
• Pin quality: Your pin’s level of engagement, such as likes, saves and comments defines pin quality.
• Domain quality: Website safety and visitor engagement impact Pinterest rankings. If visitors feel safe on your website, Pinterest ranks your content highly.
• Account quality: Pinterest assesses your account credibility and posting consistency as a ranking signal. If you’re considering Pinterest marketing, then ensure your account is on the good side.
• Recency: The algorithm considers how recently a pin was published and how recently it was updated.

Reddit algorithm

Reddit’s algorithm is designed to rank content based on what’s Hot and Best, guided by key signals like:

• The number of upvotes, downvotes and total votes it gets. Reddit uses votes as a signal to determine post relevance.
• Recent posts gain more traction and visibility. If you’re marketing on Reddit, ensure you consistently post valuable content.
• The types of comments it gets. For example, a comment with nine up-votes and two down-votes will rank higher than a comment with one-up votes and no-down votes.

Tumblr algorithm

If you use Tumblr for marketing, here are some signals to watch out for:

• User interaction: Tumblr considers likes, reblogs, comments and follows to expand content reach to a broader audience.
• Post content: The algorithm uses tags, text, images and multimedia to understand the post context and make recommendations.
• Post timing: Newer posts receive higher visibility and are prioritized over older ones.
• User preference: Past user interactions, content engagement and followed blogs influence content recommendations.

10 tips for staying ahead of the algorithm and optimizing your content

To stay ahead of the algorithm and leverage its potential for business growth, you must understand how it works and its governing rules. Through trial and error, we’ve learned several ever-green principles to help you stay ahead of the algorithm.

1. Ask questions and encourage comments from your audience

Social media algorithms favor highly engaging content with tons of comments, shares and likes. More engagement equals better chances of going viral. To encourage comments, ask questions that resonate with your audience. Ask their take on trending topics or go bold with thought-provoking inquiries to spark conversations.

While a question-based CTA is great for encouraging conversations, doing it right is what matters. Avoid controversial or offensive questions to foster positive discussion.

2. Tag other accounts in your posts

Tagging on social media involves mentioning someone by their username (or handle) in a post, comment or image, creating a clickable link to their profile. For example, a fashion curation account on Instagram may post several looks and tag the content creators or designers.

Tagging accounts in your posts boosts collaboration, brand exposure and visibility. On platforms like Instagram, tagging someone in a picture gets it featured in their “Photos of You” section, expanding your reach to their followers.

It’s good practice to reach out to accounts you tag and explain why before doing so. Ensure you have an established relationship with the account and, more importantly, that the post is relevant to the audience.

3. Tack on the right hashtags and keywords

Hashtags categorize posts and boost post discoverability to a wider audience.

Use hashtags strategically; don’t go overboard. Stick to 3-5 hashtags to avoid overwhelming your audience and hurting visibility. Also, skip overly saturated hashtags and opt for focused ones. For example, rather than using hashtags like #InteriorDesign with 175M posts on Instagram, substitute for a smaller hashtag like #InteriorDesignTrends with 484,000 posts.

To find hashtags, use the autocomplete function on the social media platform you’re posting on. A better way is to use a social media management tool like Sprout Social. With Sprout, you can use social listening to monitor trending hashtags and select the best ones for your brand based on performance, sentiment and demographics.

4. Optimize your post timing to encourage engagement

When you post matters as much as what you post. Timing is a key ranking signal for many algorithms to rank a post. This means that a high-quality post, created for a defined audience, can underperform if posted at the wrong time.

The best posting times vary based on your audience, industry and platform, but generally, aim to post when your audience is online for maximum visibility and interaction. In our research, we found that the best time to post on social media generally is between 9 a.m. to noon.

Using Sprout’s ViralPost® takes out the guesswork about the best time to post for your industry. ViralPost analyzes your individual audience data and suggests optimal timing for each social platform you use.

5. Figure out your publishing frequency

There’s no universal answer to how often you should post on social media. It depends on several factors, but one thing is certain: Growing on social media requires consistency. Instagram’s algorithm, for example, prioritizes the recency of a post as a key signal for ranking content.

A personal philosophy is to post only when the content is relevant to avoid overwhelming your followers. Use a social media calendar to plan your content and schedule your posts to stay organized. Sprout Social gives you the flexibility of planning and streamlining your workflow without much hassle.

6. Publish more video content across all networks

Video outperforms text-based content on social media platforms because it’s easier to understand, conveys messages quickly and adds a personal touch.

When creating a social media video marketing strategy, creativity is key. Share behind-the-footage of your product, create how-to videos or share an office tour with your audience—find your best mix of content. Make it exciting and engaging to watch, so your audience has a reason to stay.

Optimize schedule, and promote your video using a management tool like Sprout. For example, Sprout’s YouTube publishing options let you fine-tune categories, playlists, privacy settings and thumbnails. Manage and schedule your posts conveniently from your social media calendar for optimal timing.

7. Craft relevant and engaging captions

One principle that stands the test of algorithmic changes is creating content that’s highly relevant to your audience. Social media platforms prioritize engaging, high-quality content that elicits positive reactions.

Creating engaging captions depends on your audience and the platform, which guides posting times and content choices. For example, while long-form captions work for LinkedIn’s professional audience, shorter captions work best on Instagram. It’s best to test and learn.

Start your post with a strong hook. Aim to educate, entertain, promote or interact with your audience. Be concise, provide value and avoid unnecessary jargon. Conclude with a call-to-action (CTA) encouraging reader interaction.

Test multiple content types—videos, text or images—to determine what resonates with your audience and track the social metrics (think: impressions, clicks and views) to identify top-performing posts.

8. Experiment with different types of content (template)

If there’s one thing for certain, it’s that there is no absolute when it comes to what is successful on social media; it all depends on what works for your audience. Experiment with different types of content, like videos, photos or live streams, to see what resonates with your audience. In our recent Content Benchmark Report, we found that consumers found short-form videos the most engaging.

Run A/B tests on your content types at different times and track the analytics for engagement using Sprout analytic and reporting tools. Once you find the right combination, replicate its success. Stay creative and remain open to exploring other content types.

9. Measure performance

Don’t forget to monitor your content’s performance. Define clear goals and KPIs aligned with your business objectives. Ensure your goals are specific, measurable, achievable and relevant to your business’s objectives.

Track common metrics like reach, impressions, engagements, likes, shares and mentions. Use Sprout’s analytics feature to track metrics in real-time and generate reports.

10. Embrace new features

Embrace newly released features to showcase your creativity and adaptability. Platforms reward creators who experiment with their new features. They want more people to use these new features, so early adopters are often rewarded with higher visibility.

AI’s role in social media algorithms

The fact is, without AI, social media wouldn’t exist in the first place. AI has played a significant role in developing and curating algorithms to learn about users and make deliberate decisions based on the collected data.

Here are some ways AI plays a role in social media algorithms:

1. Flagging of misinformation and fake news

Social media platforms use AI to detect fake news and filter out offensive, harmful and disrespectful content. For instance, Twitter uses machine-learning models, AI-driven algorithms, user reporting and human moderation teams to identify and flag misinformation. The algorithm analyzes the tweet content and account history to fact-check the accuracy of the information shared.

2. Moderate content for user safety

It’s fair to say that social media can be unpleasant due to trolls who engage in offensive behavior, such as making hateful comments and, in worse situations, harassment.

