This time, we’re going to focus on the great debate of 2026, AI content. We’re living in the age of infinite creation to match the infinite scroll we’re already used to. But as content becomes easier to produce at scale, research suggests that what audiences are prioritizing is human-generated content. In fact, our Q4 2025 Pulse Survey found that this was the thing people wanted to see most from brands’ social media.

Here, we’re going to look at some of the brands that are doing it well, starting with National Rail.

National Rail creator partnership tugs on the heartstrings

Trains and tea; name me a more British, human-centered experience, I’m happy to wait!

National Rail is the main umbrella brand that sits over all Britain’s railways. Typically, the brand’s Instagram page, which has 26k followers, features images or videos of destinations that you can reach through Britain’s railway network, from London to Edinburgh and York to Newcastle, encouraging users to save these destinations as inspiration for later.

These posts are the backbone of the brand’s Instagram strategy, but a real human moment brought the train brand runaway success thanks to a collaboration with a well-known British creator to celebrate 200 years of British railways.

National Rail partnered with William Shears, who runs the “a_mug_of_life” account. The concept of William’s show is to share a cup of tea and a chat with a stranger, and this time he took that series to the train, sharing a brew with two passengers and hearing their life stories in the process.

The posts featured John and James, who shared stories from their life, including working for the railway, visiting grandchildren and childhood memories. The posts tie everything back to the unique experience of train travel and the ”conversations, chance encounters and the kind of stories you only hear when two strangers end up in the same carriage.”

The miniseries clearly resonated. National Rail’s posts typically get a few dozen engagements per post, but the two posts with these stories combined for more than 50,000 likes, to say nothing of the supportive comments they received.

The play: National Rail has a unique position in the UK of interacting with a cross-section of the whole country, with hundreds of destinations and reasons for travel. Each one of those passengers has a story to tell, and a reason for riding the train.

Not every brand will have as varied a user base as a rail company, but every one of your customers has a story to tell, a reason why your brand is a part of their life. Seek out those who are willing to tell that story, perhaps via a partnership with a content creator, and find those resonant, human moments amongst the everyday.

Airbnb goes big with Sabrina Carpenter

Neither Airbnb nor pop sensation need any introduction, but their partnership is worthy of note if we’re looking for curated human moments that stand out. The vacation rental company recently launched its Experiences, which allow locals to host travelers to get to know the part of the world they’re staying in a little better by experiencing something unique to that part of the world, from food tours to ancient ruins and cocktail bars.

To promote this launch, Airbnb partnered with a number of celebrities including, of course, Sabrina Carpenter. Carpenter hosted one session herself, while a tour of her recreated set was also offered at the end of last year.

The success of this social story relies on the element of surprise, with the singer making an unscheduled appearance at the Short n’ Sweet experience for attendees that had been learning her dances and getting a makeover from her team.

The emotion the ensuing impromptu slumber party caused resonated with social users, driving significant engagement for Airbnb. The video featuring the event has been viewed more than a million times on TikTok, and earned more than 120k engagements.

The play: If you’ve got something to shout about, do it loudly, and capture people’s real reactions.

Airbnb took a big swing to promote their new product offering with a huge name, but it was the reactions of the participants—the surprise, the screaming, the crying, the laughing, that made it meaningful. Capture those moments and build connections.

LEGO builds a showcase to highlight new sets

Requiring minute attention to detail, time-consuming, sometimes frustrating. All things that are the direct opposite of the goals of AI but could easily describe the process of building a LEGO set, and LEGO leaned into that reputation with one of its more successful social posts of the last few months.

Toward the end of the year, the brand posted a teaser for its “Jan brick drops,” which featured half a dozen meticulously designed and constructed LEGO sets including the Parisian cityscape, cherry blossom landscape and a race car in partnership with Ford.

It was the detail that captured people’s attention here, with users commenting with delight on small things they had noticed about the sets. Showcasing real-world examples of building, and consciously reveling in the time they would take to construct, can both be huge advantages in the age of infinite scroll.

The play: Don’t be ashamed to showcase the slow.

Whataburger keeps it simple with the social media apology trend

Human-generated content doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, its simplicity and lack of polish is ironically what can make it stand out in the age of hyper-professional looking AI content.

Whataburger leaned into that as it joined the apology trend and apologized for some of the problems it has caused its customers. This trend takes and accelerates the “Notes app apology” that was common in the days of character limits on social networks, as well as the standard corporate apology template, and playfully reimagines it for a branded humblebrag.

Here, Whataburger apologized for “11p.m. drives triggered by a single photo of melty cheese,” “entire calendars rearranged the moment we brought back a fan-favorite sandwich” and much more.

One advantage of this kind of posting is that it prompted the community to join the conversation, sharing other things for which people in the comments jokingly felt that the brand should apologize, which drove further engagement and brand awareness.

Good human-generated content begets further human-generated content and community engagement, and Whataburger’s post here is a great example of that.

The play: Sometimes keeping it simple is the best way. You don’t have to jump on every trend but if you do, make it meaningful and unique to your brand. Whataburger does that here by catering to its products and the experiences it knows its customers talk about, with a specificity that makes those customers feel seen and appreciated. You can stay up to date with opportunities like this by integrating social intelligence into your content research and planning process.

Dublin Airport highlights everyday stories

Highlighting the everyday stories, with a seasonal twist. That was the strategy for Dublin Airport as it featured a real family welcoming their daughter and grandchildren back from Australia to celebrate Christmas.

Opening with the story of the daughter having lived in Australia for 14 years, the eventual reunion and excitement of the grandchildren visiting Ireland for the first time creates a human moment for the audience, evoking that familiar feeling of going home for the holidays.

There’s nothing fancy about this storytelling, even if it is a bit more complex than Whataburger’s efforts. All the emotion comes from a story we’ve heard since the dawn of time. It’s nothing new, but it hits hard, as the music swells and the family greets each other.

Dublin Airport acts as the facilitator here rather than the protagonist, showcasing the stories of those who pass through its walls and bringing families together for the holidays.

The play: Similar to the National Rail example, this is an example of highlighting the right stories at the right time. Seasonal messages often resonate, and emotional stories like this one can have a multiplying impact on their success.

Your brand doesn’t have to be the hero of the story, being the glue that binds people together can be equally powerful.

Jetstar Australia revels in the absurd with its lying challenge

Social media trends can be a little more extravagant than a simple text apology post, as proven by Jetstar Australia.

At the back end of last year, a lying challenge went viral on TikTok and Instagram in which two people each had to convince the other they were holding a certain object behind a divider, and each had to ask the other questions to figure out who was lying. Meanwhile the audience knows the whole time.

Jetstar Australia capitalized on this trend with a successful social video in which one employee claimed (truthfully) that they were holding a soccer ball behind the divider, while another claimed they were holding a pencil while in fact (farcically) holding a whole entire airplane.

The short skit involved both employees guessing incorrectly about the other’s truthfulness, and ends in the reveal of the aircraft to much amusement from both participants.

Viewers reveled in the absurdism of the post and matched the brand’s energy, offering their own examples of things that obviously didn’t match, including offering up a whole airport as a pencil case and nebulae as paperclips.

This video was a huge success story for the brand, with upward of 8 million views and more than half a million likes, compared with the four-figure views its posts normally get. In fact, it was so successful that it’s now pinned to the top of the brand’s page.

The play: If you’ve got it, flaunt it. There aren’t many companies that can boast an international jet as part of their marketing campaigns, but every company has something unique to them. Incorporate that uniqueness into your social strategy, and don’t be afraid to get a little silly with it!

Embrace the human, unpolished content

That concludes this month’s installment of the PPR. Stay tuned for next month’s edition, where we’ll feature the brands going all in on microcommunities. In the meantime, remember these key takeaways:

Speaking of trends, a big one we’re seeing at the beginning of 2026 is the rise of brands producing episodic content as part of their social strategy, which you can read more about here.

And if you see a social post or campaign that deserves to be highlighted, tag us @sproutsocial and use #PostPerformanceReport to have your idea included in a future article.

The post Post Performance Report: Brands committing to human-generated content appeared first on Sprout Social.

Nearly all marketing leaders agree (97%) that it’s crucial for marketers to know how to use AI, according to The 2025 Sprout Social Index™. And as AI becomes woven into everyday workflows, the ability to write strong AI prompts for social media is becoming a core skill.

Even though AI social media tools are becoming more user-friendly, it’s still important to know how to write clear, well-crafted prompts to produce useful outputs. A few strategic details in your prompt can be the difference between a generic response and something you can publish or act on immediately.

We’ll help you navigate this learning curve so you can write effective prompts that align with your different social media marketing needs. Read on to understand the mechanics of writing AI prompts and how to craft them for the best results. Plus, explore different types of prompts and use cases.

What is an AI social media prompt?

AI social media prompts are the instructions or inputs you give an AI tool to guide the type of output you want it to generate.

Writing AI prompts for social media is an art and a science. Human reasoning and creativity are required to formulate the right query and combination of elements necessary to fully utilize your AI tool and get the insights and ideas you need.

Here are some things that effective social media AI prompts can help you accomplish:

• Offload time-consuming tasks
• Extract key information from social listening and customer experience data
• Ideate and draft compelling social media content
• Customize social media content for a global audience
• Adapt the tone and style of your social media copywriting based on the situation

With that context in mind, let’s take a look at the different types of AI writing prompts needed to complete these tasks.

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Why mastering social media prompts is becoming a core skill for social media managers

Social workloads are growing and social teams are feeling it. The Social Media Productivity Report found that nearly half (48%) of social media marketers feel they sometimes or rarely have enough time to get their work done, and 63% report feeling burned out. AI can help ease that pressure by speeding up repetitive tasks and simplifying daily workflows, but input-based tools only save time when you give them effective prompts.

There’s also a clear push to get more value from AI tools. The 2025 Sprout Social Index™ found that half of marketing leaders planned to spend 2025 maximizing the AI tools they already have, and 48% planned to invest in more. As AI becomes a bigger part of social workflows, you need to be able to use it well.

