When it came to social media, American Honda needed more than just a publishing tool. Tasked with transforming the company’s digital presence, Allie Coulter, Enterprise Social Media Practice Lead, sought a partner to help establish social as the primary engine of two-way dialogue between the brand and its customers. To overhaul the existing social content engine, Coulter and her team needed to do more than routine maintenance. They needed a partner to help lay the foundation for social engagement to become a core strategic asset, driving the company’s future.

A stalled social practice required a bold shift

Coulter was tasked with ensuring American Honda’s social practice measured up to the lofty standards of a global leader—a high-stakes mandate for a brand that prides itself on continually redefining automobile industry standards.

The social media team was trapped by a previous platform that was clunky, outdated and required ongoing manual maintenance. Honda’s four-person team needed technology that allowed them to prioritize customer conversations over technical troubleshooting. Meanwhile, the number of those customer conversations on social media was growing quickly. These began to pick up speed during the pandemic, when customer communication relied primarily on social media. The existing technology simply couldn’t keep up with the demand of so many messages, and forced the team into survival mode with a critical consequence: Community management was deprioritized entirely.

The existing relationship fractured further when vendor support failed alongside the technology shortcomings. Coulter’s team struggled with a lack of vendor responsiveness, putting in repetitive customer service tickets and not getting responses back. For a team tasked with moving at the speed of social, the lack of support was a breaking point.

“If we don’t have vendors that are able to support us at the speed that we need, that’s hard,” Coulter explains. It was clear: If Honda was going to iterate and innovate, its technology stack had to change as well.

Grabbing the keys to true partnership with Sprout Social

Coulter sought a solution that was intuitive, ready to go out of the box and being fed by ongoing innovative updates and feature releases. The decision to switch was strongly influenced by organic peer feedback that consistently praised Sprout’s ease of use and superior customer service. Once implemented, the entire Enterprise Social Media team, including Senior Social Strategist Heather Epstein, were able to shift their focus to being purely customer-centric. The unified nature of the Sprout products allowed Honda to coordinate multi-platform publishing alongside on-brand customer community building and responsive care, and proved indispensable.

“Most of our team is in Sprout every single day, whether it’s clearing queues and responding to key customer questions or scheduling content and pulling metrics. Sprout is there for whatever we need,” shares Epstein.

The Sprout platform’s intelligent queue management and Tagging created fast, measurable relief for the small team. This shift from time-consuming triage to decisive action was monumental. Epstein details the shift in daily operations: “We reduced [inbox management] from about five hours a day to two hours a day, and are still able to answer all of our critical customer questions.”

Co-creating the future of social

What truly solidified Sprout as a partner was the dedicated, two-way relationship that mirrored Honda’s commitment to its own customers—and the strategic dialogue that became Sprout’s greatest differentiator. Sprout didn’t just hand over a tool. The product team listened to feedback and worked alongside Honda to build a solution tailored to their complex business needs.

This partnership was proven when Sprout approached Honda about the opportunities of engaging in influencer marketing. Although Honda initially declined to proceed with Sprout Social Influencer Marketing, their team sat down with Sprout’s engineers and walked them through Honda’s robust, in-house influencer vetting protocol. Sprout took these notes seriously, and incorporated elements of Honda’s unique process directly into the updated Influencer Marketing product.

This collaborative effort led Honda to adopt Sprout Social Influencer Marketing, centralizing all of their social media efforts in one cohesive platform. The result: an ecosystem that simplifies and accelerates Honda’s ability to evaluate major partners, including Olympic athletes, alongside its social community management and customer support programs.

The fact that the Sprout team listened and really understood our process, which then helped influence certain integrations and enhancements to the tool—that’s a game changer. That’s truly a partner listening to their customers.

Allie Coulter
Enterprise Social Media Practice Lead

This spirit of collaboration was evident during implementation. As Epstein confirms, “When it came to our influencer marketing tool, that was something newer to our team … the Sprout representatives were really helpful in onboarding us. We had someone walking us through each step of the process, making sure that it was a seamless transition for us.”

Accelerating audience engagement and strategic impact

The shift to Sprout immediately restored Honda’s ability to connect with its customers. In the first year, Honda achieved a massive 251% increase in community engagement. In year two, with the foundation set, the team leveraged Sprout’s automations and filters to move their focus beyond the growing volume of conversations.

By prioritizing high-value engagements like shares, comments and direct messages, the team was able to decrease time spent in the Smart Inbox by up to 40%, freeing up 40 hours a month for valuable content strategy work and proactive data analysis. This focus on engagements also resulted in an impressive 91% high-quality engagement action rate for the Honda brand, significantly outperforming the 75% industry standard.

Social becomes a powerhouse data source

With its core functions running efficiently on Sprout, the social team leveraged Sprout Social Listening capabilities to elevate its role in the organization to strategic business partnership. The team began proactively sharing social trends and insights with internal stakeholders from R&D to marketing about customer sentiment on innovative products like electric vehicles.

This proactivity in connecting social data to business strategy has propelled social media marketing from an afterthought to a core data source. Today, American Honda relies on its mature social practice as a key driver in major business initiatives, including its proud partnership as a founding partner of the 2028 Olympics—fondly known as “LA28”—and Team USA.

We’re really grateful for the hard work that Sprout put into changing and refreshing our technology stack with us. Our relationship has really paved the way for us to operate in a better, more efficient way.

Allie Coulter
Enterprise Social Media Practice Lead

Put the pedal down on your own social authority

Honda proved that making social a strategic business asset starts with finding a true technology partner who understands and supports your needs. By leveraging Sprout’s intuitive platform and dedication to customer conversations, the team eliminated operational bottlenecks and secured social’s role as an essential data source—defining what best-in-class social execution looks like for a global leader.

Accelerate your own business through social with a platform that delivers instant efficiency and acts as a true innovation partner. Request your free Sprout Social demo today.

The post How Honda shifted social into a strategic asset 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.

Customer expectations are higher than ever and a single bad experience can cost you a customer.

That’s why you need a CXM strategy that connects every touchpoint and streamlines workflows—delivering personalized experiences at scale.

Here’s how to build a strategy that works.

What is customer experience management?

Customer experience management (CXM) is how brands plan, deliver and optimize every customer interaction. The goal is to ensure the end-to-end experience is consistent, personalized and positive across all channels and touchpoints.

It’s built on three core pillars:

• Customer data: The messages, feedback, purchase history and behavior signals from across the customer journey
• Technology: The tools to analyze that data, uncover pain points and trends and deliver personalized experiences at scale, as well as guide future strategies
• Cross-team workflows: Processes that break down silos, sharing full context during handoffs so agents can deliver consistent service without forcing customers to repeat themselves.

Together, these pillars create positive experiences that boost customer satisfaction, build brand loyalty and reduce churn.

CXM vs. CSM vs. CRM

While they sound similar, CXM, customer success management (CSM) and customer relationship management (CRM) serve distinct roles in customer engagement and retention.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the differences:

• CXM (Customer experience management): Designs and optimizes the entire customer journey, from first contact to post-purchase. The focus is on the end-to-end experience to drive loyalty.
• CSM (Customer success management): Ensures customers achieve their desired outcomes when using a product or service. The focus is on product adoption and retention.
• CRM (Customer relationship management): A system that stores and organizes customer data (leads, profiles, sales activity). Its primary job is to manage customer information and relationships for sales and service.