To maintain quality discussions, platforms employ content moderation tools to identify suspicious posts and comments. For instance, Reddit uses machine learning models to spot suspicious comments, which are further reviewed by human moderators. Likewise, Facebook uses an AI tool to detect abuse and fraud in posts, images and videos, with human reviewers stepping in when needed.

3. Personalize content delivery

AI-driven algorithms segment users based on explicit (follows and likes) and implicit (video-watching time) details to personalize content recommendations. Users can select preferred keywords, follow hashtags or hide inappropriate words in their Feeds and DMs.

User data, including feedback, actions and behavior informs content recommendations and suggests related posts with similar keywords.

4. Provide real-time analytics

AI algorithms have the capacity to collect, process and analyze data as soon as it is generated. Platforms like Facebook, which records billions of daily users, use generative AI for rapid predictions, understanding user relationships and addressing security issues in real time.

When users log into Facebook, the AI algorithm immediately tracks their in-app behavior, including user engagement, content performance and trending topics, to offer personalized recommendations.

Start mastering the algorithms

The key to winning with algorithms is understanding how they work. Understand the best practices for satisfying the algorithm and you’ll be on your way to increasing your engagement and growing your audience base.

If you want to learn more about how businesses are harnessing social media for growth, read our report on The 2023 State of Social Media: AI & Data Take Center Stage.

The post Everything you need to know about social media algorithms appeared first on Sprout Social.

The good news is that social media is an incredibly valuable lead generation channel, if you use it correctly. With 4.89 billion people using social media worldwide in 2023, it’s the perfect channel for businesses to reach and attract leads. It’s only a matter of using the right tactics at the right time.

In this post, you’ll learn all about social media lead generation, why you need it and our favorite tactics for generating sales leads through social media. We’ve also included some real-life examples to inspire your next campaign.

Let’s dive in.

What is social media lead generation?

Social media lead generation is the process of collecting new leads using social media. A lead is any information identifying someone interested in your products or services. This information can be anything from their name and email address to their occupation and employer details.

Why you need social media lead generation

It doesn’t matter what you’re selling or who you’re trying to reach. B2C and B2B social media marketers benefit from social media lead generation strategies. Here are five reasons why it’s essential for both types of businesses.

• Expand your reach and boost audience engagement. With billions of active users, social media offers access to a broad and diverse audience. The power to reach such a large pool of potential customers raises brand awareness, drives website traffic, improves social media engagement and draws more eyeballs to your brand.
• Target your ideal customers. Did you know that nine out of 10 consumers will buy from brands they follow on social? Identify your ideal customers and target them with relevant content and offers to convert them into paying customers with social media’s sophisticated targeting options.
• Optimize your marketing spend. Thanks to its scalability, social media is much cheaper than other advertising types. Set budgets, monitor performance and adjust campaigns in real-time to get the most value from your social media marketing spend.
• Access in-depth audience data and analytics. Social media platforms provide extensive data and analytics tools for tracking lead generation efforts. Gain insights into user behavior and measure ROI to refine your strategies.
• Nurture your leads. According to The Sprout Social Index™ 2023, staying informed about new products and services is the top reason consumers follow brands on social. Nurture your leads by sharing memorable content, answering questions and building relationships with your followers. This approach turns your audience from passive followers into loyal customers.

How to generate leads from social media

Now that you know the benefits of using social media to generate leads, how do you go about it? Authentic, engaging content that establishes your brand ethos and personality will capture potential customers’ attention and grow your platform. Then, following up with more sales-focused content will convert them into customers.

However, relying on organic tactics alone may not be enough to reach a wider audience. Incorporate paid tactics, like social media ads, to target specific groups of people and get more visibility.

The following ten tactics will help you reach the right people at the right time with the right content and messaging to capture their interest and generate high-quality social media leads for your organization.

1. Launch compelling lead magnet offers

The right incentive compels people to share their information with you. Still, you’ll need to create enticing lead magnet offers that people want. These could be anything from a research report to a free tool. You could also offer discount codes, case studies, webinars, whitepapers and more.

AWS Training and Certification advertising a free ebook on LinkedIn is a perfect example.

2. Create targeted ads with special offers

A paid social media advertising strategy is highly effective for generating leads due to the precise targeting options and potential reach. These features allow you to personalize offers and expand your audience beyond that of your current social media followers.

According to our latest Index, 46% of consumers follow brands on social to get exclusive deals or promotions. Promote special discounts and limited-time offers for your products and services through these ads to drive engagement and conversions.

For instance, Motion used Instagram ads to generate demand with a free trial offer. When someone clicks on their social media ad, it leads to a landing page to sign up for a seven-day free trial. It’s an enticing deal that makes the ad’s audience more likely to try out the platform.

Ruggable also employs the same tactic. They use social media ads to highlight specific products and promote a 15% discount.

3. Make the most of lead generation ads

Take your social media advertising one step further with lead-gen ads. These ads allow you to gather leads on a social platform rather than pushing customers to a landing page. They come with pre-populated forms, making it easy for leads to sign up without spending too much time entering their personal information.

This speeds up the lead generation process, significantly boosting your conversion rate. For example, LinkedIn Lead Generation Forms have a 13% average conversion rate, while landing pages average about 2.35% conversions.

The form fields are pre-filled using details that the prospect has already included on their LinkedIn profile, making it frictionless for your lead to access your content and for you to collect their information. Facebook and Instagram also offer lead generation ads.

4. Set up sequential retargeting ads

Retargeting ads are the most used among marketers, with 77% of B2B and B2C marketers saying they use retargeting as part of their Facebook and Instagram advertising strategies.

Retargeting amplifies your social advertising and lead generation strategy by re-engaging lost prospects. Say someone clicked on your first ad and scrolled through the landing page but never submitted a form. This is your cue to retarget them with ads, encouraging them to finish the signup process.

Consider also retargeting people who’ve landed on your website through search or other referral sites. Or people who regularly read your blog posts but haven’t subscribed to your newsletter.

Try setting up your retargeting ads sequentially to get even better results. For instance, use an awareness-stage ad to address common pain points and objections or a consideration-stage ad with testimonials to give social proof and win people’s trust. Keep the customer journey moving forward by serving up the most relevant messaging depending on your target audience’s past behavior.

Casper uses retargeting ads to re-engage their previous viewers to buy their products. These dynamic product ads are customized based on the user’s activity on their website and their preferences and include social proof (e.g., “2,000,000+ happy sleepers”) to boost trust.

5. Share testimonials as social proof

Customer stories, reviews and testimonials give you the social proof you need to acquire new leads. Showcase how clients benefit from your products and services to demonstrate your brand value. According to Bizrate Insights, 91% of survey respondents read at least one review before purchasing a product or service.

Kajabi often shares engaging testimonials of how people have used the platform to launch thriving businesses. In the video post below, business coach Jessica Hawks shares how she created a seven-figure digital product company with Kajabi.

Beauty brand Live Tinted also regularly shares customer video reviews on its Instagram channel to highlight the effectiveness of its products.

6. Leverage influencer partnerships

Consider working with reputable content creators who are popular with your target audience to promote your brand, product or service. Partnering with influencers attracts leads from the social media content your target audience is already consuming. This type of content helps you expand your reach and drive engagement by partnering with someone your audience trusts.