​​That’s why mastering how to write AI prompts for social media is becoming a core skill. It’s how you unlock real value from external AI tools, reduce day-to-day strain on your workload and keep pace with rising expectations across the industry.

30 ways to write effective AI prompts for social media (with examples)

Understanding all the ways AI can support social media work is a key part of learning how to use AI for social media.

Because social teams manage so many different responsibilities, prompts fall into a range of categories, from content creation and UGC to polls, personalization, reporting and more. Each category helps you get more accurate, efficient outputs with less effort.

Here are 30 practical prompt scenarios you can use to simplify your workflow and strengthen your social media strategy.

Content creation prompts

Content creation ranks as marketers’ most time-consuming task, according to The Social Media Productivity Report. Content creation prompts are valuable because they can help with heavy-lift upstream work that supports your social content, like idea generation, outlining and identifying key messages.

However, AI-generated ideas, outlines and copy all still need human review and vetting, especially given that audiences are skeptical of undisclosed AI content from brands, per our Q3 2025 Pulse Survey.

Use content creation prompts for brainstorming, outlining, identifying key messages and finding angles. Check out these examples:

1. Thought leadership prompt for content ideation

Example prompt: “List three emerging digital privacy trends we can build social content around next month. Focus on the ones with the biggest potential impact on B2B decision-makers.”

2. Key message prompt for LinkedIn carousels

Example prompt: “Identify three social-ready key messages from these attached product release notes that spotlight the customer benefits. The goal is to turn them into a LinkedIn carousel.”

3. Cross-network monthly social content calendar prompt

Example prompt: “Map out a one-month social media content calendar for Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn based on these themes: product education, behind-the-scenes content and customer stories. Include ideal content formats and a suggested publishing cadence.”

AI prompts for social media posts

Writing social posts is one of the fastest-moving parts of a social marketer’s job, and it often requires network-specific messaging. AI prompts for social media posts give the AI clear direction to draft copy for images, carousels or captions, helping you work faster without losing quality or consistency.

For example, Sprout’s Suggestions by AI Assist capability makes it easy to create content that resonates and performs. The tool’s built-in prompt logic generates three post options based on your topic or existing caption and enables you to make edits as you deem fit.

External AI tools like ChatGPT or Gemini will require more in-depth prompts than built-in tools like AI Assist, so here are three prompts to get you started:

4. LinkedIn thought leadership post prompt

Example prompt: “Write a thought leadership post for LinkedIn explaining why B2B buyers now expect the same level of immediacy and personalization they get from consumer apps. Incorporate data to strengthen the argument. Close with a clear takeaway and call-to-action to leave a comment.”

5. Facebook announcement post prompt

Example prompt: “Write a short Facebook post announcing our upcoming product release, based on the attached file. Explain what’s launching, who it helps and when it will be available. Keep the tone friendly and straightforward.”

6. Instagram feature focus caption prompt

Example prompt: “Write a friendly, benefit-first Instagram caption about our AI scheduling feature based on the uploaded resources. Make it playful but not cheesy. End with a soft CTA to try the beta.”

UGC prompts

Tap into the content your community is already creating with user-generated content (UGC) prompts. UGC prompts help you shape tagged photos, reviews and creator posts into authentic content that supports brand trust and engagement.

Here are a few example prompts to help you put this into practice:

7. Review-based UGC prompt for Instagram

Example prompt: “Write an Instagram caption that’s under 50 words about the customer testimonial below. Highlight the main benefit the customer mentions and include a CTA to learn more at our link in bio. The testimonial text appears in the graphic, so don’t repeat it.”

8. Instagram repost prompt

Example prompt: “Suggest three storytelling angles for an Instagram post that features these tagged customer photos.”

9. Facebook community spotlight series prompt

Example prompt: “Brainstorm five Facebook series concepts that tell short, human stories from our customer community.”

Social poll prompts

Social polls are available on X, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, and they’re one of the easiest ways to gather sentiment, test content themes and understand what your audience cares about.

They work best when they’re timely, relevant and tailored to the people you’re trying to reach. However, coming up with engaging poll ideas quickly can be a challenge. AI poll prompts help you generate clear, engaging questions and answer options faster, so you can spark meaningful interactions and learn from your audience in real time. For example, these:

10. LinkedIn poll question prompt

Example prompt: “Generate five LinkedIn poll questions about the biggest challenges social media professionals face when adopting AI. Write each question from a different angle so I have a variety to choose from. Tailor them to social media managers to surface their real barriers.”

11. Instagram poll answer prompt

Example prompt: “Create four concise answer options for the attached Instagram Story poll question that will fit naturally in the tap-to-select stickers.”

Multi-format transformation prompts

Turning a blog post into a carousel, or a long-form video into a short clip for social can be time-consuming. Fortunately, multi-format transformation prompts can help you repurpose content quickly by directing AI to adapt existing assets for new formats.

The result is faster production, more consistent messaging and the ability to scale stories across social networks while maintaining quality. Here are a few example prompts to show you what’s possible:

12. Instagram-to-LinkedIn caption transformation prompt

Example prompt: “Adapt this Instagram caption into a LinkedIn post. Keep the core message and CTA the same, but adjust the tone and structure to fit a professional audience.”

13. Webinar-to-video content extraction prompt

Example prompt: “Identify three self-contained pull quotes from this webinar transcript that would work as standalone clips for a short social video.”

Optimization and enhancement prompts

Optimization and enhancement prompts help you refine social content to perform better on each network.

They’re especially useful when you already have a draft but need a sharper hook, clearer structure or a tone that resonates with a specific audience. Use these to elevate your drafts, align them with network best practices and publish with more confidence. For instance:

14. Messaging clarity refinement prompt for Instagram

Example prompt: “Edit this Instagram caption to make it clearer and easier to skim. Keep the original key message and the tone, but improve the flow and readability.”

15. Hook enhancement prompt for TikTok

Example prompt: “Suggest three short spoken opening hooks for this TikTok script. The goal is to capture attention in the first few seconds.”

16. Tone refinement prompt for X

Example prompt: “Rewrite this X caption in a more enthusiatic tone without changing the core meaning or length.”

Automation & workflow prompts (agentic AI)

AI social media assistants can handle research, analysis and operational tasks that typically slow teams down. Instead of manually digging through data or switching between tools, you can prompt agentic AI to surface insights and support decision-making.

For example, Sprout’s agentic AI, Trellis, enables you to ask questions and deep-dive into your Sprout Social Listening data. This AI listening agent can provide insights into things like campaign performance, topic-focused trends and brand health, giving you the intelligence you need to refine your strategy in real time.

Here are a few agentic AI prompt examples inspired by our tips for writing Trellis prompts:

17. Campaign analysis prompt

Example prompt: “In the drinks topic, how did sentiment and volume change during our holiday drink campaign launch week compared to the week before? Please focus on messages about our campaign.”

18. Trend detection prompt

Example prompt: “Identify the 50 most viral posts in the drinks topic from the past month. What formats or visual styles are driving engagement, and how can we apply those insights to our next campaign? Explain your thought process.”

Audience targeting prompts

Audience targeting prompts help you tailor social content to the people you want to reach most.

When you’re writing for specific demographics or customer segments, these prompts guide AI to adjust tone, examples and messaging so your posts feel more relevant.

With consumers increasingly expecting brands to understand their needs (as Salesforce’s State of the Connected Consumer report shows), this kind of social media personalization helps make your social content more timely, meaningful and effective.

Here’s what an audience targeting prompt can look like:

19. Audience segment prompt for LinkedIn

Example prompt: “Rewrite this LinkedIn post for an audience of mid-level IT managers. Keep the core message, but adjust the examples and vocabulary to match their day-to-day responsibilities.”

Strategy prompts

Strategy prompts help you step back from day-to-day publishing and look at the bigger picture. They’re useful when you need to clarify what your content should accomplish, explore new campaign angles or decide which themes are worth investing in.

To make the responses to your social media strategy prompts even more accurate, add context from Sprout Social Listening. It helps the AI ground its suggestions in real audience conversations, emerging trends and the topics that matter most to your community.

These examples show different ways to write prompts that help with your social strategy:

20. Content-pillar development prompt for TikTok and Instagram

Example prompt: “Review our brand mission and the attached social content calendar for TikTok and Instagram. Suggest three content pillar ideas that would help us stay consistent while expanding into new themes across both channels.”

21. Campaign concept prompt for X, Instagram and Facebook

Example prompt: “Here’s our campaign goal and the key message. Propose two campaign concepts that could bring this to life across X, Instagram and Facebook.”

Social engagement prompts

Social engagement prompts help you create replies and interaction points that feel natural and individualized. Input one of these prompts into an AI tool when you’re looking to keep conversations active, acknowledge your audience in a meaningful way or encourage followers to share more.

Below are some practical examples:

22. Instagram comment response prompt

Example prompt: “Write a short, playful reply to this Instagram comment about someone uploading a low-quality photo on their first day as a social media marketer and being roasted for it. Keep it supportive and lighthearted.”

23. Engagement-generating comment prompt for TikTok

Example prompt: “Suggest three short follow-up replies we can use in the comments on this TikTok video that’s gaining traction to encourage more people to join the conversation. Keep them on-brand and non-repetitive.”

Community management prompts

Community management prompts help you handle the conversations that happen on social every day. AI can support the work of replying to inbound messages, moderating comments and answering repeat questions without slowing you down or diluting your voice.

Having help with this is good, because speed matters. The 2025 Sprout Social Index™ found that most consumers expect brands to respond within 24 hours or sooner, and 73% say they’ll buy from a competitor if a brand doesn’t respond. These prompts give AI the direction it needs to draft clear, on-brand replies so you can manage your community efficiently and keep your audience feeling heard.