Benefits of customer experience management

By uniting customer insights, technology and workflows, customer experience management transforms everyday service into a competitive advantage. With an effective strategy, you’ll see improvements in the following areas:

• Higher customer satisfaction, due to personalized experiences and consistent service
• More loyal customers from building trust at every touchpoint
• Improved operational efficiency via centralized customer service software that breaks down silos
• Smarter decision-making from using real-time insights from customer feedback
• Greater profitability from reduced customer churn and repeat purchases
• Stronger brand experience from being ahead of the curve and consistent with customer experience management

The importance of customer experience management

Customer experience management is a direct driver of loyalty, efficiency and growth. Care teams understand this, but often struggle to identify where existing processes fall short—even as expectations for exceptional service keep rising.

(Source: Verint)

A 2025 survey from Verint shows that more than a third of buyers have higher customer service expectations than last year. If companies don’t craft a CXM strategy that meets those expectations, loyalty will suffer.

Here’s why a customer experience management strategy is essential:

Strong experiences drive lasting customer loyalty

Exceptional customer experiences are the backbone of loyalty. Positive interactions build trust and emotional connection, signaling to customers that you understand and value their needs.

Social users know this best: How a brand interacts and how quickly it responds are two of the most important factors that make it stand out. Timely, well-considered care is a clear differentiator in a crowded market.

When users receive positive experiences from brands, they put their loyalty into action. For example, Verint’s survey also shows that 86% of customers say they’re likely to buy again after receiving good customer service and 81% would recommend the brand to a friend or family member.

The takeaway? You don’t buy loyalty with flashy campaigns—you earn it through consistently excellent everyday interactions. Equip your social team with the tools and insights to reply quickly, track conversations across channels and personalize responses.

Proactive care reduces escalations and risk

If your brand is only noticing problems when a customer reports them, it means you’re missing critical signals. That reactive approach erodes trust and confidence.

That’s why proactive communication matters most.

Customers want reassurance that a business is monitoring their needs and taking action before issues escalate. This is especially critical in industries like banking, healthcare and utilities, where timely updates prevent stress.

Centralized insights make care more efficient

When customers feel heard, they stay.

When they have to repeat themselves across channels, they aren’t likely to do business with your brand again. Here’s a somber statistic: According to Genesys’s survey, more than a fifth of customers “vow to never do business with a organization again” if they have to repeat themselves across touchpoints.

(Source: Genesys)

The issue on the customer service side often lies with customer care not being centralized in one place. Disconnected channels force agents to switch tools and hunt for information, slowing down every interaction and frustrating customers.

That’s why a robust omnichannel CXM software is necessary: It centralizes all customer data in one place. Agents can then pick up any conversation with full context, instantly.

Not only does this make care more efficient because you’re not toggling between tools, but it also significantly improves the customers experience.

Customer experience fuels revenue growth

Happy customers drive profit and service quality is often the deciding factor. Consumers judge a company by the quality of its service. When that service makes people feel valued and understood, they’re more likely to return, spend more and advocate for your brand. This directly fuels long-term revenue growth.

Just look at Genesys’ findings:

• 74% of consumers would do more of their online shopping with a brand that offers consistently personalized customer service.
• 73% would buy more items when the service feels tailored to them.
• 73% would leave a review after a positive service interaction.

When you deliver excellent service, you create happier customers who stay longer and buy more, which fuels revenue growth.

How to be a leading brand in customer experience management (with examples)

Great customer experience builds loyalty, but you need to know what customers expect. Beyond fast service, they demand connected experiences and proactive care that anticipates their needs.

On social, every interaction is a chance to shape your brand reputation. Care teams that deliver connection and proactive care shift their focus from solving problems to building lasting customer relationships.

You can achieve this with:

• Quick responses
• Active social listening
• True omnichannel service

Here’s how to do this, with some of the best customer experience management examples to show it off in action:

Deliver fast, personalized care that builds trust

Speed is the single greatest driver of perceived service quality.

Offering prompt, personalized responses has the power to transform complaining customers into brand advocates.

But if you’re too slow, even the best personalization won’t save you.

As the Sprout Social Index™ shows, quick responses are the expected baseline. If social media users don’t get a reply on social, they’ll switch to a competitor. In fact, nearly three-quarters expect that response to be within 24 hours or less.

To build trust and drive loyalty, you must combine the personal touch with speed. The trick to timely, authentic responses lies in centralizing your customer communications so you can see everything at once, in real time.

Case study: Grammarly with Sprout Social’s Smart Inbox

Take Grammarly, for instance. The company achieves quick response times through Sprout’s Smart Inbox. Their team monitors and responds to queries across all social platforms in real time, consistently delivering speed and tailored support.

As a result, Grammarly has decreased its average time to first response by more than 80% in two years. 

Curious about what it’s like to use Sprout Social for customer care management?

Schedule a demo today.

Break down silos to create a seamless customer journey

Customers expect every interaction to feel connected. They want to move between channels without repeating themselves and they value it most when a brand already knows their account history.

To achieve this omnichannel CX experience, you need to break down silos between teams and channels with centralized customer experience management tools. With all customer data in one place, agents have a complete view of each customer’s journey—meaning they can solve the problem without forcing the customer to reiterate their story.

Let’s consider how Casio does this.

Case study: Casio with Sprout’s Case Management tools

Casio centralized its care operations using Sprout’s Case Management tools, breaking down silos across social, marketing and care teams. Everyone collaborates in the same software. Every agent has full context to serve customers quickly and authentically or route cases to the most suited colleague.

Result: Centralizing care with Sprout Social led to a 22% increase in response rates and 60% faster response times on Facebook and on X.

Use insights to anticipate needs before they become problems

Leading brands don’t wait for a complaint. Instead, they use social listening and analytics to detect trends, spot recurring issues and uncover friction points in real time.

Listening tools detect early signs of dissatisfaction, like a spike in mentions about delayed deliveries or repeated questions about a new product. With these insights, your team will be able to address concerns proactively.

For example, if social listening uncovers repeated comments from customers who are confused about delivery timelines, you could increase the frequency and clarity of your shipping updates. Or if you spot multiple posts showing customers struggling with a new product, consider creating a how-to video that walks them through the key features.

By staying ahead of problems, you’ll reduce escalations, build trust and turn negative moments into opportunities for connection.

Turn customer conversations into business impact

CXM isn’t just about closing tickets; it’s a massive opportunity for business growth.

Every interaction gives you data that reveals process gaps, friction points and opportunities to surprise and delight. Analytics tools pinpoint what’s working and where a small change could have a big impact on loyalty and revenue.

For example, if you see recurring support tickets about a feature, that could signal a chance to improve onboarding or create clearer product guides. Or if ‌customer feedback consistently praises a particular service, you might spotlight it in future marketing campaigns to attract more of the same audience.

Scale empathetic care with AI and automation

Even the most dedicated care teams have their limits. High volumes, repetitive questions and complex routing can drain time and energy that agents could spend on high-value interactions.

Automation and AI take the pressure off. Automated workflows, smart routing and AI-assisted engagement handle routine activities, speeding up care. They help you respond quickly, direct cases to the right agent and craft tailored replies at scale.

Many organizations worry that AI customer care will turn customers away, but human preference for support is evolving. What matters most is that customers see the advantages AI-powered services bring and even prefer them, so long as they resolve the issue.