For example, Home Depot partnered with DIY influencer Nickell Morgan of @simplyhandmade for an Instagram video where she created lawn games with the brand’s products.

Content creators and influencers also provide a form of social proof. They connect your sponsored message seamlessly into their content, helping it reach audiences who might otherwise actively click away from an ad.

7. Host a virtual event or social media conference

Virtual conferences and events are a great way to attract a highly relevant audience while establishing your expertise and authority in the field. They’re also great for generating leads on social media since people must provide their info to sign up or join the conference.

Host a virtual conference on topics that intrigue your target audience and relate to your brand’s expertise. Use the event to discuss trending industry topics, provide actionable tips and invite influential speakers. Plus, generate plenty of content by posting on social media while the event is live or repurposing content into lead magnets later.

For instance, Superside regularly hosts Gather & Grow, a live educational webinar series featuring leading digital marketing and advertising experts.

8. Launch a referral campaign

Referral campaigns are highly effective in doubling your sales leads. These campaigns incentivize your leads to refer their friends or colleagues. The referred people will learn about your products or services and potentially become additional leads.

To make this work, provide an attractive incentive such as a gift card or a discount in exchange for the referral.

For example, vacation rental brand Getaway has a referral program where customers give and get $25 off their next booking when they refer a friend. The company has an Instagram Highlight for its referral program, so users always have access to the content.

9. Make the most of social listening

Look for lead generation opportunities with effective social listening. Monitor social media conversations and see what people say about a topic or competitor brand. This will help you identify any opportunities to generate high-quality leads for your business.

For instance, someone complaining about a competitor’s product might appreciate an alternative. And someone asking for recommendations would love to hear your suggestion. On top of this, people asking about your brand and products will appreciate your proactive approach when you step in to address their concerns.

See how the Sprout Social team stepped in when someone on X asked if the company has an affiliate program.

10. Use advocacy to let your team spread the word

Each of your employees has a social network. Now, imagine the impact tapping into those audiences could have on your growth efforts. This is the power of employee advocacy. According to The Sprout Social Index, more than 1,000 marketers reported that employee advocacy helped them drive more qualified leads.

Employee Advocacy by Sprout Social simplifies the process by enabling employees to quickly share company posts, customize their feeds to show topics relevant to their roles and suggest content for others to share.

Vizient, the US’s largest healthcare performance improvement organization, created an advocacy resource hub with Sprout. It contains product demos, instructional videos and on-demand webinars, making it easy for Vizient employees to become social media brand advocates.

What to do with your new social leads

Social media is more than just a way to collect leads. It’s also a valuable tool for effectively nurturing and converting those leads into customers. That’s why a social customer relationship management (CRM) tool like Sprout Social is essential.

Sprout helps you manage leads and build meaningful relationships with prospects. It tracks all your interactions so your team can respond quickly and with personalized content. Our integration with Salesforce also ensures your sales and marketing teams are always in sync at every step of the journey for more effective audience engagement and faster growth.

Crushing your lead gen goals

Social media is a lead generation powerhouse because it allows you to reach and engage with broad and niche audiences. Just remember that social media is supposed to be social.

Leverage the tactics we’ve outlined above to build a strong relationship with your audience. Focus on providing valuable and informative content that addresses your audience’s needs and interests. You’ll attract leads genuinely interested in what you offer, fueling your overall business growth in the long run.

Lastly, don’t forget to measure the impact of your lead gen efforts and look for opportunities to improve. Read our social media reporting guide to learn more about how to keep track of your performance.

The post 10 social media lead generation ideas for your next campaign appeared first on Sprout Social.

While the great decoration debate continues online, there’s no question that holiday marketing is beginning sooner than ever. According to a Q3 Sprout pulse survey, 75% of marketers are publishing holiday content earlier in 2023 compared to 2022.

In this article, we’re exploring how your brand can lean into holiday marketing on social media to make the most of the elongated festive season—from early Black Friday campaigns to the beginning of the new year.

Holiday marketing trends for 2023

From the coziness of autumn to the magic of a winter wonderland, seasonal marketing campaigns call upon the strong emotional connection we feel toward end-of-year holiday traditions. Nostalgic for joyful memories of holidays past, people got into the spirit early in 2022, a trend we expect to see continue. Traditionally, consumers celebrate this special time of year by splurging on gifts for loved ones (and themselves). This year will be no different, but consumers will be more discerning with their dollar in the face of a down economy.

Experts predict total retail sales will hit around $1.19 trillion globally, a slight increase from 2022. Brands that perform well this holiday season will depend on strong social campaigns and personalized AI-powered customer care experiences to help them stand out from the crowd.

To make the most of their holiday marketing efforts, brands need to take note of key consumer trends.

Holiday marketing will start early on social this year

Holiday predictions show profits from online channels are expected to be strong, despite lackluster sales predictions overall. According to The 2023 Sprout Social Index™, 52% of consumers used social more in the past two years than in the previous two, especially to help them discover new products and services.

That means focusing on driving social commerce and conversions to your website will be crucial, and the sooner the better. By the end of November, 89% of marketers will have already begun their holiday push on social, according to Q3 Sprout pulse survey data. Holiday competition on social media will be fierce.

In fact, holiday shopping hype is already building momentum on social. According to Sprout’s Advanced Listening tool, from August 9 to September 8, 2023, there were 23,000 Posts on X (formerly Twitter) about holiday deals, holiday shopping and the holiday season.

AI-powered customer care will give companies a competitive edge

According to this year’s Index, 76% of consumers notice and appreciate when companies prioritize customer support, and another 70% expect companies to provide personalized responses to customer care needs. To deliver the quality, individualized responses customers are looking for at scale during the busy holiday season, brands need to invest in AI workflow efficiencies and tools.

By tapping AI technologies like machine learning, natural language processing and sentiment analysis, support teams will provide an enhanced, intuitive customer experience, resulting in increased satisfaction and revenue. In the Salesforce 2023 Holiday Forecast, experts predict generative AI will influence $194 billion in global holiday shopping spend this holiday season.

Micro-influencer marketing will drive purchases

Influencer marketing is a tried-and-true method for generating brand awareness and share of voice year-round. According to a Q3 Sprout pulse survey, 89% of marketers agree influencer marketing impacts their brand awareness.

Yet, as influencer marketing continues to evolve, marketers and consumers have grown concerned about the authenticity of macro-influencers (influencers with 100,000–1 million followers). Though they have the potential to expand reach greatly, their messaging might not resonate as well as smaller influencers who seem like true fans of a brand.

This holiday season, micro-influencers’ (influencers with 10,000–100,000 followers) authentic content is key to increasing your engagements. The tight-knit communities micro-influencers build will help you establish trust with their audience, ultimately leading to higher conversion rates and sales.

Holiday marketing strategies by platform

When choosing social media platforms to use for your holiday marketing campaigns, it’s most important to consider where your audience spends their time on social. Posting on the channels they use most frequently is the best way to ensure they see your holiday promotions.

Some of the most popular holiday marketing social networks are Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and TikTok. Let’s dive into the benefits of each, and how you can tailor your content to perform well on each platform.

Guide to Instagram marketing this holiday season

Instagram is known as a popular platform for holiday marketing because of its visual-first nature. Share static images and Reels of your products on the app to promote your holiday offers. Elevate your best deals, promos and events by featuring them in your bio links and shoppable posts. Provide shopping inspiration for your followers by creating holiday gift guides.