Check out these examples:

23. Customer refund response prompt

Example prompt: “Draft a clear response to this customer asking why their refund hasn’t been processed yet. Confirm that we’re looking into it, set expectations for timing and point them to the correct support channel for follow-up.”

24. Prompt for correcting inaccurate information in comments

Example prompt: “Create a polite response to this inaccurate comment (see screenshot attached), correcting the misinformation without escalating the tone. Keep it concise and invite the commenter to DM us if they have more questions.”

Crisis management prompts

Crisis management prompts help social teams respond quickly and responsibly when conversations take a negative turn.

The 2025 Sprout Social Index™ reports that 93% of consumers want brands to do more to combat misinformation on social. AI can help you draft factual responses that calm the situation instead of escalating it, but keep in mind these prompts work best alongside a social media crisis management strategy. AI is meant to support your response, not replace the strategy behind it.

The following examples illustrate how crisis management prompts can be written and used:

25. Crisis response prompt for TikTok

Example prompt: “Draft a holding statement script for a video response to a sudden wave of negative comments on our TikTok video. Acknowledge the issue, let people know we’re investigating and avoid speculation until details are verified.”

26. Risk assessment prompt for Instagram

Example prompt: “Review these comments that started appearing on our latest Instagram post and assess whether they show early signs of a potential crisis. Summarize the risk level and flag any themes we should escalate to our comms team.”

Reputation management prompts

Many consumers now treat social media as a primary source of information about brands. In Sprout’s Q3 2025 Pulse Survey, 52% of Gen Zers are more likely to trust info about a brand or products found on social compared to info found through other forms of search, like Google or AI chatbots.

Reputation management prompts support the day-to-day work of managing how your brand shows up in those moments. They help you acknowledge feedback, reinforce brand values and address concerns before they grow. Here’s what these prompts can look like:

27. Google review response prompt

Example prompt: “A customer left a 2-star Google review about slow customer support. Compose a response that acknowledges their experience first, then clarifies how we’re improving wait times. Close by giving them the support lead’s email if they want to reach out. Keep neutral and short.”

28. LinkedIn FAQ prompt

Example prompt: “Create a short reply to this question that keeps coming up on LinkedIn about our new pricing structure. Keep the tone reassuring, explain the change in simple terms and direct people to go to our FAQ page for more information.”

Social media analytics and reporting prompts

Social teams are under constant pressure to translate data into decisions, but pulling insights from multiple networks, filtering noise and turning metrics into a clear story can be time-consuming.

Social media analytics and reporting prompts ask AI to summarize or provide insights into your social metrics. If you’re using external AI tools, your best bet is to upload your data as a spreadsheet or PDF so the AI can base its summaries or explanations on real data.

Inside Sprout, built-in features like Analyze Charts by AI Assist can surface summaries and insights directly from your My Reports dashboards (no file uploads required). This lets you spend less time digging through charts and more time acting on what matters.

Here are some examples to assist your prompt writing:

29. Facebook performance summary prompt

Example prompt: “Review the attached Facebook analytics PDF and summarize the most significant month-over-month changes. Focus only on the biggest shifts in impressions, engagements and audience growth.”

30. KPI explanation prompt

Example prompt: “Explain these month-over-month KPI changes in plain language: engagement rate increased from 2.1% to 3.4%, reach grew by 18% and comments declined by 9%. Describe what might have contributed to each shift and how we should adjust our goals for next month.”

How AI social media prompts work behind the scenes

AI tools may feel conversational on the surface, but there’s a lot happening every time you prompt. Understanding the basics can help you write prompts that generate clearer insights, better content and more accurate recommendations for your social workflow.

Here’s a simple breakdown of what happens behind the scenes each time you prompt an AI tool.

Asking your question clearly

When you enter a prompt, the AI tool breaks it down to figure out what you’re asking.

It looks for details such as the topic, the action you want it to take, and the format you expect. This means the AI is trying to understand whether you need a caption, a customer care response, a data summary, or something entirely different. That’s why the more direct your prompt is, the easier it is for the tool to identify the context and give the right answer.

How AI interprets your intent

Once the AI understands the prompt, it starts looking for signals that explain how you want the output delivered. It scans your prompt for details such as audience (millennial home chefs), the task (write a Facebook post), style (creative/formal) or word count (100), to figure out what kind of response you’re expecting.

The tool also analyzes the sentiment you’re aiming for and adjusts its phrasing, word choice and pacing to match. This is why telling the tool you want something “friendly,” “formal” or “reassuring” can dramatically change the output.

Generating the response

After understanding your prompt, the AI pulls together the details you provided to produce a response that aligns with your goal.

Within a single conversation, the tool keeps track of what you’ve already said so it can maintain consistency from one question to the next. That’s why you’re able to refine a post, ask for adjustments or request deeper analysis without needing to restate your original prompt.

In the end, the AI’s output is shaped by the clarity of your prompt: the tone you specify, the task you outline, the audience you define and the details you provide.

This is why the more guidance you give upfront in a prompt, the stronger and more reliable the output will be.

Tips on writing effective AI prompts for social media

AI writing prompts must be clear, concise and direct to ensure the tool accurately understands the task. Each query must be finely tuned, considering factors like topic relevance, keyword selection, structural coherence and target audience, to elicit the best possible response. Let’s dive in.

Define your goal and task

Your prompt needs to tell the AI tool what you’re trying to accomplish. Are you trying to pull insights from your social data to complete a report? Write an X post? Change the tone on a social customer care reply? Since each of these content types has a particular style, the response generated will only be accurate if you focus it on the goal.

AI performs best when queries are focused, which is why complex asks, like drafting a caption, providing a list of hashtag variations and brainstorming visuals, should be broken into separate prompts. This approach results in cleaner outputs and gives you more control over each step of the process.

Add audience and context

Who is the intended audience of the output, and what context is it being used in? Adding these details to your prompts helps the AI tailor its recommendations, analysis or messaging to the people who need it.

Is your target audience between the ages of 30 and 40? Are you writing for a professional audience, such as lawyers or teachers? Or is your content aimed toward customers you wish to convert? Mention the persona you are writing for based on key traits, roles and responsibilities.

For example, an AI writing prompt aimed at executive audiences could say, “Write a blog for business leaders in the SaaS industry about data security”. Specifying the persona is important because it helps the AI tool choose the correct vocabulary from its database and use it contextually.

Context matters just as much. Sharing details like the post topic, the network you’re using, the challenge you’re trying to solve, or the sentiment of a customer conversation gives the AI a more straightforward path to follow.

Set tone, style and structure

Tone, style and structure are all elements that work together to make the response more polished rather than something you need to heavily rewrite.

Choosing the correct tone for your content makes it more compelling and engaging. Specifying a tone such as assertive, happy, empathetic or friendly is especially useful if you’re generating social media posts and social media customer care responses.

It also helps the sentiment analysis algorithms within the AI tool choose the appropriate words and phrasings in the response to ensure it matches the tone you specify.

Your social media management platform may even have built-in features, like Enhance by AI Assist, that enable you to tailor tone in both social posts and social customer care messages in a couple of clicks.

From there, specifying style and structure ensures the output fits the format you need. You can ask for a bulleted list, a short paragraph, or a more narrative approach. You can also ask ChatGPT not to do certain things; for instance, you can now tell it to omit em dashes.

Fine-tune keywords and length

Keywords act as anchors that tell the AI which details matter most. The more specific you are in your query, the more accurate the output will be.

Last but not least, define the word count. It helps the AI tool determine how long or short the response should be. In doing so, the tool can decide how much and which details to include in the response.

Combining as many of these elements in your prompt will help elicit the best response from your AI tool. Think of each of these elements as keywords and include or exclude them from your prompts as required.

5 common pitfalls when writing social media prompts (and how to avoid them)

Even though AI tools generate responses conversationally, they don’t always interpret nuance, intent or context the way humans do. That gap can lead to outputs that feel generic, incomplete or off-brand.

Social practitioners often run into the same prompt-writing challenges, and understanding these pitfalls makes it easier to guide AI toward the results you actually need. Here’s how to sidestep them.

1. You’re rushing because you’re busy, so you write incomplete prompts

Vague or unclear prompts lead to vague outputs. Specify the action you want it to complete, and any other relevant details to give the AI all the context you have.

2. The voice in the content it generates feels “off,” but the messaging is correct

AI needs detailed direction and, ideally, some reference copy. Provide examples, keywords or a short description of the personality you want. Iterating your prompt helps it get closer each time.

3. You ask a question and get an answer that’s too broad to be helpful

Broad questions lead to surface-level insights. Ask a closed-ended question if you’re looking for a specific answer, and call out the timeframe, goals or patterns you want the tool to analyze.

4. The AI entirely misses the point of what you’re trying to ask it to do

If the tool doesn’t know the “why,” it can’t shape the message effectively. Share what the content should accomplish, who it’s for and what outcome you’re driving toward. If you’re still not getting the response you want, try rephrasing your query.

5. Your prompt saved you time, but the AI still needs your oversight

AI speeds up drafting, but you’re still responsible for accuracy and originality. Review all outputs for correctness and make sure they align with your organization’s AI use policy.

The future of AI prompting in social media: Blending human creativity with AI

Writing AI prompts has become an essential skill for social practitioners. Well-written prompts enable you to explore audience insights, interpret performance trends and shape strategies faster and more easily. They can also help you turn ideas into posts, captions and scripts that are aligned with your goals across channels.

But the real value doesn’t come from the technology alone. It comes from how you guide it. Context-rich prompts tap into the strengths of AI while keeping your expertise at the center. As AI becomes more integrated into social media management, the practitioners who succeed will be the ones who know how to pair human judgment with AI efficiency.

Use these tips to write stellar prompts that make AI marketing tools your partner in delivering more impactful social content.

The post 30 ways to master AI prompts for social media: A marketer’s guide appeared first on Sprout Social.