Keele University built a chatbot to handle incoming queries, reducing the time agents spent answering the same questions. As their Head of Digital and Media explains, “We definitely get the same amount of questions we did in the past, but the bots have cut down on the time we need to take to respond to those queries.”

The takeaway: AI and automation work when applied thoughtfully. They help you deliver faster, more consistent care without sacrificing the empathy and personalization customers expect.

How to use Sprout Social to bring your CXM strategy to life

Sprout Social gives care teams the tools to turn strategy into action, which helps them resolve issues faster, spot trends earlier and connect every interaction to business outcomes.

Here’s how Sprout brings your CXM strategy to life:

1. Track and prioritize CX issues in real time

Smart Inbox centralizes every message, comment and mention so nothing slips through the cracks. Custom tags make it easy to flag urgent concerns, while approval workflows ensure sensitive responses are reviewed before posting.

Together, these capabilities ensure teams address the most pressing issues first and consistently reduce response times.

2. Uncover emerging trends with Listening and automation

Listening surfaces conversations even if people haven’t tagged you, helping you analyze shifts in sentiment, trending topics and recurring product feedback across the wider social landscape.

When you pair Listening with automation, you can route trending issues to the right team instantly—preventing small concerns from escalating into brand-damaging problems.

3. Report CX performance with executive-ready analytics

With Premium Analytics (add-on of Sprout’s Reporting suite), care activity becomes a measurable business insight. Track key CXM metrics (NPS, resolution times, sentiment shifts) to produce branded, executive-ready reports that clearly show your team’s impact and areas for improvement.

This capability turns CX from a reactive cost center into a data-driven driver of retention and revenue.

4. Collaborate across teams and channels with shared context

Sprout centralizes customer data so care, product and marketing teams can work from the same insights.

With a single view of conversations and account history, it’s easier to keep messaging consistent while preventing duplicate work. That way, every interaction feels connected, no matter the channel.

What to consider when choosing a customer experience management software

Care teams today face growing workloads, disconnected systems and pressure to prove their impact. The right CXM platform is essential to overcome these barriers. CXM tools help you streamline your work, unify data and link every interaction to measurable outcomes.

When evaluating software, look for a platform that offers the following:

• Ease of use: Gets teams up to speed quickly.
• Centralized inbox: Unifies all customer conversations in one place.
• Robust analytics: Measures impact and shapes future strategy.
• AI & automation: Scales empathetic care.
• Seamless integration: Works with existing tech stack to maximize efficiency.

Build a sustainable customer experience management workflow

Your customer care team is the heartbeat of your brand, so you need to deliver CX that resonates.

Great CX isn’t about perfection. It’s about showing up consistently, connecting meaningfully and building trust one interaction at a time. With Sprout Social’s Smart Inbox, Case Management and Reporting suite, you can deliver this at scale, without losing the personal touch.

Ready to see how? Request a demo today to get started.

The post Customer experience management: How to deliver better support appeared first on Sprout Social.

We’re back with the latest edition of our series, @Me Next Time, where we invite Team Sprout and some of our favorite social experts to share how they really feel about the latest trends and industry discourse.

This time, we sat down with Patrick Timmons—Senior Manager of Social and Brand Communications, founder of The Brand Kitchen, author, and expert on empathy marketing—to learn more about his empathy-driven philosophy.

As Timmons described, “Traditional marketing says, ‘You see me.’ Empathy marketing says, ‘I see you,’ which is how humans talk to other humans.”

Amid a flurry of AI-generated content permeating our feeds, audiences want person-to-person connection. Per our Q4 2025 Sprout Pulse Survey, consumers say human-generated content, personalized care and surprise-and-delight moments are what they want brands to prioritize most in 2026.

Empathy-driven marketing is at the heart of all of these efforts. Read on for more insights from our interview with Timmons, and steps you can take to build a social marketing strategy rooted in empathy.

What is empathy-driven marketing?

Empathy-driven marketing is a customer-centric approach that focuses on the emotions, needs and challenges people face rather than only objective benefits.

As Timmons put it, “Empathy marketing is understanding why your customers need your product or service. How it makes their lives less stressful or chaotic. It’s identifying the moment in their day when your brand makes them happier or relieved. There’s a tendency in marketing—especially among executives—to focus on the details of how well-designed or efficient a product is. But that’s not why people buy products. They buy products because their value resonates emotionally. Everything we buy starts with emotion.”

Empathy marketing is less about aesthetics and about substance, something Timmons admits takes time for marketers to internalize.

“Early in my career, I thought my job was to make my brand look perfect. But the campaigns that resonated weren’t the glossy ones—they were the ones where people said, ‘That’s so me.’ As Maya Angelou said, ‘People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’ That’s the foundation of empathy marketing—it’s about creating connection, not just communication.”

How empathy and traditional marketing are different

To visualize how traditional and empathy-driven marketing differ, Timmons offered a poignant metaphor. Imagine you’re attending a conference. Traditional marketing is the keynote speaker. Addressing thousands of audience members at once, the keynote speaker proudly lists their accomplishments as they tell their rousing success story. It’s inspiring and memorable, but you don’t have a personal relationship with that speaker. They don’t know you, and you don’t really know them.

On the other hand, empathy-driven marketing is the person sitting next to you in the crowd. This fellow attendee gets to know you and your background, and has firsthand experience doing the same type of work that you do. You share two-way conversations that reveal similar perspectives and goals, and you feel understood by them. Brands that create the same kind of authentic connection with their customers and prospects earn lasting trust and loyalty.

Timmons clarifies that brands should continue to talk about their products and services, but must do so in a way that prioritizes education for the sake of meeting customers’ emotional needs. Don’t use jargon or salesy language. “Let your brand be the thought leader of your audience’s emotions. Show them that you see the challenges they experience. You don’t need to literally say, ‘We make your life easier,’ but you should convey how well you understand their point-of-view. Rather than trying to be the hero archetype, be the therapist.”

Why we need empathy in marketing now more than ever

The current social, political and economic landscape is straining consumers and changing the way they want brands to show up. Take the brand activism renaissance as evidence. Per the Q3 2025 Sprout Pulse Survey, 47% of consumers are more likely to buy from companies that speak out about specific causes or topics in the news, given the current social climate. That rises to 63% for Gen Z.

The Pulse Survey also found that consumers say their top concerns for brands on social revolve around brands publishing AI-generated content without disclosing it, mishandling personal data and posting content that doesn’t align with their own views.

In such polarizing times, audiences want to buy from brands they can trust. Empathy is key to standing out for the right reasons and earning credibility.

Timmons framed it like this, “Going into 2026, I think we’re going to see more divisive advertising, which already started to emerge this year. Some brands are responding to the current climate by leaning into exclusivity. ‘This is the kind of person who wears our jeans’ or ‘This is the kind of person who drives our cars.’ When you do that, you inadvertently gatekeep your brand and make people feel like they’re being sold to. Consumers see through that, and crave something more honest and sincere. Rather than telling your audience what stereotype you think they fit into, listen to what they really need.”

How social teams can lead with empathy-driven marketing

To lead with empathy in your marketing efforts, you need to go back to basics. As marketers, it’s easy to get caught up in the different goals of teams across your company. But, at its core, your marketing plans should reflect the emotional needs of your audience first and foremost.

Read the room

It’s critical to monitor macro conversations and cultural moments that may impact how your audience feels and what they’re most worried about. Whether it’s tariffs or the rising cost of living, geopolitical conflicts and social issues, or audiences growing fatigued with specific trends, there are many factors at play.