Take it a step further by reposting user-generated content (UGC) and influencer content of people using (and loving) your products. You can also tap into UGC to find relatable holiday-themed content that will delight your community. Pro tip: even if the focus isn’t on your brand, UGC is one of the best ways to increase your awareness. Don’t forget to shine the spotlight on the nonprofit organizations your brand is partnering up with this holiday season. Share photos/videos of your team volunteering and infographics about the organization’s impact.

Holiday marketing strategies on Pinterest

When you think holiday inspiration, you think Pinterest. Pinterest oozes holiday cheer, and is the destination for all things yuletide DIY.

During the holiday season, Pinners will be on the lookout for on-trend recipes, holiday outfit ideas, décor inspiration and more. Use your brand’s products to create visually appealing photos and short videos with these topics in mind. Include instructions on how to make it or wear it at home (including links to your website). You can position your posts as gift suggestions for your target audience, too (example: what to buy your best friend for Christmas).

Take it to the next level with shoppable Product Pins. These posts make it easy to go from searching for inspiration to buying something—all within the app.

Make the most of Facebook as a customer care destination during the holidays

Facebook is the most popular social media platform in the world, with 3 billion monthly active users. It’s also the most used platform for customer service. According to 2022 Index data, 60% of consumers use Facebook for their customer service needs, while 69% of customer care teams provide support through the platform.

This holiday season, scale your customer care efforts on Facebook, and integrate AI tools into your tech stack to increase your workflow efficiency. This will enable a stronger customer experience and ease internal collaboration.

While consumers turn to Facebook for customer support needs, they stay on the app for attention-grabbing content (think new holiday products, deals and promos). You can even kick start holiday shopping conversations on Messenger with ads that click to message. Maximize the performance of your organic and paid content by experimenting with video and ephemeral content, and use your analytics to identify your best performing content early in the holiday season so you can replicate your success into the new year.

Maximize holiday trends on TikTok

Gen Z uses TikTok as their preferred search engine. To reach them this year, consider how your holiday marketing can meet their search intent. Educate them about problems your products can help them solve (example: how to decorate for Hanukkah like a pro). Note: the holiday season is a great time to partner with TikTok creators who are already creating this content.

Even if your audience doesn’t include Gen Z, you can still use the app for your holiday marketing efforts. Reach a wide audience by tapping into trending sounds and going all-in on holiday aesthetics.

To maximize your profit on TikTok, add products from your website to your TikTok Shop. By creating a TikTok Shop, you can showcase products through in-feed videos, lives and product showcase tabs.

5 brand examples to fuel your holiday marketing

Make the most of holiday marketing on social with content that resonates with your audience and conveys the essence of your brand.

Use these social media holiday marketing campaigns as sources of inspiration.

Spread holiday cheer

Last year, Glasgow University celebrated by sharing picturesque posts of their campus blanketed in snow and decked out for the season. They also shared photos and video guides of holiday events happening in their community, and shared best wishes for students celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s and all end-of-year holidays.

Whether you’re a large enterprise company, university or healthcare company, remember wholesome holiday cheer unites communities. Use social media to promote your in-person and virtual events. In your content, lean into holiday traditions and customs beloved by your audience.

Tie your content to tales of long, long ago

Two years ago, AirBnB co-hosted a special holiday experience with the makers of the Home Alone franchise. People could book an overnight stay in the house they used to film the original movie—complete with recreations of iconic scenes. AirBnB shared staged photos of different rooms in the house on Instagram. The comment section lit up with excitement.

By incorporating classic holiday tales—from A Christmas Carol to A Christmas Story—in your holiday marketing, you activate the power of nostalgia. Experiment with fun ways to weave the stories into your social copy and visuals.

Make visions of sugarplums dance in their heads

Last holiday season, Cinnabon made their followers’ mouths water. As a part of their holiday promotion across platforms, they envisioned their famous cinnamon rolls as the MVP of your holiday gift giving. Their images and short videos captured the decadence of their products, while reinforcing what great gifts they make.

In your campaign, take a cue from Cinnabon by creating a scene filled with the hallmarks of the holidays. Show people the experiences they will be able to have because of your products—whether they treat themselves or their loved ones.

Celebrate the spirit of the season

Casey’s uses the season of giving as an opportunity to bolster the causes their audience cares about and support their stores’ local communities. In this post, they pledged to help a community rebuild after a devastating tornado.

If you create a giving campaign, align your philanthropy with your brand’s values and your audience. While holiday deals and promotions have their place, building a genuine connection with your community will create enduring connections.

Be ready for holly jolly customer care

When Starbucks announced their 2022 holiday cups, they were immediately flooded with comments across platforms. Their social media team jumped into action to start answering frequently asked questions and engaging with fans of the new design.

With holiday campaigns kicking off sooner than ever, you need to prepare for holiday customer service spikes as soon as possible. Have a plan in place for answering common questions, engaging with your audience and passing off more complex issues.

Use these holiday marketing tips for a merry and bright holiday season

More people are turning to ecommerce and social shopping, and the most wonderful time of the year keeps getting longer. That means more pressure on social teams to design attention-grabbing campaigns and answer an influx of customer care inquiries.

As you gear up for the season, optimize your holiday marketing strategy by selecting the right platforms to reach your audience and producing best-in-class content.

Want to learn more about how your brand can bring your social “A” game this holiday season? Read our complete guide to social media marketing.

The post How to make the most of holiday marketing on social appeared first on Sprout Social.

Throughout this article, you’ll learn more about what a TikTok view is, why they matter, plus 12 ways to get more views for your TikTok videos.

What is considered a view on TikTok

It seems like every social media platform has different rules for what dictates a “view.” On YouTube, a view is only counted once someone has been watching your video for 30 seconds. On Facebook, it’s when someone has watched your video for three or more seconds.

On TikTok, a view is counted the second someone lands on one of your videos. Even if they scroll away immediately, it’s still counted as a view.

How much does TikTok pay for each view?

There’s no set rate that TikTok pays per view. However, top creators have stated that they received around two to four cents for each view on their videos due to revenue earned from the TikTok Creator Fund.

Should you buy views on TikTok?

Under no circumstances should you ever buy likes, views, followers or any other type of social media metric. The numbers might look nice on paper but inflated metrics won’t translate to long-term success. In the end, this may actually harm your business, as this may violate TikTok’s Terms of Services and Community Guidelines.

Instead, follow our tips for getting more views on TikTok organically—and put that wallet away.

Why views matter on TikTok

Views are an important TikTok metric. Views showcase how many times people have seen your videos. The more views you get, the more your videos are shown, suggested and shared.

More than that, the more views you get on TikTok, the more likely you are to receive other types of engagement—comments, follows, shares. While your follow count is the most likely way to measure an account’s size, your view count—the people actually seeing your videos—matters just as much.

You need to learn how to get more views on TikTok in order to grow your account, reach a wider audience and positively impact your business’s bottom line.

How to get more views on TikTok: 12 essential strategies

If you’re looking for ways to increase your views on TikTok, try these 12 strategies and measure your improvements.

1. Add hashtags to your content

Hashtags exist on nearly every social media platform as a way to categorize, tag and search for content, and TikTok is no different. TikTok hashtags are used similarly—but can also be used for trends and challenges.

Using hashtags can help even more TikTok users discover your content and boost your view count. However, you need to be strategic about your hashtag use.