Oatly’s loyalty comes from recognizing and celebrating micro-cultures—letting fans feel seen and heard in their own language and co-creating with the communities that influence culture.

From the Oatly Lookbook to sparking dialogue around sustainability to uncovering niche micro-communities in the depths of Reddit, Oatly’s social team proves that listening is more than reputation management: it’s predictive advantage.

Watch this fireside chat featuring Paula Perez, Social Content Specialist at Oatly. Paula will share how Oatly uses community insights and social data to shape business strategy—from international product launches to creative campaigns—by deeply understanding their audiences and the cultural moments that move the market.

You’ll walk away with:

• Real examples of how Oatly turns community insights into meaningful brand and product decisions
• Strategies to foster loyalty by showing up authentically in the comments
• A blueprint for using social as your early-warning system to anticipate market shifts

The post Predictive Power: How Oatly Turns Social Community Into Business Strategy appeared first on Sprout Social.

What it means to be a marketing leader is changing, and the stakes are high. Especially because consumers are price sensitive, with ever-increasing expectations for the brands they buy from. Executives and board members want to see proof of ROI in light of tight budgets. 65% of CMOs say AI will completely change their job in the next two years, even if they don’t know exactly how yet. Creating a competitive advantage on social is getting harder. Internal teams are battling burnout and bandwidth constraints, while still being asked to do more with less.

With so many concerns, where do you go from here? To help you identify your most strategic focus areas and lead a social-first marketing team, we’ve curated a list of the six most pressing marketing priorities you should have on your radar in 2026.

Priority 1: Take command of social search

According to the Q2 2025 Sprout Pulse Survey, social is now the #1 place Gen Z searches—more than Google and other traditional search engines. With consumers of all ages increasingly turning to Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, YouTube and more to find curated answers from real people, content discoverability is crucial.

More than half of marketing leaders already have a dedicated social search (SOSEO) strategy, per The 2025 Impact of Social Media Report. In the year ahead, 81% of marketing leaders anticipate reallocating funds from traditional SEO to organic, paid social or influencer marketing.

Social has become the front door for product discovery. Showing up where your audience already seeks information isn’t a matter of completely overhauling your strategy—but it will require different skills, better tooling and closer orchestration across your marketing org. Staying on top of audience trends through social listening, partnering with topically relevant influencers and iterating content faster are all necessary to mastering SOSEO.

At Sprout, SOSEO is a shared responsibility, with our social, content and SEO teams each playing a role. We’ve developed network-specific strategies to amplify content reach, including producing educational long-form YouTube videos, jumping in on relevant subreddit conversations and using social listening insights to publish real-time content around trending cultural moments, like Coachella, the Met Gala, Cannes and holiday shopping.

Considerations: What resources would allow your team to be more proactive about producing content to match rising AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) and SOSEO search intent, rather than reacting to search behavior that’s already peaked? Remember, SOSEO isn’t just about making your social posts more discoverable, it’s also about optimizing your web content, customer reviews and more.

Priority 2: Scale your influencer efforts into a core program

Influencers and creators are the modern way to reach audiences, and their content dramatically outperforms most content that comes directly from brands. 92% of marketers say that on average, sponsored influencer content performs better in terms of reach compared to organic content posted on their brand accounts, per the Q1 2025 Sprout Pulse Survey. Over two-thirds say they already rely on influencer marketing to increase brand awareness, audience engagement, credibility and trust, and even revenue.

The same survey found that most brands focus their partnerships on 10 influencers or fewer—even though they wish they worked with more. To grow and scale effectively, marketing teams must overcome common hurdles like unclear ownership, budget constraints and inefficient processes.

Sprout Social CMO Scott Morris describes how we did this at Sprout: “We transformed a handful of ad hoc influencer activations into a robust influencer marketing program that sits at the center of our marketing strategy. Rather than placing the responsibility solely on the social team, we built a cross-functional influencer and creator marketing machine that spans many departments and functions—and that has been one of the keys to our success. The result: Partnerships with dozens of unique creators and hundreds of pieces of content that drove more than 4 million impressions, 100K+ engagements and a large volume of leads (not to mention a Silver Honor Shorty Award).”

And influencers are not limited to creators outside of your organization. People want to hear from other people, which includes both your company’s employees and leadership. At Sprout, we created an internal creator program to produce employee-driven content, and have an employee advocacy program that enables every team member to share Sprout news, product launches and articles.

Considerations: To go from one-off partnerships to building a sophisticated influencer marketing strategy, you need to align your efforts with clear business goals, and define metrics that are tied to core business KPIs. Which teams need clearer roles and responsibilities? Where do manual tasks slow your team down? What meaningful data insights are you missing?

Priority 3: Embed social intelligence across your business

Consumers have never been so plugged into social, or eager to see brand content. But, as mentioned before, brands compete in an attention economy, and teams are on the brink of burnout (if they aren’t already there). It’s imperative to use audience insights to determine how to craft the right content for the right channels.

While there is a place for everyone and every brand on social, that doesn’t mean you need to be everywhere. Real-time audience insights make it clear where your team should concentrate—rather than expecting teams to balance content across every available network. As algorithms evolve, networks diversify and the battle for attention intensifies, your team needs actionable learnings to stay ahead of the competition and exceed consumer expectations.

It’s important to remember that insights from social are invaluable to teams across your company, not just the marketing team. Social intelligence is a source of truth that will help your company refine product development, strengthen your employer brand and recruit top talent, and directly drive revenue gains. Used correctly, social insights make it easy to prove organization-wide value, facilitate cross-collaboration and ensure customer care, sales, HR and R&D buy-in on your initiatives.

Sprout’s VP of Social Intelligence Evangelism, Brittany Hennesy, put it best, “Social intelligence is the act of harnessing the unfiltered, real-time pulse of your market from social media and embedding that insight into how your business operates. It’s building a direct line to customer behavior, expectations and emotions at scale. It means capturing billions of conversations and turning them into a predictive operating system that informs everything from strategy to product development.”

Considerations: If you want to build a marketing strategy that prioritizes your customers and future customers, you need to put social intelligence at the center of it. Does your current tech stack make social data accessible? Are you on the pulse of market and consumer sentiment shifts? How quickly do you make decisions grounded in real-world behavior?

Priority 4: Solidify AI as a collaborator, not your replacement

AI content creation is expected to be everywhere in 2026, but brands that partake risk eroding consumer trust. When we asked global consumers what their top concerns were related to brands on social media, their #1 answer was companies posting AI-generated content without disclosing it, per Sprout’s Q3 2025 Pulse Survey.

On the other hand, brands that prioritize human-generated content will endear consumers. 55% of social users said they are more likely to trust brands that publish human-generated content, and this rises to two-thirds of Gen Z and Millennials, according to the Q3 Pulse Survey.

According to Sprout’s Q4 2025 Pulse Survey, consumers even went as far to say the #1 effort they want brands to prioritize in 2026 is crafting human-generated content.

Morris adds, “AI drives a new premium on authenticity. The flood of easily generated content and deepfakes will push consumers to seek out content that feels human-generated and real, shifting authenticity from a brand differentiator to a prerequisite for engagement.”

But that doesn’t mean consumers are against teams using AI in their workflows. The Q4 Pulse Survey also found that 69% of users are comfortable with companies using AI chatbots and tools to help humans refine their responses to deliver faster customer service on social. That’s true for 78% of Gen Z and Millennials. Marketers should also lean on AI to automate tedious data extraction, making it possible to embed social intelligence across your business.

Considerations: AI is not a replacement for human taste or creativity. Audiences are already fatigued by “AI slop.” But AI can and should play a critical role in empowering teams and enabling meaningful productivity. What are the tedious tasks AI could take off your team’s plate? How could AI tools tear down silos? What could AI help you learn about your audience?

Priority 5: Think beyond service, and make customer joy your north star

Providing customer service on social is already non-negotiable. When a brand is unresponsive to customer outreach on social, 49% of users admit only sometimes try reaching out on traditional channels. 19% never will, per the Q2 2025 Sprout Pulse Survey.

But to truly stand out for the right reasons, marketers must provide exceptional customer experiences rooted in joy. The economic and political upheaval of the past year (and beyond) have left people seeking out positive interactions more than ever.

The Q4 2025 Pulse Survey found that personalized customer service experiences and surprise-and-delight moments are tied for second when it comes to efforts consumers say brands should prioritize in 2026. That could include sending users a free product or custom gift based on a user’s post, like the famous return of Lamby by Marriott Hotels in January 2025.

Prioritizing your customers’ experience on social influences how the world (and future customers) see your brand. More than any other trait, social users say the boldest, most standout companies are honest, per the same Q2 survey. If you say you value your customers, consumers will look to social to prove you mean it.

Considerations: The mantra “the customer is always right” has been repeated for over a century. What does it mean in a modern context? At a time when every brand claims to prioritize satisfaction, exceptional care means being “available” 24/7, anticipating needs before they arise and creating one-of-a-kind moments on a global stage. Do you have the team structure and tools to make that a reality?

Priority 6: Rebuild your team structure for a social-first world

The expectations placed on social marketing roles are more complex than ever, which means the need for specialization is ratcheting up. According to The 2025 Impact of Social Media Report, more than 50% of marketing leaders say they want to hire for specialized roles—including social media search optimization, social customer service and support, paid social, influencer marketing, and social analytics and listening.

As roles evolve, so too must marketing team structures. While there’s no one-size-fits-all social media team structure, marketing org charts should reflect the growing demands of the work, and the unique needs of your business and audience. It’s time to do away with Swiss Army knife-style roles, where one social marketer is doing the work of five. Leaders need to advocate for team structures that offer clear paths for career progression and work-life balance, and prioritize the work that correlates most with business growth.

When we asked Sprout’s Social Media Intelligence Manager, Olivia Jepson, about the move toward role specialization in the social industry, she observed, “Clinging to generalist-only roles will lead to burnout and churn. The boldest leaders are betting on specialization and they are beating their competition. Other marketing teams have specialized roles. Why not social?”