Insights like these emerge on social, which means your team is first to notice new developments. Use sentiment shifts to shape your goals and content strategy. You should also share these learnings cross-functionally and with your C-suite, reminding teams across your company of the broader challenges your audience is up against.

Listen to what your audiences are saying

In addition to the wider context, it’s equally important to stay on top of everything being said about your brand and product, and specific consumer challenges related to your industry. As Timmons described, “You have to have conversations with your customers. Talk to them at events, listen to Gong calls, sit in on sales meetings. Take every opportunity to soak in customer stories that you can. They can inspire countless content ideas and help you build stronger rapport with your community.”

As your content becomes more resonant, you should also tap into the comment section. There’s nothing more affirming than when a commenter says, “This is so me.” Timmons advises marketers to ask follow-up questions to dig deeper into sentiment data and find out why content resonated (and take those qualitative insights to your executives). This engagement fuels stronger content, and allows your community to co-create your brand identity with you.

Measure the right things

If empathy is your north star, which metrics matter most? For Timmons, the top metrics are saves and shares. He describes them as “trust” metrics. “A save means your content is good enough that someone doesn’t want it to get washed away by the algorithm. A share means someone is tying themselves to your brand, and is willing to cosign their name on your content.”

Both mean you’ve struck accord beyond surface-level engagement. It’s an even stronger indicator when people are saving and sharing your paid or boosted content.

Commit to small changes

Embracing empathy-driven marketing is a long game. But Timmons believes that even small, intentional changes to how social marketers operate day to day can make a huge difference. These are three quick ways to practice empathy marketing, regardless of your current strategy or tech stack:

1. Replace “target audience” with “people I’m helping” when having internal conversations.
2. Audit your last five posts and ask: Who did this serve?
3. Talk to one customer—really talk—and turn that story into content.

Brands that exemplify empathy-driven marketing

When we asked Timmons for examples of brands that already exemplify empathy-driven marketing, there were two clear stand-outs.

Spotify

“I think Spotify Wrapped is one of the best empathy marketing campaigns ever. It’s all about the end users. It’s about their emotional journeys throughout the year, and creating space for them to reflect through a product. And everyone wants to share it on social because it’s so true and authentic,” said Timmons.

Spotify first started running the campaign 10 years ago, and it has since become a beloved pop culture phenomenon. The campaign is so successful that consumers continue to raise their expectations for its data quality, and how well it captures their unique tastes and personality. Last year, consumers were vocal when they suspected their Wrapped data was inaccurate and misrepresented them.

Timmons urges marketers to lean in and listen during those moments. “Your product, service or brand is going to fall short at some point. Empathy marketing will help you navigate those moments with grace. Because of the feedback they got, Spotify is working to deliver even better data this year.”

Gap

Like many social users, Timmons was a huge fan of Gap’s collaboration with girl group Katseye. “The Gap denim commercial was so on the nose. By partnering with Katseye, Gap celebrated individual confidence without minimizing other people’s confidence. I have friends who are buying Gap jeans for the first time because they were so inspired by the campaign’s message of fun and body confidence.”

The retailer followed their Katseye campaign by partnering with Troye Sivan and Sienna Spiro, and building on their legacy of confidence and joy-inducing musical productions.

Lead the market by putting empathy first

Empathy marketing is a long-term strategy for building trust with increasingly skeptical consumers. AI saturation and a fraught social, political and economic climate leave people seeking true human-to-human connection.

The brands that stand out will be the ones that see and hear their audiences most clearly. By listening deeply, responding sincerely and crafting content that says “we get you,” social teams can build a bridge between their brand and audiences. In 2026 and beyond, empathy will be the most valuable currency in marketing.

For more on unearthing insights about your audience from social, check out social media listening examples from real brands.

The post Empathy marketing is what sets the best social teams apart appeared first on Sprout Social.

Because social media meltdowns, pile-ons and controversies aren’t just reserved for the biggest companies anymore.

Social media moves fast. When you’re managing floods of @mentions, messages and updates daily, mistakes happen. They spiral quickly.

Recent global events prove crises strike without warning. Organizations that survive and thrive are those with established response protocols, designated teams and real-time monitoring systems in place before trouble hits.

It’s essential to create a plan for when (not if) the unexpected happens on social media because your community expects to hear from you. And navigating a crisis well helps your business recover faster.

This guide breaks down how marketing and communications teams can handle a social media crisis and tips to prevent problems in the future.

What constitutes a social media “crisis?”

A social media crisis represents any significant negative social media activity that threatens your brand’s reputation, business operations or customer relationships. This includes viral backlash, coordinated attacks, product failures amplified online or employee misconduct that spreads across platforms.

Bear in mind that a “crisis” is much more than just a single negative comment or customer complaint. Indicators of a crisis could be anything from a flurry of negative comments to an outright boycott of your products.

Also, note that not all crises are totally within your control as a marketer. They can happen no matter how careful your brand is with its messaging.

How so? Let’s look at some social media crisis examples below.

Insensitive or out-of-touch comments

Perhaps the most common–and preventable–type of crisis comes from saying something offensive or insensitive.

We see such snafus often from celebrities and influencers. Chalk it up to a lack of self-awareness or not having a second opinion to say “Hey, maybe you shouldn’t post this.”

Consider the recent backlash from actress AnnaLynne McCord’s insensitive poem on Twitter regarding the crisis in Ukraine. The video has more than 38.1 million views so far.

Commenting on an international crisis with a poem was both out-of-touch and privileged, to say the least. McCord has since doubled-down on her perspective, despite negative feedback and press.

Errors in judgment aren’t just restricted to celebrities. For example, Amazon Prime had to delete an insensitive tweet joking about finding “apocalypse buddies” the day of the Ukrainian invasion. Responses online were swift and unforgiving.

A quippy Tweet about the apocalypse may not be offensive on its own. However, the timing of the Tweet was definitely in poor taste. After quickly deleting the post and pausing content for the rest of the day, they Retweeted a message regarding their support for Ukraine from Amazon News a few days later.

Product fails and customer criticism

Social media and community managers serve as the sort of mouthpiece for their respective brands online.

And if a product you’re putting out doesn’t deliver or results in bad press, you’re going to be taking the brunt of the criticism.

Take haircare company Olaplex. A number of beauty influencers took to social media to speak out against their products after previously promoting them to followers and fans.

The controversy began when it was revealed that the European Union (EU) determined an ingredient in one of Olaplex’s formulas was linked to infertility. Consumers took to social media to share their concerns and their plans to boycott the brand.

This controversy highlights how quickly a social media crisis can unfold.

Olaplex promptly addressed the allegations against their products and worked to stop the spread of misinformation. They shared published findings from third-party academic sources and communicated transparently with their community.

Although it’s too soon to know the full impact of this crisis, it seems that Olaplex will be able to move forward with limited damage to their reputation.

Employee errors and bad behavior

Sometimes all it takes is one employee’s misconduct to start a crisis.

Take the recent leaked email thread from an Applebee’s executive making the rounds on social media. In the email, he celebrates high gas prices as a means to stop paying workers better wages.

The repercussions were immediate. The brand’s culture was understandably dragged on social media. The crisis escalated as press coverage exploded and many employees quit the franchise.