Make sure you’re using hashtags that are both relevant to your content and are popular, ensuring you can generate some reach from your hashtags.

Here are a few key ways to find the best hashtags:

• Pay attention to hashtags your competitors are using
• Use a tool like TikTok Hashtags to find popular options
• Start typing hashtags into the caption and let TikTok autopopulate options
• Browse through the For You Page to discover trending hashtags

Here’s an example of how you can incorporate hashtags into your caption to help boost your reach:

2. Create a multi-part series

If you’ve created a video that has performed well, use that to your advantage. Make it a multi-part series by coming up with more content of a similar nature.

For example, the Morning Brew team created a video translating words into corporate speak. Their audience loved it, so they’ve started creating more. In the TikTok video below, this is part four in a series that they can keep building on, as long as they can generate more content for it.

TikTok allows users to create playlists now, so you can even add all of the parts of each series to a list, making it easy for users to view all similar videos within one single feed.

3. Include popular music

Use popular music and sound clips within your video content. If someone likes the music clip, they can click on the spinning album in the bottom right corner to view more videos that use it, potentially leading them to discover your content.

Here’s an example of a video that Duolingo’s team created with the owl mascot and a couple other team members doing a popular TikTok dance along with the corresponding song.

While you don’t necessarily have to do a TikTok dance, incorporating trending sound bytes can still be a great way to get more views.

4. Follow viral TikTok trends

Similarly, following viral trends is another great way to gain traction on your TikTok. There are many different types of trends—dances, as mentioned above, challenges, memes, etc.

One viral meme has been to use a clip of Jennifer Lawrence from her recent Hot Ones interview (an interview where celebrities answer questions while eating wings that get sequentially hotter), where she repeats “What do you mean?” over and over again. Grammarly executed this viral trend perfectly in its video below.

One of the best ways to gain an understanding of viral trends on TikTok is to spend a good bit of time actually consuming content on the platform. Take a look at competitors and other brand accounts, but simply scroll for a bit each week as well to make sure you stay up-to-date on new TikTok content ideas.

5. Know your target audience

Who is your target audience? Knowing your customer and who you’re trying to reach on TikTok can help you to create content that they really want to see. When you create content that your target audience actually enjoys, they’re going to be more likely to engage with it, share with their friends and follow your account—all of which leads to even more views.

Start by creating a customer persona. Put together a profile of exactly who you’re trying to reach—especially when you use social media data to do so. This can give you an understanding of which types of content each persona would be interested in consuming.

Next, analyze your competitors. What are they posting? Better yet, which of their posts gets the most views and engagement? How can you incorporate similar strategies with your audiences?

Then start creating. Cater your content to your specific audience. And adjust your content strategy based on their reception.

6. Find the best times to post on TikTok

Posting at the right times can also ensure better odds of your audience seeing your content. According to our data, the best times to post on TikTok include:

• Tuesdays from 2 to 6 p.m.
• Wednesdays from 2 to 5 p.m.
• Thursdays from 3 to 5 p.m.

However, they can change by industry and by brand. To find your own best times to post, pay attention to your TikTok analytics and when your audience is most likely to be online.

7. Cross-promote your videos

Share your TikTok videos on other platforms to further spread the word. You can easily share them to Instagram Stories, or you can repurpose TikTok videos as Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts. Consider also sharing links to your TikTok videos on X (formerly known as Twitter) in order to cast a wider net.

8. Create videos from comments

If someone comments on a video with a question, you can reply to it as a text comment or respond with a new TikTok video. Doing the latter creates a link from the new video to the old. Those interested in seeing what the comment stemmed from will then go watch the original video, netting you even more views.

As you can see in this example from Persona Cosmetics, you an use this tactic as a way to announce product restocks. The team used this comment to showcase the functionality and space of the popular makeup bag with other Persona Cosmetics products to announce that the “bag is back.”

9. Duet/stitch popular videos

Another way to create new TikTok videos is by dueting or stitching an existing TikTok video. A stitch plays part of an existing video before you take over with your own recorded video. It’s a great way to add additional context or commentary to someone else’s video.

A duet, like you see below from OREO, places your video alongside an existing video. This is perfect for reacting to another video, like OREO did with an ice cream sandwich recipe using its cookies as a main ingredient.

Incorporating duet and stitch videos into your strategy can be a great way to generate more views—especially if you use videos from well-known creators.

10. Work with influencers

Speaking of well-known creators, partnering with them as part of your influencer marketing strategy can be a great way to reach an even wider audience on TikTok. If users see a familiar face, such as a social media influencer, athlete or celebrity, they’re likely to stick around and watch, share and follow your content.

Similarly, if you have influencers create content featuring your brand on their own channels, their viewers may tap over to your profile and start watching some of your videos.

Here’s an example of an influencer marketing campaign that Chipotle did with a popular food reviewer on TikTok.

11. Participate in TikTok challenges

There are many different types of TikTok challenges, but the main two types are branded challenges and community challenges. Branded challenges are challenges that relate back to your product or service and that your brand creates as a way to engage your audience. Community challenges are started by creators and TikTok users.

Try creating a unique branded challenge for your audience to participate in to see how much reach you can generate. Or, keep an eye out for community challenges that make sense for your brand or product to join. TikTok challenges can do wonders for your reach.

12. Create a lot of content

Finally, create a lot of content. TikTok recommends posting 1-4 times/day, and if you want to keep up the momentum and really grow your account, it’s a good idea to share as much content as often as you can.

Consider batch creating content so that you have a lot to share for a week or two before you need to create more. Post daily at a minimum—more, if you can—in order to increase the number of views your TikTok account can get. In fact, it may be worth creating a social media content calendar to help plan your TikTok content in advance.

Start getting more views on TikTok

Increase your TikTok views and start growing your account. Build a solid TikTok and social media marketing strategy so you can increase views, followers, reach and so much more. With a solid foundation, you can generate sales and awareness for your business through TikTok.

The post How to get more views on TikTok: 12 tactics to try appeared first on Sprout Social.

But if you’re not thrilled with your Instagram growth and engagement, you’re not alone.

Competition on the platform is fierce. And cracking the code of Instagram’s algorithm can be tricky.

Thing is, taking steps to grow your audience is absolutely worth it. That’s because the bigger your audience, the more opportunities to delight your customers.

Ready to tweak your presence and learn how to get more followers on Instagram? This post breaks down how to make it happen.

Jump to a tip: 

1. Optimize your Instagram account
2. Keep a consistent content calendar
3. Schedule Instagram posts in advance
4. Engage with customers, brand advocates and influencers
5. Avoid fake Instagram followers
6. Showcase your Instagram everywhere you can
7. Post content that followers actually want to see
8. Make meaningful conversation with your audience
9. Find hashtags where your followers hang out
10. Take steps to delight your Instagram followers
11. Use geo-tagging to attract local followers
12. Leverage short-form video content
13. Partner with influencers in your niche
14. Organize stories as highlights
15. Go live on Instagram

15 ways to get more Instagram followers

Before we get into the nitty-gritty, this post is about building an organic following.

And yes, the distinction matters!

Some brands want to take shortcuts when it comes to trying to get more Instagram followers. We don’t pretend that pay-for-play sites exist.

That said, these services aren’t worth it for brands long-term. The Instagram algorithm weeds out low-quality accounts and phony engagement from paid bots.