Considerations: Maintaining your brand’s competitive edge and reaping the most rewards from social starts with investing in the professionals that help shape your brand perception. Start by taking a discerning look at your team today. What skills and capabilities are you missing? If you have a team of generalists, find out what they love most about their role and help them grow in that direction through mentorship and continued education. Use an opportunity cost framework (“our team could do X, if we had Y”) to make the case to leadership to invest in both professional development for your existing team and hiring for specialized roles.

Focus on the marketing priorities that matter most

The pressures you feel are real: shrinking budgets, rising expectations, AI acceleration and an increasingly fragmented digital landscape. But so are the opportunities. From embracing SOSEO to embedding social intelligence across your business, to rebuilding your team for a social-first world, there are steps you can take to give your organization an edge.

2026 won’t reward teams who try to do everything. It will reward teams who invest in the right things. The leaders who succeed will be those who build agile, insight-driven, human-centered marketing organizations ready to evolve as fast as their audiences do.

To help you turn these priorities into a concrete, actionable strategy, download the 2026 CMO Planning Guide, your blueprint for building a high-performing, future-ready marketing org.

The post 6 marketing priorities leaders will obsess over in 2026 appeared first on Sprout Social.

Not anymore.

One viral post can spike demand overnight or crater your stock price by lunch. One unresolved complaint can become a reputation crisis before your team even knows it’s happening. What people say in comment sections, in influencer reviews, on Reddit threads shapes perception more than any billboard, ad campaign or website copy ever will.

This is the era of social media intelligence. The brands that win aren’t just posting great content. They’re paying attention to what everyone else is saying and making decisions accordingly.

The problem? Only 31% of consumers say companies effectively listen to what audiences say on social and act on their feedback, according to Sprout’s Q4 2025 Pulse Survey. The gap between what customers expect and what brands deliver is widening.

The solution is embedding social media intelligence into the core of your operations. This transforms social from a siloed marketing channel into an enterprise system of record that drives strategy, product, customer service and sales.

What is social media intelligence (SOCMINT)?

Social media intelligence or SOCMINT is the act of harnessing the unfiltered, real-time pulse of your market from social media and embedding that insight into how your business operates. It’s building a direct line to customer behavior, expectations and emotions at scale. It means capturing billions of conversations and turning them into a predictive operating system that informs everything from strategy to product development.

Customers aren’t waiting to be asked what they think. They’re already telling the world on networks you don’t own, at a cadence you can’t control. They expect you to be listening, learning and acting on what they’re saying. Social media intelligence is the engine that reveals where attention is concentrating, what drives it and how to turn it into engagement that lasts.

The traditional marketing playbook is obsolete. Attention has shifted, and the conversations that define your brand, dictate demand or drive your next crisis are happening at a scale and speed that legacy systems can’t handle. Operating without social media intelligence isn’t just a missed opportunity. It’s a risk.

What social media intelligence is not

Social media intelligence isn’t about tracking likes or mentions. It’s not social monitoring or even social listening in the traditional sense. Social intelligence is business intelligence—critical to every function, not just marketing.

Most organizations try to piece together social insights using fragmented data or limited subsets of information. Without the infrastructure to connect social analysis to other data sources, you’re left with blind spots. And those blind spots lead to compromised decisions, reputation risk and missed growth opportunities.

Why is social media intelligence important?

Social has become the starting point for discovery. Nearly half of Gen Z begins brand and product searches on TikTok or Instagram (more than they use traditional search engines), per Sprout’s Q2 2025 Pulse Survey. Customers don’t browse the way they used to. They scroll, swipe and decide in seconds. Winning their attention requires speed, personalization and resonance in the moment.

With social media intelligence, brands can:

• Create and anticipate demand instead of reacting to it. Behavioral signals shape go-to-market strategy, content decisions and product roadmaps, driving stronger pipeline and revenue.
• Make faster, better decisions grounded in real-world behavior. Not lagging indicators. Not internal assumptions.
• Reduce risk and seize opportunity early. Detect sentiment shifts, emerging competitors and potential threats the moment they surface.
• Align teams around what matters most to customers. Bring care, marketing, product and revenue teams into lockstep with live customer insights.

How social media intelligence impacts business growth

Social intelligence translates directly to measurable outcomes. It’s not just data. It’s action.

Improves your brand’s discoverability

SEO and SEM aren’t delivering like they used to. Social is the new front door for shopping, and brands need to position themselves accordingly. To win in the world of social search, you need to spot trends early, optimize content and publish at the right time. Social media intelligence helps with all three.

By tapping into social intelligence, you can identify rising hashtags, creators and search behaviors on networks like TikTok, Reddit and Instagram. These insights enable your team to craft on-brand, search-optimized, social-first content that uses the right keywords, structure and social media audience insights to reach the right people.

Refines your campaigns to ensure the best case ROI

With true social media intelligence, it’s easier to develop creative that resonates and find the creator partners who amplify it. Rather than launching campaigns and hoping they land, your team can craft content that aligns with what your audience is already searching for.

By maximizing discoverability and relevance, you capture high-intent search traffic and convert social discovery into website visits, conversions and revenue.

Detects problems before they become headlines

A single viral post can ignite a crisis in hours. Social media intelligence gives teams the early warning signs that a customer complaint or news story could spiral. With that intel, you can mitigate risk and manage your brand’s reputation with confidence.

Centers your product or service around the (true) voice of the customer

Used strategically, social media intelligence doesn’t just inform how you go to market. It informs what you go to market with. It can shape the next product variation you release, the feature upgrades you prioritize, the retired items you decide to bring back and more.

The tools required for unlocking social media intelligence

Disjointed tools won’t cut it. Social intelligence requires a unified, AI-driven system that is able to transform the billions of unstructured conversations and data points on social into actionable insights that leaders and teams understand and act on.

The right integrations across your tech stack

Social intelligence can only become a true operating system for your organization if it flows across all of the systems your team and customers touch. Social data is too critical to live only in dashboards.

Teams need a deeply embedded ecosystem where social intelligence flows directly into the tools they already use. At Sprout, we enrich Salesforce cases with full social context for faster, empathetic service. We pipe sentiment into Tableau to reveal the “why” behind business data. We push critical trends into Slack for coordinated action.

Our platform also makes it possible to seamlessly move from a trend signal in Sprout to building a campaign brief in Asana to creating assets in Canva or Adobe Express, eliminating unnecessary friction.

A social-powered AI engine

You can’t access the goldmine of data on social by combing through it manually. With Sprout AI, teams can transform social data into a central intelligence layer for your entire organization.

Sprout AI isn’t a collection of features. It’s a new way of working that empowers marketers to:

• Spot emerging trends, sentiment shifts and potential risks.
• Identify what’s resonating with your audience and how to optimize for discoverability.
• Provide analyst-level insights and recommendations from complex data sets to inform strategy, product innovation and competitive intelligence.

Our new AI Agent, Trellis, is a strategic teammate that automates tedious tasks and surfaces real-time insights to drive better, faster decisions across every department. Teams can delegate complex research to Trellis and get custom, clear answers to pressing business questions with a simple, conversational query.

And Sprout’s ChatGPT connection is another secure, conversational way to get instant insights. Teams can analyze campaigns, discover top content and plan strategy with a simple conversation, empowering marketers to make faster, smarter decisions with solutions they already know and use.

A direct view into emerging conversations, trends and creators

With the right systems in place, social intelligence gives you an outlook of the entire social landscape. Your team can identify trends before they saturate feeds, prevent one disgruntled comment from becoming a PR nightmare and source creator partners who spike sales.

NewsWhip by Sprout gives you the news before it becomes news. With constant monitoring, predictive analytics and industry-first AI agents, users can detect, understand and act on breaking stories as they unfold. The agents don’t just notify you if your reputation is at risk. They explain what’s happening, why it matters and how it’s changing.

Sprout Listening helps you track the long-term impact of trends and news stories on your brand. Our AI-driven solution automatically sifts through billions of data points to zero in on the trends and insights you need to guide future strategy in seconds. Trellis in Listening makes it more intuitive than ever for teams to answer pressing leadership questions, conduct sentiment analysis, perform consumer and competitor research, and monitor key conversations around your brand and industry.

And Sprout Influencer Marketing enables teams to quickly find creators who regularly post content that resonates with your audience. Using AI-powered, topic-led search, you can reach the right audience and foster authentic customer connections. The platform mirrors how social networks serve content, helping you find brand-safe creators based on topics your audience engages with most, so you get better results, faster.

Don’t just participate in the social intelligence era, lead it

Social media intelligence is a business imperative. It enables leaders and their teams to anticipate market shifts, align cross-functional decisions with real customer insight, and transform fragmented data into enterprise-wide intelligence.

The brands that act now, embedding social intelligence into every layer of their strategy, technology and culture, will define the next era of business.

To learn more about Sprout’s AI-engine powered by social and our latest product innovations, watch our latest Breaking Ground virtual event on-demand.

Want a glimpse of our platform now? Take a product tour.

The post Social intelligence isn’t the future, it’s right now appeared first on Sprout Social.

You’ll walk away with:

• A clear view of the consumer patterns defining 2026
• Practical tips and tactics to translate signals into strategy
• Real-world proof from brands already putting these patterns into play

The post From Signals to Strategy: 2026 Social Behaviors That Matter with IKEA & Coco Mocoe appeared first on Sprout Social.

More virtual influencers have flooded the scene since they first appeared on social, but are virtual influencers still a trend with staying power or more of a novelty for brands looking to cut through the noise of an increasingly crowded social media landscape? In this article, we’ll define virtual influencers and how they work, the major considerations brands should have before working with one and some of the most prominent virtual influencers on the scene today.

What are virtual influencers?

Virtual influencers are digital personalities that exist primarily on social media. They’re not real people but computer-generated characters created with advanced CGI, motion capture and AI technology.