Backlash gone viral

As noted earlier, sometimes a crisis occurs due to something beyond a social manager or marketing department’s control. It can instead stem from larger cultural issues within an organization.

Last year luxury retailer Coach came under fire for destroying their surplus purses and shoes, despite making sustainability claims on their website. A TikTok went viral depicting “purse-slashed” leftover merchandise found in the trash.

The company later confirmed this practice had taken place, but shared their plans to update their policies following the scandal.

Site outages and broken links

Technical outages escalate into full crises when brands ignore early warning signs. Site crashes during product launches or broken promotional links trigger immediate customer frustration.

Let’s say you’re in the midst of a product launch and your site goes down. Or maybe you’re promoting an irresistible offer to your customers and your links are broken.

If so, an explosion of @mentions and complaints could very well come your way.

The good news is that these sorts of crises are the easiest, granted you’re equipped to respond and fix the issue in a timely manner that satisfies customers’ needs.

Real-world crises, global events and tragedies

If we’ve learned anything the past few years, it’s that brands should be prepared for anything. The real-time crisis management efforts we’ve seen from companies in response to worldwide tragedies are proof of that.

Brands need to be aware of current events and respond in a way that’s tasteful and not insensitive.

In some cases, that might mean putting your social marketing on pause or shifting focus. In other cases, it may be the best channel for communicating with customers.

Prefer to listen to insight? Check out Get Baked’s unique approach to managing a social media crisis.

Building your crisis response team

A crisis isn’t a one-person job.

Your response is only as strong as the team behind it. A well-defined team ensures clear ownership and eliminates confusion when every second counts.

Your crisis response team needs designated roles with clear responsibilities. Start with these core members:

• Team Lead: The central coordinator who manages the response, facilitates communication and makes final decisions.
• Social Media Manager: The front-line expert who monitors conversations, pauses scheduled content and executes the communication strategy directly on your social platforms.
• Communications/PR: This person or team crafts all external and internal messaging, ensuring your response is consistent, authentic and on-brand.
• Legal: Your legal counsel reviews all public statements to mitigate risk and ensure compliance.
• Customer Support Lead: They coordinate the response to customer inquiries, ensuring the care team has the right information and resources.
• Executive Sponsor: A leader who provides top-level support, removes organizational roadblocks and communicates with other stakeholders.

Establish a dedicated, private channel for your team to communicate in real time. This ensures information flows quickly and securely, so you can act with precision and confidence.

How to manage a social media crisis communication response

Brands today need to be proactive. Given the constantly “on” nature of businesses today and the unpredictable nature of life itself, it pays to be prepared.

Now that we know what common crises are out there, let’s talk about what it takes to respond to build a social media crisis management strategy when a crisis does occur.

If you’d like to document your plan along the way, use our free crisis management plan template.

React swiftly

Nearly three-quarters of consumers expect a response within 24 hours or sooner. According to The 2025 Sprout Social Index™, 73% of social media users expect brands to respond on social within 24 hours.

However, social media crisis management means responding as quickly as possible. The sooner you’re able to react and quell any sort of controversy, the better.

Either the way, it all starts with keeping a keen eye on your notifications and @mentions to keep a negative feedback loop from forming.

You don’t need to monitor feeds around the clock. Sprout Social’s Smart Inbox automatically detects engagement spikes and unusual activity patterns, alerting your team the moment conversations shift negative.

The platform’s collision detection prevents multiple team members from responding to the same message, eliminating confusion during high-pressure situations. Similarly, social listening solutions can help teams of any size track real-time reactions, keywords, hashtags, brand sentiment and important conversations relevant to the crisis at hand.

Stop automated posts and take control of your account(s)

Another smart move is halting your automated posts during a crisis—at least temporarily.

For example, clothing brands shouldn’t use the crisis in Ukraine as an opportunity to promote their new spring line. Such posts feel out-of-place and insensitive during a crisis when people are focused on their well-being versus buying.

If you’re managing your social accounts in Sprout, hitting the proverbial pause button can be done in a single click. The ability to pull this sort of emergency lever is especially useful if you’re juggling multiple clients or accounts.

Organize your workflow

A social media crisis can lead to an overflow of messages and mentions. It’s important to make sure your team is equipped with the tools they need to manage the influx.

If your team’s bandwidth is stretched thin, automate as much as possible. Employing chatbots can help you manage a high volume of inbound private messages.

Chatbots aren’t a substitute for human connection, but they do help streamline and expedite common inquiries. This, in turn, frees up your team to spend time on more nuanced and complex customer issues.

If multiple team members are busy responding to messages, it can be overwhelming to keep track of job status.

Sprout Social’s Collision Detection tool prevents teams from having more than one person working on a response at a given time and improves crisis management efficiency.

Assess and apologize if necessary

If you find yourself in social media crisis management mode, it’s only natural to want to get things back to “normal” as quickly as possible.

But if there’s one aspect of a crisis that you shouldn‘t rush, it’s an apology.

In fact, a half-hearted apology can actually do more damage in a situation where your customers were truly hurt. What makes a “good” public apology is up for debate, but taking responsibility is a step in the right direction.

After Procter & Gamble (P&G) shared a post claiming that women’s feet smelled “five times worse than men’s,” many consumers vowed to boycott the company over their sexist remarks.

P&G later apologized for the comments, acknowledged the impact of their inappropriate behavior and deleted the message.

Remaining accountable for the hurt you caused—intentionally or not—is much more impactful than the 140-character equivalent of “Sorry you were offended.”

Reflect and report

As the crisis begins to wind down, it’s critical to digest and assess your experience. Ask yourself questions like:

• What went well?
• What challenged us the most?
• How can we prepare for future crises?

After you take time to reflect, collect the right data from social media and begin to analyze it.

Choose the appropriate metrics, such as sentiment, task resolution and inbound message volume, to determine how the crisis impacted your brand reputation and overall business health. Share the results with stakeholders to empower social data-driven decision making moving forward.

Sprout Social’s analytics tools enable you to quickly collect and analyze data across channels, and share results with leaders in real-time.

Measuring crisis impact and recovery

Surviving a crisis is one thing. Proving your recovery is another.

Measuring the impact isn’t just about damage control. It’s about understanding what happened, showing leaders how you recovered and getting smarter for next time.

You need to track the right data to tell the full story. Focus on these key metrics:

• Mention & Message Volume: Pinpoint the exact moment the crisis began and when conversation levels return to normal.
• Sentiment Analysis: Track the shift in sentiment from negative back to neutral or positive. This is your core metric for reputational recovery.
• Reach & Engagement: Understand how far the crisis narrative spread and which messages resonated most during your response.
• Team Performance: Monitor your team’s response and resolution times to identify workflow efficiencies and gaps.

Use this data to build a post-crisis report that outlines the event, your team’s actions and the measurable results of your response. This transforms a crisis from a chaotic event into a strategic learning opportunity.

With Sprout Social’s analytics, you can pull this data into a presentation-ready report to share with stakeholders, demonstrating the value of a well-managed response.

How to avoid another social media crisis

To wrap things up, let’s discuss some pointers for avoiding another potential crisis in the future.

Below are some quick measures to keep from stepping into crisis territory.

Determine who can speak for your brand

Establishing a social media policy means having a set of checks and balances in place.

For example, who’s allowed to speak on behalf of your brand? Do you have your posts and comments go through approvals (e.g., corporation communications teams, legal departments)?