But we’ll bite: there’s definitely some legwork involved in growing your audience authentically.

Doing so is totally worth it, though. Read or watch the video below for our best tips on getting more Instagram followers the right way.

1. Optimize your Instagram account

Before you worry about how to get followers, consider how your Instagram business profile is set up first.

Ask yourself: does your profile “look the part?” For starters, consider your:

• Your Instagram bio (including your slogan, tagline and/or a branded hashtag)
• Your profile picture
• Your bio link (and where it points to)

These details define your brand identity on Instagram. More importantly, they impact your account’s discoverability. Building a follower-friendly account means:

• Having a search-friendly username. Stick to either your brand name or whatever’s closest to your existing social handles. If your name is too long, shorten it to a variation your audience would recognize (ex: Cold Stone Creamery’s account is @coldstone).
• Making your profile picture professional. An appropriately-sized logo is ideal. Any text in your profile picture should be legible on a smartphone screen.
• Minding where you point your bio link. This is crucial for turning Instagram followers into meaningful traffic or customers. It’s your only way to funnel social traffic to your site and promotions.

Linking to your homepage is fine but not always ideal. To encourage more meaningful interactions, a social landing page that points to multiple links can help.

This gives your audience total control of how they engage your business next. That means a better experience for your followers.

The best way to optimize your account is to follow a proven Instagram marketing strategy. Download our free guide to get started.

Instagram for Brands: A Guide to Instagram Marketing Strategy

Published on 

2. Keep a consistent content calendar

Momentum matters on Instagram. In other words, you likely won’t get followers on Instagram if you post at random.

Creating content and providing value is what builds your audience. Doing so consistently is what helps you keep them. Don’t let your Instagram account gather cobwebs.

That’s why sticking to a regular posting schedule is crucial.  In terms of when and how much to post, you don’t have to stick to a set-in-stone number. Most brands post daily or near daily. This tracks our own research on how often to post as well.

For reference, below is a breakdown of the best times to post to Instagram.  “Optimal” engagement is during the mid-to-late morning and early afternoons during the week.

If you’re worried about your posts not getting seen enough, we get it. Consider how features like Stories can get more eyes on your content if it wasn’t seen the first time.

3. Schedule Instagram posts in advance

There’s no denying that brands are at the mercy of the Instagram algorithm for reach. Still, posting at the right times can still give your posts more visibility. Anything you can do to maximize engagement is a plus.

This speaks to the value of scheduling Instagram content. With Sprout’s newest tools, brands can schedule Stories, Carousels, Reels and Posts.

Scheduling content in advance ensures control and organization. Instagram scheduling tools ultimately help you hit that cadence we mentioned earlier. The ability to crosspost content from other networks helps here, too.

You can also use Sprout’s ViralPost feature to nail down your timing, too. Our platform analyzes your engagement history and identifies the best times to post.

Perfect your Instagram content plan with Sprout Social

In addition to scheduling a complete picture of your Instagram content calendar, Sprout offers even more features to perfect your brand’s feed.

Share IG-approved visuals with your team using our Asset Library, or test out our grid preview feature to make sure every aspect of your presence is true to your brand style.

Get a hands-on look at these features and more with a 30-day free trial of Sprout.

4. Engage with customers and brand advocates

Figuring out how to get more Instagram followers means engaging your audience.

And one of the best ways to do that is through responding to and republishing their posts.

Enter the power of user-generated content. UGC campaigns build social proof by showing followers you’re invested in them. For example, Drunk Elephant regularly regrams their followers’ posts. They gather content with their #BareWithUs and #DrunkBreak hashtags.

5. Avoid fake Instagram followers

There’s a big difference between fake and legitimate followers on Instagram.

We get it, too. For the sake of quick growth, it might be tempting to purchase followers.

But the drawbacks outweigh the benefits 100%. Why? Because fake Instagram followers…

• Confuse your potential organic followers. An inactive, low-engagement account with a big following is suspicious. This can be a turn-off for fans that’d otherwise follow you and engage.
• Provide no monetary value to your business. Think about it. Your bot followers can’t buy your stuff, can they? 
• Generate no buzz: If you have 10,000 fake followers, how many are going to engage with your posts? Does it really even matter if your posts are brimming with spam comments?

For example, Lush Cosmetics takes the time to answer questions and engage followers all the time. This results in customers regularly returning to share shout-outs and positive comments.

6. Showcase your Instagram everywhere you can

Don’t be shy about promoting your Instagram if more followers are your goal.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to promoting your ‘gram, either. Here are a few ideas:

• Add social media icons to your website and marketing emails. Social media icons make it easier for people to find your business and help you connect with customers.
• Feature an Instagram feed on your homepage or product pages. Many e-commerce brands have dedicated UGC feeds on-site (see below).
• Re-share Instagram-specific content or announcements on other social channels. For example, you could talk about an upcoming IG Live via TikTok or Facebook.

7. Post content that followers actually want to see

Easier said than done, we know.

Filters. Captions. Content types. Post times. That doesn’t even scratch the surface.

There are so many variables to consider, right? It doesn’t help that Instagram’s algorithm is fickle. What works for one brand might not work for the next in terms of format and timing.

For example, some brands swear by Carousels. Others are all-in on Reels. Both approaches can work. You’ll quickly find on Instagram that some content gets more likes than others. This is why testing is so important.

Instagram’s native analytics are surprisingly powerful. That said, investing in Instagram analytics tools will take things to the next level.

For example, Sprout makes it easy to benchmark and analyze Instagram content across accounts. Rather than second-guess what’s working and what’s not, our reporting spells it out for you.

Be confident in your content strategy by analyzing those variables we mentioned earlier.

And if you’re unsure where to start, try analyzing your competitors. A staggering 90% of brands say that social media data helps them keep up with competing social accounts.

You obviously shouldn’t copycat your competitors. That said, you can take notes on what they’re doing or posting that drives engagement.  Sprout’s Instagram Competitors report can provide a breakdown of what’s working in your industry. A little competitive research can go a long way.

Oh, and keep your ear to the ground with new Instagram trends. That way you won’t miss out on platform-wide opportunities to hop on trending content formats.

8. Make meaningful conversation with your audience

Food for thought: 60% of marketers use Instagram as a service channel.

The platform is perfect for going back and forth with followers. Likewise, many popular post ideas center around asking questions and engaging in a dialogue for a reason.

Off-the-cuff questions, shipping concerns or praise for products are all fair game from followers. Check out how Cometeer responds to all of the above on their Instagram posts:

Being supportive and responding promptly shows people that you care.

You’d be surprised at how your Instagram followers increase once you start acting more personable. Our Index research shows that 89% of consumers will buy from a brand after following them on social. Every interaction counts.

Again, try to respond to as many questions or comments as possible. Doing so could make or break someone becoming a long-term follower or a customer.

9. Find hashtags where your followers hang out

Instagram hashtags have been a staple of the platform, like, forever.

That said, they don’t hold as much weight as they used to.

Dumping hashtags into your posts isn’t going to net you any new followers. Especially when there’s so much noise on the platform.

Be proactive by focusing on industry-specific hashtags relevant to your customers. For example, Lashify regularly posts content to the #LashEducation hashtag. Tags are less general and competitive than #beauty. Becoming more visible within these types of tags is meaningful for brands in the right niche.