There are different types of virtual influencers, ranging from non-human characters to highly realistic human-like personas. They’re often developed and managed by creative agencies specializing in AI, robotics or marketing. However, some brands have even created their own virtual influencers, like Brazilian retailer Magalu’s Lu. These brand-specific characters function more like spokesmodels or mascots, as they rarely have a platform or following outside of the brand.

How do virtual influencers work?

Virtual influencers operate much like regular social media influencers. These online avatars interact with social media users like human influencers, sharing content, endorsing products and engaging with followers. They offer a unique and innovative way for brands to connect with their audience. But there’s a core difference: The interactions they have with real-life products or services and the engagement with followers are completely fabricated.

A virtual influencer marketing example would be LiquidIV’s partnership with renowned AI influencer Lil Miquela. Miquela shared a reel highlighting her recent adventures, with special focus on how she incorporates LiquidIV into her routine. Like a typical influencer-brand partnership, Lil Miquela even disclosed the ad with hashtags like #LiquidIVPartner in the caption.

The benefits of virtual influencers

Influencer marketing and AI are two trends quickly taking over the marketing industry. In a Q3 2025 Sprout Social Pulse Survey about half of Millennials (48%) and more than half of Gen Z (53%) say they’ve bought a product or service through an influencer’s sponsored post in the last year. And, The 2025 Sprout Social Index™ found that 93% of social practitioners believe AI is a tool that can help creative fatigue. So what happens when you combine the two? Here are a few of the most significant benefits of partnering with virtual influencers.

Control over content

Brands who want to get across a certain message or have a specific point to make with an influencer partnership have a different level of control over content with virtual influencers. Having more control over what an influencer posts can be appealing to some brands with a very specific message to share.

Adaptability

Virtual influencers never age, can speak any language and can ‘travel’ to any place. This level of adaptability and flexibility means brands can potentially use one virtual influencer for campaigns in different regions instead of finding different influencers for various markets.

Consistency

Unlike human influencers whose brands might evolve as they age or enter different life phases, virtual influencers have a consistent appearance, personality and content. This stability means brands don’t have to worry about unexpected shifts and can rely on a virtual influencer to promote their offer in a predictable way.

What role will virtual influencers play in the creator economy?

The creator economy is constantly evolving, and virtual influencers are carving out a fascinating, yet complex, niche within it. Currently, consumer sentiment toward brands using AI influencers is mixed, with growing skepticism.

While Sprout’s 2024 Influencer Marketing Report showed that 37% of consumers might be more interested in a brand that uses an AI influencer, another 37% said they’d distrust the brand. And, Sprout’s Q3 2025 Pulse Survey data highlights rising concerns with AI influencers. Nearly half of consumers (46%) are uncomfortable with brands using AI influencers—with only 23% saying they’re comfortable.

With consumer sentiment on virtual influencers split, it’s up to brands to determine if these influencers have staying power. Virtual influencers can present a new frontier for creative expression in the creator economy, but their role will depend on how brands partner with them. Brands who want to explore virtual partnerships need to dispel consumer skepticism, prioritize transparency and focus on delivering unique, valuable content.

How virtual influencers can impact brands: Understanding the risks

While the virtual influencer market is growing—expected to reach nearly $45 billion USD by 2030 according to Grandview Research—brands and agencies are cautiously pursuing virtual influencer partnerships because they pose some risks.

Here are some key points brands need to think about as virtual influencers become more popular.

Bonus Resource: Get our top five AI social media marketing resources in one convenient toolkit. Download it for customizable templates and tips to drive smart AI adoption in your role and across your organization.

Get the toolkit

Brand safety and reputation

Virtual influencers may seem like a safer bet than real-life influencers, but they’re not completely immune to controversy. For example, influencer Caryn Marjorie made headlines for creating an AI version of herself that some people criticized for being demeaning to women and enabling anti-social behavior.

Additionally, AI has a black box problem. Humans don’t fully understand how these systems work or make decisions, which poses a huge challenge for advertisers and agencies. Without that clarity, it’s hard for brands to trust these virtual influencers completely. So, while AI has a cool factor, marketers must be careful about diving in headfirst to avoid future PR disasters.

Transparency and authenticity

A good portion of consumers already struggle to tell the difference between authentic and AI-generated content. A Sprout report on the Future of AI in Marketing found that more than a third of consumers (36%) say they wouldn’t be able to distinguish between AI and human-generated content. As technology advances and virtual influencers resemble humans even more, it’s imperative for brands to be transparent about how they use these tools.

The FTC said virtual influencers should disclose brand sponsorships just like human influencers, and the ad agency Ogilvy is pushing for clearer rules about AI-generated content. Still, virtual influencer regulations and guidelines are a work in progress.

Additionally, most brands work with influencers to tap into their authentic relationships with their audience. While there are still real people behind a virtual influencer, they can’t directly connect with their followers in the same way. They also can’t interact with products or give honest reviews like human influencers can, which can make their endorsements feel less genuine.

Audience sentiment

Virtual influencers can impact how people feel about brands—for better or worse. While AI tools have recently exploded in popularity and have dozens of benefits for marketers, the more human-like applications of the technology can sometimes produce an “uncanny valley” effect where people find them off-putting.

Some of the most popular virtual influencers also have racially ambiguous features, which marketing experts interpret as a way for brands to appeal to a broader audience. However, this approach could also work against a brand, as it can be seen as a shortcut to appearing more inclusive than they actually are—an issue many beauty and fashion brands have been criticized for.

Intellectual property misuse

Since virtual influencers are created using AI, their social presence relies on underlying digital assets, algorithms and data. Without understanding the agreements in place to source these assets, brands could inadvertently expose themselves to legal challenges or copyright infringement (i.e. were the AI models trained on copyrighted material without licensing?).

Real life examples of this have been surfacing across social networks, with AI creators stealing and reusing the content of human creators verbatim, without credit or acknowledgement.

Copycat content

In a crowded social media landscape, audiences crave originality. In addition to the legal risks that come with intellectual property misuse, partnering with the wrong virtual influencers has potential to dilute your brand voice with generic content pieced together from across the web. Consumers are tired of brands merely jumping on every trend and instead want to see brands that prioritize originality, relatability and genuine audience engagement, according to The Index.

A virtual influencer, if not managed with a strategic, human-centric approach, could fall into the trap of producing content that feels inauthentic, undermining a brand’s identity. To avoid this, brands need to make sure virtual influencer partnerships showcase content and stories that will resonate with their audience rather than follow a fleeting trend.

The top virtual influencers making waves on social media

The trend may be gaining momentum now, but virtual influencers have actually been around for quite some time, quietly revolutionizing the world of influencer marketing and building massive social media followings. From fashion icons to animated characters, here are the top virtual influencers to follow.

Lil Miquela

According to her Instagram bio, Miquela (@lilmiquela on Instagram) is a “19-year-old robot living in LA.” A pioneer in the virtual influencer space with 2.4 million Instagram followers and 3.4 million TikTok followers, she was launched in 2016 and is now managed by creative agency Brud. She’s partnered with brands like Prada, Pacsun and Calvin Klein and even earned a spot on TIME magazine’s list of the ‘25 most influential people on the internet.’

Imma

Imma (@imma.gram on Instagram) is a virtual girl in Tokyo with over 388k Instagram followers. The brainchild of Aww Inc., she’s known for her iconic bubblegum pink bob and killer sense of style. She is also curious and often questions her identity, using the hashtag #ithinkimcgi. Recently, Coach launched a campaign featuring Imma alongside celebs like Lil Nas X and Camila Mendes, where she visits each ambassador in their virtual worlds.

Janky

Janky (@Janky on Instagram) is a mischievous cat-like character with nearly 1 million Instagram followers and 11.5 million followers on a shared TikTok account with fellow virtual influencer Guggimon. They were created by Superplastic, a company known for its animated synthetic celebrities and designer toys. As a virtual influencer, Janky has collaborated with brands like 7-Eleven, Fortnite and Gucci.

What’s next for virtual influencer marketing

Virtual influencers bring a fresh and attention-grabbing twist to marketing campaigns. But there’s still a lot we don’t know about this technology.

Our advice? Vet a virtual influencer just like you would any other influencer, and weigh the risks and benefits for your brand. Pressure test the idea against your audience’s expectations and your brand’s core values. Would your audience find value or entertainment in a virtual influencer partnership, or do they prefer real creator collaborations? Make sure the influencer is ultimately the right fit for your brand.

If you do choose to move forward with a campaign, transparency is key. Use hashtags like #PoweredByAI to let people know it’s a virtual influencer campaign, and closely monitor any interactions between the influencer and your audience.

Ready to start planning your next virtual influencer marketing campaign? Check out our influencer marketing budget template to optimize your spending and ensure you allocate your marketing dollars to the right partnerships.

The post The rise of virtual influencers: are they here to stay? appeared first on Sprout Social.

With such dark sides to social, lawmakers worldwide have started to wonder: Do they have a responsibility to enact social media bans that protect children?

For social media marketers, who are already struggling to do their jobs, this means even more stress and brand safety risks. This new legislation may make it more difficult to reach certain audiences, publish content efficiently and stay compliant with ever-changing rule books. Zooming out, as the world’s economies become more connected, it’s going to prove challenging for global brands to comply with so many disparate policies and maintain relevance.

According to a Sprout Pulse Survey, already 50% of social teams say they’ve implemented stricter workflows and pivoted how they’re reaching their target audience in response to social media bans.

To make it easier to navigate, we’ve laid out important facts about proposed social media bans, and asked global marketers for their takes on how social teams should adjust their workflows and content strategies as regulations around social media become more common.

Please note the information provided in this article does not, and is not intended to, constitute formal legal advice. Please review our full disclaimer before reading any further.

Proposed social media bans to know

While the state of social media bans is always changing, here are the pieces of legislation currently on the table at the time of publishing—including which networks are included, proposed enactment dates and how the rules would be enforced.