By keeping your brand’s messaging limited to a select few, you’re less likely to post insensitive content. This creates a sense of accountability for your social marketing if something does go wrong.

Double-check your brand voice

Piggybacking on the tip above, your brand voice determines how you speak to customers.

For example, do you prefer to take a humorous tone? Formal? There is no “right” answer here.

What matters is having a defined style guide so that your customer interactions are always on-brand and non-confrontational. This also makes it easier to help new hires understand how to talk to your customers via social.

Embrace social listening

You should always have a pulse on how people feel about your business.

Social listening can help you monitor conversations and the sentiment around your brand, whether it be positive or negative. This can help you spot the beginnings of a crisis and potential issues that your customers might have before they blow up.

Plan for crisis scenarios

Unfortunately, no amount of planning can completely prevent a crisis. But the more prepared you are for all possible scenarios, the less likely you’ll be to face serious repercussions.

Start scenario planning by meeting with your team and brainstorming all the possible situations that might emerge in the next few quarters or years. Keep in mind how the crisis would impact customers, internal team members and the business.

Pro tip: for the best results, incorporate diverse perspectives and experiences.

Then create overall strategies that can be adapted in general situations, such as supply chain emergencies, product failures or unsavory posts by employees.

What does your social media crisis communication plan look like?

Managing a social media crisis doesn’t have to be a nightmare.

Are they stressful? Absolutely.

That said, crises come with the territory of having a social presence. Brands today need to be equipped to respond.

Crisis preparedness starts with the right tools. Sprout Social’s comprehensive platform combines real-time listening, team coordination through Smart Inbox and detailed analytics to help you detect, respond to and measure crisis recovery effectively.

Start a free trial to see how these integrated features protect your brand when it matters most.

The post How to create a social media crisis communication plan appeared first on Sprout Social.

A good number of companies aren’t prepared for a crisis like this. However, an effective crisis communication strategy can help your company plan for a worst case scenario and emerge with your reputation intact.

While we hope any crisis management plan will remain in storage and never used—preparation is key. This comprehensive guide to crisis management will provide you with actionable tips on how to build a strategy to respond to any crisis efficiently and keep customers informed.

What is crisis management?

Crisis management is the strategic process marketing leaders use to identify, assess and respond to unexpected incidents that threaten brand reputation, customer trust or business operations. It involves six key stages: pre-crisis planning, crisis identification, assessment, response execution, reputation monitoring and post-crisis learning. All are designed to minimize damage and maintain stakeholder confidence during critical moments.

If a crisis isn’t handled quickly, it can cause widespread damage. For example, an unresolved data breach can lead to financial loss for customers. This can snowball into reputational damage for the company that impacts revenue and customer trust.

An internal crisis management strategy can help a company resolve an incident—and keep its reputation intact.

Pro tip: Use our free three-step crisis management plan template to build out your crisis response team and set updated emergency response protocols.

Get the template

Types of crises to manage

Business crises come in all shapes and sizes. A natural disaster can hit supply chains and disrupt customer orders. A public health crisis can put worker safety at risk. A reputational crisis can damage your standing with loyal customers and negatively impact brand reputation.

The types of crises an organization faces fall into two baskets:

• Self-inflicted. These crises originate from someone or something within an organization. Think of a customer support person offering terrible service that leads to an angry social post. Or, an employee accidentally clicking on a phishing link in an email, leading to a data breach. Training, internal strategies and protocols eliminate these crises entirely.
• External events. These crises are harder to stop as they are usually outside an organization’s control. Think of natural disasters, online rumors or network hacks. Still, a solid crisis management strategy can dampen any negative impact.

Marketing leaders must prepare for five critical crisis categories:

• Cybersecurity breaches: Data theft, ransomware attacks targeting customer information
• Public health crises: External events like pandemics affecting operations and safety
• Natural disasters: Weather events, earthquakes disrupting business continuity
• Financial crises: Market crashes, banking failures impacting business stability
• Reputation crises: Product recalls, campaign failures damaging brand trust

Cybersecurity breaches

A cybersecurity breach is when a company is targeted in a ransomware attack or data hack. These breaches usually have malicious intent, where the hacker(s) gain access to sensitive customer information like credit card details and addresses.

In October 2023, a hacker breached 23andMe’s database and stole information about millions of customers and threatened to publish the leaked data.

The hack was a PR nightmare for 23andMe. Eventually, the company required all users to use two-step verification and reset their password.

The incident had a knock-on effect. Other DNA test companies like MyHeritage and Ancestry followed suit and implemented two-factor authentication to avoid a similar breach and PR crisis.

Public health crisis

Public health crises are classed as an “external” crisis.

When COVID-19 hit in early 2020, businesses had to adapt operations overnight. A Gallup study found companies with crisis management teams in place tailored their response to the public health crisis depending on employees’ location.

Having a crisis management plan in place helped company leaders meet regularly and communicate any new public health information to employees. In addition to cutting operations to critical functions only, these organizations moved tasks to unaffected regions and urged employees not to panic.

Natural disasters

Natural disasters like storms, hurricanes, flooding and tsunamis are beyond the control of any business, but they can still negatively impact operations and reputation.

In 1998, residents in eastern Ontario and Quebec were hit by an ice storm referred to as one of the worst natural disasters in Canadian history. Twenty-five people died and damages grew to around $5.4 billion. Businesses in the area were left without electricity and heating, and work slowed to a halt for nearly five weeks.

Suzanne Bernier was a crisis management consultant for the Ontario government during the disaster and talked about the experience on Reddit. Alongside coordinating crisis response communications, she also worked with other departments to manage the emergency.

Financial crisis

Financial crises stem from poor internal management or external factors like market fluctuations and economic downturns. These crises threaten business stability and, in severe cases, lead to insolvency or bankruptcy.

Organizations need robust contingency plans and transparent customer communication to prevent panic.

In 2023, business owners were hit by the second-biggest bank failure in U.S. history when Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapsed, seemingly overnight.

The crisis began when the bank issued a press release to say it wanted to raise cash—a statement Fast Company labeled “the press release from hell”. It had the opposite effect and customers rushed to the bank to take out their money.

By the time SVB spoke out that afternoon, it was too late—customers had withdrawn $42 billion in a single day. The bank had a negative balance and the government had to guarantee deposits. Just three weeks after the disaster, Silicon Valley Bank was acquired by First Citizens Bank.

Reputation crisis

Reputational damage can impact everything from consumer confidence to revenue and stock prices. These crises occur from incidents like product recalls or poorly executed campaigns that dent consumer trust.

Case in point, the Chipotle E Coli outbreak in 2015. Sixty cases of E Coli poisoning linked to Chipotle were reported to the CDC across 14 states. The knock to the company’s reputation led to a quick drop in consumer confidence. Not surprisingly, it also hit Chipotle sales and its stock price dropped by 34%.

The company responded swiftly. It publicly apologized and took full responsibility for the outbreak and shut down stores nationwide to implement new food safety testing and training programs. Chipotle also hired a film crew to spend two weeks in its kitchens to film a campaign called ‘Behind the Foil’, which gave customers a sneak peek at how food is prepared.

The turnaround worked. By 2019, Chipotle was the second highest performing stock on the S&P 500.

Reputational damage can impact everything from consumer confidence to revenue and stock prices, which is why having a strong strategy for corporate reputation management is essential.