Understanding how your hashtags perform on Instagram is critical. With Sprout Social’s hashtag analytics tools, you have direct access to in-depth performance and usage data. Figuring out which hashtags to use is just a few taps away.

10. Take steps to delight your Instagram followers

When you make your Instagram followers happy, you’ll see the payoff in audience growth. The best Instagram accounts have fans and communities (hint: not just followers).

For many accounts, this means building customer relationships. Content that highlights your personality and the humans behind your brand is a plus. This includes:

• Inspirational content
• Humorous content
• Re-sharing UGC with unique captions
• Storytelling posts
• Behind-the-scenes photos and videos
• Posts that raise awareness for social causes

Also, make sure your content aligns with your brand voice and values. Avoid coming across as needy, solely sales-driven or robotic at all costs.

11. Use geo-tagging to attract local followers

Instagram brought back location stories last year. But now, users can find them on a map. This feature helps people search for top posts and stories in specific locations, such as a coffee shop or a shopping mall.

And how do you get your content to show up on the map? By tagging the location, of course. Geo-tagging your posts and stories makes your content visible to people in the vicinity or users checking out the place where your photo or video was taken.

Wondering how to tag the location in your Instagram story? Simply use the location sticker and type in the location you want to tag.

12. Leverage short-form video content

Sprout’s data shows that 66% of consumers want to see more short-form videos from brands. This means Reels should be on your radar.

Reels are fun, snappy and they’re algorithm gold. Think tutorials, product highlights or even quick behind-the-scenes peeks.

And since you only have a few seconds to grab attention, get creative. Use the built-in tools like stickers, cuts, filters, music, voice-overs and transitions to craft trendy, eye-catching Reels.

Cherry on top? These bite-sized videos can easily be cross-promoted on platforms like TikTok, helping you reach new audiences and attract more followers.

13. Partner with influencers in your niche

Partnering with influencers with an established following is another way to grow your own audience. Content creators can get your brand in front of your target audience and build ongoing awareness for your products.

Start by finding the right influencers. You can use Sprout’s listening tools to identify relevant influencers in your niche.

Search for creators that align with your brand’s values and aesthetic, and boast an engaged (not just large) following.

Then, figure out how you want to partner with them. There are several ways to go about this:

• Paid sponsorships: This is the most straightforward type of partnership. You pay the influencer to promote your product or service. Make sure to agree on the specifics, like the number of posts, type of content and any particular messaging or hashtags you want to include.
• Product exchanges: Instead of monetary compensation, some influencers are happy to receive free products in exchange for a review or a feature on their Instagram.
• Affiliate & brand ambassador programs: Set up a program for smaller influencers who genuinely love your brand and are willing to promote it over time. Reward them with points, discounts, commissions and other perks in exchange for a long-term relationship.
• Collaborative content: Create content together. Whether it’s a joint Instagram Live, a giveaway or co-created posts and stories, collabs can offer fresh perspectives and help you reach a broader audience.

Finally, don’t forget to track the effectiveness of your influencer campaigns. Look at metrics like follower growth, engagement and ROI to decide if it’s worth pursuing a long-term relationship with a particular influencer.

14. Organize top stories as highlights

Ever created a killer story that you wish could live on your profile forever? With story highlights, it can.

Highlights are groups of select old (expired) stories. You can organize them by theme or topic, such as Q&As, tips or events — making it easier for people to find relevant stories.

They’re also located at the top of your profile, which makes users more likely to check them first before scrolling down to your posts. Think of Highlights as a curated portfolio that showcases the best of your brand.

15. Go live on Instagram

Host Instagram Live sessions to interact with your audience directly. This helps foster real-time engagement and build a sense of community.

For example, you could host virtual events like product launches, show quick tutorials or simply have candid chats and Q&A sessions. If you’re an e-commerce store, users can even shop your products in real-time.

Plus, you can share these Live streams as stories that last for 24 hours, allowing followers who missed out to catch up later.

How to make the most of your current Instagram followers

So you’ve got a decent following on Instagram—high five!

But let’s be real, it’s not just about the numbers. It’s about creating a buzzing community that’s as excited about your posts as you are.

Here are five ways to keep your existing followers hooked to your content:

• Engage with followers: Instagram isn’t for monologues — it’s a place for conversation. Reply to those comments, ask your followers what they think and encourage user-generated content.
• Offer consistent value: Whether it’s killer how-to guides, exclusive promo codes or just a good laugh, make sure every post adds value to your followers’ feeds. The goal is to keep them coming back for more.
• Show your human side: People connect with humans, so drop the corporate mask. Show your followers the real faces and stories behind your brand. Maybe it’s a day-in-the-life of your awesome cafe or employee spotlights.
• Stay on top of trends: Instagram is always changing. What worked yesterday might not work tomorrow. Whether it’s a popular filter, a viral challenge or a new feature — jump in and give it a try. It keeps your feed fresh and your followers intrigued.
• Track analytics: Keep an eye on those metrics to see which posts your followers are loving, what’s not doing so well and when they’re most active. This data can help you refine your strategy and create more engaging content.

How to get more Instagram followers (the wrong way!)

Disclaimer: Sprout Social does not endorse purchasing Instagram followers. We don’t recommend services that sell followings or “Likes.” 

As the social space becomes more crowded and competitive, brands are willing to take risks for the sake of instant results.

We’ll say it again: brands shouldn’t buy Instagram followers. Nobody should!

Why you shouldn’t buy followers on Instagram

Here are some reasons why buying followers to grow your account is a serious mistake.

Your real followers know what fake followers look like

Social consumers are getting savvier. Privacy concerns and social scammers have made people hyper-aware of weird activity. In short, people today are spam-detectors.

A sudden follower spike is a red flag. Not to mention having bots stink up your account with endless spam followers. This all damages your reputation and keeps you from growing an authentic Instagram following.

Fake followers bring nothing to the table

You’re probably worried about your Instagram metrics and understandably so.

That said, your follower count doesn’t mean much if your “followers” don’t drive engagement. You might look “bigger” at a glance but who cares? Consider how your engagement rate on the platform will suffer if your follower count is inflated.

If nothing else, buying Instagram followers violates TOS

No surprises here.

Consider how Meta has taken direct action against buying engagement in the past. They’ve gone as far as to shut down companies that sell likes. That’s because this practice violates the platform’s terms of service:

Help us stay spam-free by not artificially collecting likes, followers, or shares, posting repetitive comments or content, or repeatedly contacting people for commercial purposes without their consent.

How are you growing your Instagram following?

Listen: getting more followers on Instagram isn’t going to happen by accident.

And despite what you might have heard, there’s no silver bullet solution for making it happen.

The tips above can help you build the foundation for an organic following that actually engages with you. Putting these tips into action is so much easier with a powerful publishing and analytics tool like Sprout.

Want to see our suite of tools in action? Start a free trial today and see for yourself!

The post How to get more followers on Instagram: 15 tips to grow your real audience appeared first on Sprout Social.

In this guide, we’ll take a deeper dive into why building customer relationships is so important as well as share nine strategies to help you get started.

Why is it important to build customer relationships?

Social media has changed the way businesses and customers interact with each other, and it’s important that social media is seen as an avenue for real-time communication and feedback.

And just because you’ve converted a new customer through lead generation or a sale doesn’t mean your work is done. You need to continue to build and nurture those customer relationships on social media so they keep coming back again and again. When you do, they’ll start advocating for your business and assist in the marketing for you.