Proposed social media bans in the US

• The US TikTok ban is an ongoing saga. While the network was originally set to be prohibited from US app stores and internet hosting services on January 18, 2025, the enforcement of the ban was extended. Then extended again on June 17, 2025 for another 90 days. TikTok’s future still remains unknown, and if the ban is enforced, it’s still unclear how it would affect the 170 million US users.
• The Florida social media ban for users under 14. Late last year, Florida state legislature passed a law that would prohibit anyone under the age of 14 to hold a social media account. The same law also required minors ages 14-16 to get parental approval to open an account. Any account of a person living in Florida under the age of 14 would be legally required to be deleted, by the user or the network. It’s not entirely clear which networks fall under the jurisdiction of the ban. More pressingly, a federal judge ruled against the ban and an ongoing lawsuit prevented the law from being enforced—for now. The law was originally slated to go into effect on July 1, 2025.
• The Texas social media ban for users under 18. In May 2025, a proposed bill gained traction in the Texas State Legislature that would prohibit the use of all social media sites by minors—including X, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and more. Any site that allows users to create content is considered a social media network, per the proposal. The bill would’ve also allowed parents to request their childrens’ existing accounts be deleted as well. The bill failed to pass into law, but Texas lawmakers remain keen to pass age restrictions in the near future.

Proposed social media ban in Australia

In late 2024, the Australian government passed one of the strictest social media laws in the world, banning all children younger than 16 from using social or creating accounts. The Australian social media ban would apply to TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X, Instagram, and put the onus of keeping those under 16 from using social on the networks themselves. Failure to do so would result in fines up to $50 million AUD. Networks will be expected to verify users’ ages through ID, behavioral signals and biometrics (which has spurred debates about privacy).

While YouTube was originally excluded from the law, the ESafety Commissioner recently confirmed it will include the video sharing network, too.

The ban is set to go into effect in December 2025, which gives the social networks one year to implement systems to enforce the age restriction, and brands targeting younger consumers one year to adjust their Australian go-to-market strategy.

Proposed social media bans in the EU

At the EU level, the 27 member states are free to set their own age limits for social media use. But recently a group of 10 member states—led by Greece—formally requested that the European Commission make age verification mandatory to access social media. While this situation remains fluid, three nations are strongly in favor of minimum age limits to access social networks:

French social media ban for users under 15

In June 2025, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he would push for an EU-wide ban on social media for users under 15. He said that if the EU doesn’t pass a total ban, he would start enforcing the ban in France. He didn’t specify when.

The ban is believed to be enacted using age verification technology, but it’s unclear exactly which networks would be affected or how the ban would be enforced.

Spanish social media limitations for users under 16

In May 2025, the Spanish government approved the draft of a new law that raises the minimum age for opening a social media account or subscribing to any type of network from 14 to 16 years old. Minors under 16 will only be able to do so with explicit authorization from their legal guardians.

The law will rely on age verification technology, putting the onus on the networks themselves. The law is still under review by Parliament, but many believe it is likely to be enacted once review is complete. The exact date remains unclear, as well as which networks would be impacted.

Greek social media ban for users under 15

Greece is moving to ban social media for all users under 15. The ban is said to be enforced via mandatory age checks and parental controls. It’s unclear which networks are technically included in the ban, or when it will be enforced.

How brands can prepare for social media bans (and changing consumer behavior)

Even if you aren’t operating within the jurisdiction of a social media ban, one survey suggests that young people are limiting their screen time on their own. Which begs the question: With new legislation and consumer behavior shifts on the horizon, how should brands prepare?

Channel experimentation

Now is the time to start experimenting on other networks and emerging channels.

According to Sam Morgan-Smith, Head of Social at the UK-based PR agency The Romans, “Platforms like TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram are still culturally powerful, but their viability for reaching younger users is becoming legally precarious, particularly from an organic perspective. Brands need to audit their media mix through a lens of future-proofing—prioritizing platforms that can guarantee verified reach and are adapting to age-gating protocols. Think: YouTube Kids, Discord communities with mod oversight and emerging youth-safe ecosystems within the gaming space (Roblox, Fortnite). In short: where you spend has to match where your audience legally can be—and that line is moving fast.”

Tiffany Sayers, co-founder at Australian agency Loft Social, agrees. “Younger consumers are already showing signs of platform fatigue, or at the very least, platform fluidity. Gen Z isn’t loyal to one app; they’re loyal to the experience. So rather than anchoring investment purely by platform, brands should evaluate content fit, consumption patterns and community behaviour. Ask: where is attention moving, not what’s trending today. That means doubling down on community building over broadcast, and treating platforms like TikTok less as ‘social networks’ and more as ‘discovery engines.’ Platform agility is the new brand safety, I reckon.”

Age-aligned content

While the days of trying to reach everyone on social are long behind us, teams can’t only rely on the algorithms to deliver their content to the right people. Legislation headwinds will require brands to be more audience-specific when crafting their content.

Morgan-Smith describes this shift: “The days of blanket posting (or ‘throwing confetti’ as I refer to it) and trusting the algorithm are over. Brands will need to get far more strategic. Content needs to be age-aware and legally defensible.”

Sayers adds, “If underage users are legislatively restricted or platforms are penalized for blurred lines, we’ll need more rigour in how brands brief talent, capture first-party data and define success.”

Morgan-Smith and Sayers outlined what that could look like:

• Organic content: Instead of speaking directly to teens, brands will shift their tone to reach parents, educators or older siblings. Brands should also stay vigilant to emerging requirements, like network-enforced content tags for specific age groups.
• Paid social: Marketers should expect to see increased costs to secure audience reach and tighter targeting, while dealing with a smaller youth inventory. Brands will need to double down on transparency and age-tracking tech to remain compliant. Especially if operating across multiple jurisdictions.
• Influencer marketing: All influencers and creators with young audiences will need to comply with robust age-verification protocols, guardian approvals and platform tracking. This could mean more family creators and less attention paid to follower count alone. It will also influence how briefs are written, with more emphasis on co-creating briefs that ensure brand safety and resonance.

Refined brand safety protocols

While many social teams already have some version of brand safety guidelines, their approach needs to get more sophisticated to not only meet network requirements but to comply with legal regulations and show up ethically.

Sayers explains, “We need to move beyond relying solely on platform policies and start embedding internal frameworks. Outside of the obvious—like disclosure and creator education—this includes tighter briefs with age-appropriate messaging, stronger vetting processes, content archiving and moderation protocols, and legal-reviewed guidelines for giveaways, comments and CTAs (more than just captions). Brands need to build processes for long-term digital governance, even if it hurts their vanity metrics. It requires long-term vision, not short-sightedness.”

Morgan-Smith agrees, adding, “Compliance can’t be a bolt-on—it needs to be built into the workflow. That includes governance playbooks (what’s permissible by age, region and platform), data protocols for consent data, age segmentation and targeting rules, and tools that adhere to emerging publishing rules (tagging, audit trails, etc.). Above all, training is fundamental. Not just for social, but all digital-facing departments need regular updates on global legislation, like Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) in the US, the UK Online Safety Act and Australia’s age-verification laws to avoid accidental noncompliance.”

Real-world immersion

Though younger consumers are known for operating in a digital ecosystem, you shouldn’t overlook the opportunity IRL activations offer to complement your online efforts. Especially as operating on organic social becomes more complex.

Sayers advises: “We’re seeing a strong shift back to IRL-led storytelling: micro-events, brand installations, peer-to-peer word of mouth and influencer content that lives beyond a grid. UGC and ambassador-led content seeded via paid media also continues to perform even if organic reach declines.”

Morgan-Smith adds, “As direct social access becomes a little more restricted, the strategic (and smart) pivot is toward hybrid ecosystems that bridge digital influence and real-world immersion. Online, brands should explore gaming integrations, instant messaging and youth-safe content platforms. While in real life, we’re seeing a creative resurgence—including university activations, experience-led marketing and retail theater. This isn’t about abandoning digital—it’s about recalibrating to environments where attention, access and trust intersect.”

Navigating social media bans requires agility: Social media marketers’ superpower

As social becomes a more legitimate form of media, legislation is inevitable and can work for everyone’s best interest—brands and consumers alike.

“This is an evolution, not an erosion. Social media is maturing. Compliance challenges signal legitimacy, not demise. It’s moving from the Wild West to a regulated media environment—like TV did decades ago. Rather than abandoning social, this is the moment to reimagine it. Invest in multi-channel ecosystems, build first-party relationships with younger consumers (with consent) and champion network accountability so you can influence how these spaces grow,” says Morgan-Smith.

Sayers adds, “Social still delivers ROI at every stage of the funnel. It just requires smarter systems and more intentional content now. Show leaders that ethical, compliant social is not only possible but powerful. It’s about shifting the conversation with your leaders from ‘how many likes’ to ‘how many hearts and minds.’”

This is just one piece of the larger brand safety picture. Download our comprehensive checklist, which helps you address risks from AI-generated threats to influencer partnerships.

Full disclaimer

The information provided in this article does not, and is not intended to, constitute formal legal advice; all information, content, and materials are for general informational purposes and are subject to change. Information on this website may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. Incorporation of any guidelines provided in this article does not guarantee compliance or that your legal risk is reduced. You should contact your legal team or attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular matter including how to comply with FTC guidelines and should refrain from acting on the basis of information in this article without first seeking independent legal advice. [Use of, and access to, this article or any of the links or resources contained within the site does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Sprout Social or any contributors to www.sproutsocial.com.] Links to any third-party sites are for general informational purposes only. Such third-party websites are beyond our control, and we are not responsible for any content or links found within. Sprout Social does not endorse or otherwise opine on the compliance or legality of any content or examples on this article. All liability with respect to actions taken or not taken based on the contents of this article are hereby expressly disclaimed.

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These social media marketing ethics questions are popping up more often—and getting harder to answer—as generative AI works its way into nearly every corner of social media marketing, from content creation to customer service.