Stages of crisis management

Effective crisis management relies on early detection, flexibility and adapting communication to fit the incident. Here are the six stages every marketing leader must master:

Pre-crisis

A thorough crisis management plan is an integral part of avoiding self-inflicted crises and minimizing the impact of external events. This plan can be used to train every employee to respond to a crisis and lessen the damage to your company and customers.

Pre-crisis preparation involves:

• Understanding your customers and potential crises your businesses is at risk from (self-inflicted and external)
• Creating and monitoring a company-wide crisis management plan
• Appointing employees to your crisis management team with specific roles and responsibilities
• Conducting training (like mock crisis responses) to test the appointed team. These mock exercises will ensure your team is capable of carrying out the crisis management plan successfully

Also, consider having a predefined communications package for emergencies. These include:

• Templates with pre-loaded information for press releases and social media announcements can give your team a head start in executing timely communication.
• Saved Replies are perfect for answering common customer questions quickly.
• Automated chatbots keep every communication during a crisis on-brand. Chatbots can mitigate the early stages of crisis communication and leave your team to navigate crisis identification and next steps.

If your company doesn’t have a crisis communication plan in place, use Sprout’s template for building a crisis management plan to get started.

Crisis identification

If a crisis does land on your company’s doorstep—assess it immediately.

Start by determining what you know about the crisis so far, what caused it and how many customers will be impacted. Also ascertain how much of the company it will impact.

Crises move fast and new information can trickle in every hour (or minute). This basic information will help your crisis management team shape its response and next steps. Don’t wait to know everything before issuing a response and starting damage control.

Assessment and evaluation

Go deeper to gather information about the possible impacts of the crisis. Think about your customers and how to communicate with them effectively. Answers questions like:

• Who? Who are the customers you should be talking to right now? Who is the person on your crisis management team in charge of organizing these comms?
• When? When will we announce what we know about the situation? (Hint: sooner is always better)
• How? How will the company share information? Will it be short social media posts or a more detailed press release?
• Where? What platform should the team use to make updates and announcements?
• Why? Is the crisis significant enough to share information publicly on social media, or should you talk to customers through other platforms like email? If so, why?

These answers will help your crisis management team understand who to prioritize and what platforms to communicate information to customers with.

Response

Respond to a crisis quickly, firmly and according to your management plan. Your response should also be measured.

For example, taking ownership of a situation by apologizing should only be done after some due diligence. Any statement issued should include next steps and positions if you are certain they will be followed. False promises lead to bad publicity and can make the situation worse.

Release information as soon as it’s available. For example, if your company experiences a cyber security breach, don’t wait to update your customers. Reiterate the measures your company is taking to mitigate the situation (like updating security procedures) each time to remind them your priority is safeguarding their information.

Monitor customer communication online and reply to any social media comments as soon as possible. This brings us to our next point.

Brand reputation

Focus on your brand reputation the second a crisis starts, as it can do lasting damage to your brand. Monitor how customers (and the wider public) are responding to your brand from the earliest stage of the crisis and adapt your strategy accordingly. For example, if customers are posting on X (formerly known as Twitter) about the lack of transparency, consider releasing a statement or social media post with more information.

Thankfully, monitoring brand reputation is easier than pressing refresh on your social feed every 30 seconds. Sprout Social has message spike alerts to notify you of an influx of incoming messages and mentions.

Your crisis management team can use this information to respond to posters quickly inside the Smart Inbox before these complaints turn into a larger problem.

To proactively identify and manage potential crises, using a brand monitoring software is a critical first step for any organization.

Learning and adaptation

The final step of the crisis management process is reflecting on what went right (and wrong) to improve processes for next time.

Ask yourself:

• What parts of the crisis management plan were executed correctly?
• What were the main challenges and how can they be better planned for?
• Did the crisis management team have the training/plans needed to succeed?
• What communications and platforms worked best with our audience?

These answers will help your team spot any wins (and weaknesses) and give you a clear understanding of what changes must be made to the current crisis plan.

Want some help? Use our crisis management plan template to guide you through the post-crisis process and sharpen your strategy.

Now you know the stages of a crisis, let’s look at some crisis management strategies to use in a real-life scenario.

5 crisis management strategies for your brand

Every crisis is different. A solid crisis management strategy and how prepared your company is to deal with each scenario can make all the difference.

Here are five ways to build one to protect your brand.

Build a crisis management team

A crisis management team is (arguably) the most important element of any crisis management strategy. It’s your first line of defense when a crisis hits.

To create one, start by building out your sub-team with employees who are comfortable managing people and executing plans. Think about what bases you need to cover (like communications/PR, IT, human resources, operations) and appoint a sub-team leader for each area.

Tasks for this step:

Build a crisis management team and appoint leaders for each department (social media, legal, HR, etc). And nominate a crisis manager who will coordinate the response and delegate tasks during a crisis.

Communicate proactively

Your crisis team must decide how the first piece of communication will be phrased, as it will set the tone for the entire response. Let’s imagine your company is hit by a data breach. If your crisis management team prepared a template response during pre-crisis planning, it’s time to use it.

Here’s an example:

“(Your company name) values your business and understands how important the privacy of your information is. During the early morning hours of this morning, our servers experienced a possible data security incident and your information may be involved. We have opened an investigation and will be in constant communication to update you as it progresses.”

Then, think about next steps. During the first crucial hours of a crisis, the team should release more official information, like a press release, which can be used by mainstream media. The goal here is to reach any customers who missed the initial response to the crisis.

Identify the platforms customers are most active on to spread your message more effectively. If your team needs to be trained on other communication styles like press releases and conferences, organize it now.

It’s also important to check if there are regular social media posts or email scheduled to go out. If so, consider pausing them until the crisis is under control. Either do this manually or use Sprout’s “Pause All” button in the publishing settings to do it with one click:

It’s also important to hit pause on any non-crisis communication/campaigns until the crisis is resolved.

Collaborate internally with the crisis team

Update the wider company (outside of the crisis management team) on what has happened and how to communicate about the crisis.

These employees must understand there is a crisis management team in place to handle communication. They should not talk to the media or respond to comments on social media without authorized consent. This is to ensure every communication from your company is inline with the overall crisis strategy.

Boost efficiency with a crisis management tool

Monitoring your social media before, during and after a crisis is key. It helps your team understand your customers and how well your crisis management plan performed.

Sprout Social’s analytics dashboard tracks engagement metrics like reach, clicks and views across all crisis communications. This data reveals which posts and platforms delivered your message most effectively to affected audiences.

Modern crisis management tools transform how marketing teams respond to emergencies:

• Real-time sentiment monitoring: Sentiment analysis automatically tracks whether brand mentions are positive, negative or neutral, with keyword alerts that ensure you never miss critical conversations.
• Unified message management: Sprout’s Smart Inbox centralizes customer messages across all platforms, enables message assignment and includes Collision Detection to prevent duplicate responses.
• Automated response capabilities: Sprout chatbots handle common questions instantly, freeing your team to address complex crisis communications.

Crisis management separates reactive brands from industry leaders

Crisis management separates reactive brands from industry leaders. The scenarios in this guide aren’t hypothetical. They’re happening right now to unprepared organizations.

A crisis management strategy allows your company to take control of any crisis the moment it hits. Crisis team leaders will have a blueprint on how to handle different situations so employees stay on the same page with communication and messaging. This pre-planning ensures every press release, social media post and email to customers follows your management strategy.