There’s nothing quite like word-of-mouth marketing, and having solid foundations with your customers is a great way to keep them excited about your business. When you have customers who have enthusiasm for your business, not only will they continue to shop with you, but they’ll tell their friends and family about you as well.

This is why building strong customer relationships is an essential part of business and marketing. It’s smarter to retain loyal customers and continue to build customer relationships than to try to solely convert new ones.

To break it down further, it’s important to build customer relationships because it:

• Reduces customer turnover and improves customer loyalty. As with any organization, the less turnover the better. The same applies for customers: the longer you can retain your customers, the better mutual outcome. They receive excellent customer service and products from your business and, in turn, you receive their loyalty.
• Increases the customer lifetime value (CLV). This is a great social media KPI to capture. The longer a customer remains loyal and purchases from your business, the greater the value this customer has in their relationship with you.

What makes a strong customer relationship?

Strong customer relationships occur when your brand becomes top-of-mind to your customers. When they start referring friends and family to your business. When they trust your business to always get its work right, every time.

It can be difficult to get to this point, though—which is why you’re here. Your brand needs to build trust and deliver on consistency, timeliness and quality again and again.

One of the best ways to do this is through better listening. Listening to your customers and analyzing what they say gives you deeper insights into how to best serve them. Exceeding expectations every time will help you solidify strong customer relationships.

But—without further ado—here are additional tips and tricks to help you build customer relationships.

How to build customer relationships with social media

While there are many avenues you can use to help you build customer relationships—a forum, your website, email marketing, your blog and so many more—we’re here to talk about how you can do so through your social media platforms.

After all, you’ve worked hard to grow your following. Why not use that audience to convert and nurture longterm relationships with customers?

Here are our top nine tips for you.

1. Create a customer service social media channel

One great way to get started with relationship building on social media is to create a dedicated customer service channel. There are a few ways to do this.

First, you could simply take customer service requests on your existing social media accounts. X, specifically, is perfect for customer care.

However, many brands choose to create an X account specifically for handling customer service requests as well as communicating product support issues and resolutions. (Do a “support” or “customer support” search on X to find even more examples of customer service X accounts across a variety of industries.)

Here’s an example of Patreon’s X support profile—the brand has also linked to its main profile and a profile it has just for the website’s server status:

Additionally, you could add an option to your Facebook Messenger chatbot that allows customers to input customer service requests, or direct people to a support page on your website.

Ensure that all response times are quick and helpful to build a good reputation for your brand.

2. Use social listening to build customer relationships

Social listening is the act of monitoring certain topics and keywords online to ensure you find important mentions of your brand or related topics.

Sprout’s social listening tool collects and centralizes what people are saying about your brand, industry and related topics around your brand. With this information, you can modify and improve your campaigns and messages. Make more informed decisions to help your customers solve their problems and provide valuable answers to questions.

Or, utilize this knowledge to gather a list of blog posts, new features and learning resources that you know your audience wants to see.

3. Listen to customer feedback

It’s one thing to have an outlet for customers to provide feedback. It’s another entirely to actually do something with that feedback.

Show your customers that you care about their input by putting their suggestions and wants into practice.

Whether it’s a new product that you launch or a new feature in your software, listening to and implementing customer feedback is an essential step in gaining their trust and loyalty. It shows that you hear their concerns and needs and you’re willing to act on it for their benefit.

4. Personalize customer experiences

Another great way to build customer relationships is through personalization. Consider adding a live chat widget to your website for support and customer questions. Your audience will be able to speak to a real person who calls them by their name and provides a real experience.

Other ways to personalize experiences are by ensuring social media interactions and email newsletters include your recipient’s first name. Here’s an example of how Victoria’s Secret personalized a response on X.

Whether you’re dealing with customer service issues or simply interacting with your followers’ tweets, creating that personal connection is key.

5. Create a relatable brand voice

One of the best ways to build strong connections to your audience: be relatable! Social media should be fun, and while you don’t have to be overly casual, there are still ways to let your audience enjoy your presence through your brand voice.

Take a page out of MoonPie’s X account. The brand shares humorous content, jumps on memes it can relate back to its brand, and takes any opportunity it can to hype up the moon.

Try sharing memes that are timely and relevant to your brand, use current lingo and take a look around at other brands to see if you can get any ideas to help your brand voice become more relatable online.

6. Offer rewards and incentives

We all love free stuff, which is why putting together contests and giveaways is one great way to offer rewards and incentives to your audience.

Check out this giveaway from Fable England on Instagram. The brand asks Instagram users to follow a few quick steps—including leaving a comment and tagging friends—in order to enter the giveaway. It’s effortless and it gets followers excited and engaged.

Consider sharing flash sales on social media, including freebies and discount codes.

Here’s a great example from Pepsi, sharing a promo code that offers some kind of freebie or savings surrounding the brand’s latest co-branding partnership.

Think about the ways that you can implement these tactics in your own social media strategy.

7. Share user-generated content

Customers love to share and tag brand products in their photos when posting on social media. This is called user-generated content, or UGC, and is a helpful tactic both for community building and for filling your social calendar up with hyper-relevant content.

For example, dog subscription box retailer Bark uses UGC in its Instagram strategy to showcase various dogs of Instagram for engaging and adorable content. The brand always tags the original creator to give due credit. It’s important to note that you should ask permission before reposting a users’ photograph onto your brand account.

Here’s an example of one of Bark’s UGC posts:

As a way to build a community and encourage your customers to share their photos of your product is to put some sort of call-to-action for your followers. Share this in your bio, like we see below on Nestle’s Instagram bio—the brand has asked for users to tag its profile in photos of their “delicious moments.”

8. Provide value on social media

There are so many different types of content you can create on social media. Some will—of course—be more promotional in nature, because your business is to make a profit both solve customer’s problems and needs as well as make a profit.

However, you need to ensure there’s a good balance between your promotional content and the educational and free value you provide to your audience, whether it’s freebies, discount codes or knowledge.

Share your business’ value visually in a Facebook or Instagram carousel, or you can create an X (formerly known as Twitter) thread that shares information like we did below.

Share blog content and create educational videos to inform your audience even more. Providing free value helps to showcase how beneficial your product must be, bringing in new customers and building a relationship to help those customers stick around.

9. Build an online community

Our last tip for building customer relationships is to focus on building a community. Whether it’s through a Facebook Group, an other online community or branded hashtags, invite your audience to participate.

One great example of a highly active Slack community is Superpath, a content marketing-focused Slack group. The founder publishes posts in an #announcement channel to share valuable content, conversations in the group and a call-to-action to join the paid channels.

You can create your own Facebook Group, start a Slack community or look into other platforms perfect for community building. This is a great way to keep people aware of and talking about your brand, even when you’re not directly selling to them.

How is AI used to build customer relationships?

AI, or artificial intelligence, can also play a role in building customer relationships. A number of AI and machine learning tools have come out of the woodwork in the last couple of years, helping to automate and streamline processes to make teams even more efficient.

Using AI in customer service can help with relationship building in a number of ways:

• Be more proactive with your customer support
• Scale customer care to help more people faster
• Improve the quality of your support chatbots
• Personalize customer interactions

All in all, incorporating AI can help your customer support team do their job better and more quickly. And the better your customer support is, the more likely customers are apt to stick around and continue buying from you.

The post How to build customer relationships with social media appeared first on Sprout Social.