AI now helps brands write captions, generate images, analyze trends and even reply to comments. But as these tools become more powerful and widespread, so do the concerns surrounding AI ethics, authenticity, data privacy and audience trust.

What happens when personalization crosses the line into manipulation? What if your influencer campaign is powered more by algorithms than real people?

It’s easier than ever to move fast and scale up your social media marketing efforts. But earning trust still takes work.

In this article, we’ll explore how social media marketing ethics are evolving in the age of AI, and what’s at stake for brands that don’t keep up.

How social media marketing ethics are changing (and why brands need to pay attention)

Five years ago, social media marketing was still mostly human-led. AI tools were around, but they were more behind-the-scenes (see: chatbots and basic analytics).

Today, AI is everywhere. It generates content and influences what people see and believe online.

Before we dive into the core social media ethics pillars, let’s take a closer look at how the landscape has shifted. These changes bring new ethical considerations and implications for brands and social media marketers.

As new trends emerge, more social media ethical considerations do too

Five years ago, social media marketing ethics concerns were mostly around data privacy, fake news and influencer transparency.

• The Cambridge Analytica scandal showed how easily user data could be misused, leading to widespread distrust and stronger privacy laws like GDPR and CCPA.
• Deepfakes started going viral, raising new questions about consent and misinformation.
• UK regulators were also cracking down on influencers who failed to disclose paid partnerships.

Today, those same issues are evolving in more complex ways.

• Most generative AI models are trained on massive datasets scraped from the internet, raising questions around plagiarism and privacy.
• The line between “real” and “automated” is blurring. The challenge now is less about spotting AI and more about using it in a way that aligns with your brand and values.
• The responsibility for moderation is shifting from platforms to brands. If a campaign is biased, inaccurate or offensive, you’re still accountable. AI or influencer involvement doesn’t change that.

All these considerations mean brands need to pay closer attention to what they’re publishing and who’s reviewing it. The more automated your content becomes, the more active your social media ethics oversight needs to be.

Why it matters: The direct link between ethical practices and business outcomes

Ethical marketing isn’t just the right thing to do. It’s the smart thing to do. Your people are paying close attention to how you use AI and show up online. And the consequences for getting it wrong hit fast and hard.

According to our Q2 2025 Pulse Survey, the biggest group of social media users (41%) said they’re most likely to call a brand out for doing something unethical than for any other reason.

The impact doesn’t stop at customers. A 2025 Pew Research report found that over half of U.S. workers (52%) are worried about how AI will affect their jobs, and a third (33%) feel overwhelmed. Brands that fail to address these fears risk losing internal trust and talent.

And investors are watching, too. A 2025 report showed that AI-related lawsuits more than doubled due to “AI washing”—a growing trend where companies are using AI more as a marketing gimmick than a genuine core feature of their product.

In short, social media ethics missteps don’t just damage reputation. They impact revenue, retention and long-term brand relevance.

The core pillars of social media marketing ethics as technology evolves

You know how people love to joke that “the intern” is running a brand’s social media, when it’s typically a highly-skilled team or senior professional? The same goes for AI.

It can help streamline and scale, but it’s not ready to run the show on its own. Without oversight, even the most innovative tools—or influential creators—can publish content that’s potentially harmful or misleading.

That’s why brands need clear social media marketing ethics guardrails, which we’ll dive deeper into in the next section.

Honesty and transparency

“Honest” was the top trait social media users associated with bold brands, according to our Q2 2025 Pulse Survey, outpacing humor and even relevance. That’s no accident. When brands are open about their operations, they earn trust. And trust is the foundation of long-term loyalty.

Honesty also helps brands stay ahead of crises and misinformation. Missteps spread fast online.
But when a brand has a track record of transparency, audiences are more likely to give it the benefit of the doubt.

Take Rhode Beauty. In 2024, creator Golloria George posted a viral review criticizing the brand’s blush range for lacking shade diversity. Less than a month later, she shared that Hailey Bieber had personally reached out, sent updated products and even compensated her for “shade consulting.” Rhode was praised for how they handled the situation and acted with transparency.

Being open also protects your brand’s reputation and long-term sustainability.

Unilever is another strong example. As the company rapidly scales influencer partnerships, it’s using AI tools to generate campaign visuals. But they’ve been clear about how and why they’re doing it. This openness signals that even as they move fast, they’re doing so responsibly.

Data protection and consumer privacy

AI allows marketers to analyze massive amounts of user data to personalize content and predict behavior. But just because you can collect and act on that data doesn’t mean you always should.

According to Sprout’s Q4 2024 Pulse Survey, 63% of social media users only somewhat trust platforms to protect their data, and 16% don’t trust them at all. That trust gap should be a wake-up call.

To earn that trust, marketers must be transparent and thoughtful about how they collect and interpret data. For example, tools like social listening and sentiment analysis offer valuable insights, but they’re far from perfect. They can misread tone, sarcasm or cultural nuance, especially across diverse communities. Put too much faith in them, and you might overlook what your audience is really saying.

Protecting consumer privacy starts with transparency. Let your audience know how you’re using AI and social listening tools. Have a clear and up-to-date privacy and social media policy. Offer opt-outs for personalized content, and only collect what’s truly necessary. Most importantly, use these tools to inform, not replace, human judgment.

Spotify is a good example of both sides of this balance. Their Wrapped campaign is widely loved because it uses listener data in a fun, opt-in way that feels personal. But the brand also faced criticism for leaning heavily on generative Al in last year’s campaign.

The takeaway? People are willing to share their data, as long as brands clearly explain what they’re collecting, why they’re using it and how it adds value.

Disclosing advertisements and use of AI

Most marketers know the drill when it comes to disclosing paid partnerships.

Countries like the U.S., Canada and the U.K. have clear guidelines around sponsored content. And if influencers don’t disclose, brands can be held accountable. These rules protect consumers and brand reputation, since unclear brand partnerships can quickly backfire.

Sprout’s Q4 2024 Pulse Survey found that 59% of social users say the “#ad” label doesn’t affect their likelihood to buy. However, 25% say it makes them more likely to make a purchase. That tells us disclosure doesn’t scare people off, but it can help brands gain favor with conscious consumers.

Now that same expectation is extending to AI-generated content. A 2024 Yahoo study found that disclosing AI use in ads boosted trust by 96%.

Regulators are also taking note. In the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warned brands that failing to disclose AI use could be considered deceptive, especially when it misleads consumers or mimics real people. The EU’s new AI Act and Canada’s proposed Artificial Intelligence and Data Act are also pushing in this direction.

Clorox is one brand getting ahead of the curve. They’re using AI to create visuals for Hidden Valley Ranch ads, and being upfront about it. That kind of proactive transparency builds credibility in a fast-changing space.

Respect and inclusivity

Respect and inclusivity show up in the day-to-day choices brands make on social. That includes the language they use, the people they highlight, how they respond to feedback and their commitment to accessibility.

Bias often slips in subtly. Like social algorithms favoring content and creators that have historically performed well, leaving marginalized voices out. Or brands unintentionally posting content that feels tone-deaf. Like a fitness brand might assume everyone has the time, space or physical ability to work out daily. What’s meant to motivate one person can alienate another.

Inclusive brands work to catch these blind spots. They listen to feedback, design with accessibility in mind and aim to reflect a wide range of lived experiences in their content. Social media accessibility—like using alt text, captions, and high color contrast—is a big part of this effort.

Ben & Jerry’s is a strong example of values-led content. They consistently weave their stance on social issues into their content. Case in point: in June 2025, they used the “propaganda we’re not falling for” trend to call out harmful narratives they reject, like anti-abortion campaigns and greenwashing, reinforcing their long-standing commitment to inclusive activism.

How brands can stay up-to-date with guidelines and self-regulate

Social media marketing ethics are shifting fast. From evolving influencer FTC guidelines to navigating the TikTok ban to new EU governance laws, brands need to stay informed on the latest changes (and adapt accordingly).

Here are a few sources we recommend bookmarking (besides our blog, of course!):

Newsletters

• Marketing Brew: Daily news on ads, social trends and policy shifts
• Future Social: Creator and social strategy insights from strategist Jack Appleby
• ICYMI: Weekly platform, creator and social news from marketing consultant Lia Haberman
• Link In Bio: A newsletter for social media pros from social media consultant Rachel Karten

Industry news sites

• Social Media Today: Platform updates and trend analysis
• Marketing Dive and AdWeek: Coverage on influencer marketing, regulation and tech

Regulatory bodies

• FTC: U.S. advertising and influencer disclosure guidelines
• Ad Standards Canada: Ethical ad standards and influencer rules
• ASA: UK’s advertising watchdog
• EDPB: GDPR and AI use guidance across Europe

AI ethics

• Partnership on AI: A global org offering frameworks and principles for ethical AI use

Prioritize brand and social media ethics now and in the future

Ethical marketing can feel overwhelming. There’s a lot to remember: platform rules, disclosure requirements, accessibility standards, the list goes on. And if you’re trying to do everything perfectly, it can feel like walking a tightrope.

But here’s the thing: you won’t always get it right. And that’s okay.

Just keep the following things in mind:

• In an ethical grey area? Transparency is your best tool. Let people know how you’re using AI. Clearly disclose all brand partnerships. Be honest and upfront about what you’re doing and why.
• Intentions count, but so does accountability. If someone calls you out, how you respond matters just as much as what you did.
• Build social media marketing ethics into your workflows. Create checklists, write internal guidelines and loop in legal or compliance teams as needed.
• Lastly, stay curious. Tech and regulations are evolving fast. Adjust and adapt as you go by regularly auditing your tools, guidelines and processes and gathering feedback from your audience and team.

Not sure where to begin? Our Brand Safety Checklist offers practical tips on how to protect your brand from reputational threats.

Social media is constantly changing. But you don’t have to be reactive. Lead with values and set up smart systems and you’re already ahead.

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