You can also use crisis management tools to store pre-made templates and plans to help your team respond quickly to any crisis to protect your brand reputation. Start tracking customer sentiment and streamlining communication during a crisis with a free 30-day trial of Sprout Social.

The post The complete crisis management guide for marketing leaders appeared first on Sprout Social.

It’s where decision-makers go to connect, learn and grow. For brands, it offers a unique opportunity to build stronger relationships with their target audience.

LinkedIn Groups are designed for that kind of interaction.

In this post, you’ll learn why you need to use Groups as part of your LinkedIn marketing. We’ll also walk you through creating, joining and engaging in these groups.

What are LinkedIn Groups?

LinkedIn Groups are spaces where professionals come together to share ideas, ask questions and connect around a common interest, industry or goal. They’re designed for deeper, more focused conversations than what you’d typically find in the public feed.

There are three types of LinkedIn Groups:

• Public: These groups are open to anyone and appear in search results. Posts can be viewed by anyone on or off LinkedIn, but only members can create them or comment.
• Private (listed): These groups also show up in search results and are visible on members’ profiles. You’ll need to request to join, and only members can see the content and participate in discussions.
• Private (unlisted): These groups don’t appear in search and aren’t visible on member profiles. They’re invite-only or accessible via a direct link, which makes them ideal for more closed or internal communities.

Why should you use LinkedIn Groups?

If you’re looking to build deeper connections on LinkedIn, Groups are a good place to start.

Here’s why they’re worth your time.

Build valuable connections

LinkedIn Groups are one of the easiest ways to meet people who care about the same things you do. Everyone in the group is there for a reason, whether it’s to grow in their role, find new tools or stay updated.

Let’s say you manage social media for a SaaS brand. You could join a group for B2B marketers, comment on a post about ad performance and start a real conversation.

As opposed to cold outreach, it’s a more natural and effective way to build relationships that can lead to partnerships, referrals or new customers.

Position your brand as a thought leader

Groups give you a space to show your expertise without coming across as overly promotional. By offering helpful advice, answering questions or sharing useful content, you build credibility with people who are active in your niche.

For example, if someone in a marketing group asks about improving reach and you share a tip that’s worked for your team, you’re already building authority. People remember (and trust) brands that help them solve real problems.

Reach a targeted audience

Joining the right LinkedIn Group gets you in front of decision-makers directly.

For example, if you’re promoting a project management tool for construction teams, a group for site managers lets you connect with people who use those tools on the ground. Avoid being overly promotional when joining groups. Focus instead on offering a solution rather than self-promoting.

Since groups are centered around a common interest, your content is more likely to resonate. It’s a great way to stretch your organic efforts without spending on ads.

Share and discover useful content

LinkedIn Groups are a good place to share your best content and see how it performs in a smaller, more focused setting.

For example, if you share a post about your latest product launch in a group for product marketers, you might get thoughtful feedback or follow-up questions you wouldn’t see on your regular feed.

You can also learn a lot by observing what others post. If you notice a certain format or topic gets more engagement, use that insight to improve your own content strategy.

Gather feedback and ideas

Groups are a quick way to test ideas before putting a budget behind them. Even consider brainstorming or sharing rough drafts with peers who understand your space.

Let’s say you’re planning a guide for email marketers. You could ask a question like, “What’s your biggest challenge with list growth?” The responses you get might shape your entire outline. They could even uncover pain points you hadn’t considered earlier.

It’s faster (and more personal) than running a survey. Plus, people love being asked for their input. It makes them feel heard, and they’ll be more likely to engage with your brand.

Stay on top of trends

When something starts getting traction, whether it’s a new brand, tactic or tool, you’ll often see it come up in a LinkedIn Group before it surfaces elsewhere.

For example, if everyone in a marketing group is suddenly talking about AI-generated content, that’s a sign it’s worth addressing in your next post or newsletter.

Staying plugged in helps you move faster and stay relevant.

How to find groups on LinkedIn

Finding the right LinkedIn Group is easy once you know where to look. The platform offers two ways to discover active, relevant groups. Let’s explore them below.

Note: If you’re interested in joining an unlisted group, keep in mind that these don’t show up in search results and can only be joined through a direct invite or link.

Method 1. Search for groups aligned with your interests

Use the LinkedIn search bar to look for groups based on topics or industries that interest you. You can search using keywords, group names, company names or roles.

For example, typing in “Microsoft Excel” will show you the “Microsoft Excel Users” group under the Groups tab in your results.

Note: Some queries may take you directly to the Groups section, while others may show a mix. Just be sure to click the Groups filter at the top.

Method 2. Choose from Groups suggested by LinkedIn

LinkedIn’s algorithm also recommends groups based on your profile, interests and existing group activity. Here’s how to find these suggestions:

• Look for the Groups tab in your left panel. You can also click on the grid icon at the top-right corner and select Groups from the drop-down menu.

• You’ll see a list of groups you’re already a part of. At the bottom, you’ll find a link that says: Search for other trusted communities that share and support your goals.

• Hit Search to view LinkedIn’s group recommendations.

How to join a LinkedIn Group

Joining a LinkedIn Group is simple. You can click the Join button from the search results, a suggested group list or directly on the group’s profile page.

Some groups accept new members right away. Others may require admin approval before you’re added. Either way, LinkedIn will notify you once your request is accepted.

Before joining, you can click on the group name to view its profile and learn more.

This includes:

• Group description and rules
• Member highlights
• Admin section
• Related groups

Once you’re in, the group will appear on your profile by default.

To change this, go to your Groups list, tap the three dots next to the group and select Update your settings. Then toggle off “Display group on profile” if you prefer to keep it private.

Note: Each member can join up to 100 LinkedIn Groups at one time.

How to create a LinkedIn Group

Creating a LinkedIn Group is a great way to bring professionals together around a shared topic. Here’s how to make one for your brand or community.

Step 1: Identify the purpose of creating a Group

Before setting up your group, align your marketing and social media teams on why this group should exist. Are you building a community for customers? Supporting industry peers?

Get clear on who the group is for, what value it offers and how it fits into your brand’s larger strategy. Here’s a helpful guide to setting your social media goals.

Step 2: Create a LinkedIn Group and fill in required information

Go to your Groups page from the grid icon in the top-right corner of LinkedIn.

Then, click the Create Group button.

Fill out the following information when the window pops open:

• Group name and description
• Industry and location (optional)
• Rules (optional)
• Privacy settings (public or private)
• Private group discoverability (listed or unlisted)
• Member permissions

You can also upload a group logo and cover image here to visually represent your brand or topic. It also helps you look professional.

Step 3: Finalize your LinkedIn Group

Once the form is complete, click the Create button.

That’s it. Your group is now live.

You’ll be listed as the group’s owner, and you can assign other members as admins or co-owners later. Learn more about group roles and permissions.

Step 4: Write a welcome message to new members

LinkedIn lets you write a welcome message that new members can see on top of the group feed right after they join.

Use this space to introduce the purpose of your group and set the tone for discussion. Let newcomers know what to expect, how to contribute and where to start.

Here’s an example of a welcome message:

A message like this encourages engagement from day one and makes the group feel more personal and active.

Step 5: Invite members to join your LinkedIn Group

Now the fun begins!

Start inviting people from your network who would find value in the group.

You can also ask coworkers, customers or brand advocates to join and help initiate the first few conversations. This early momentum is key to building a strong community.

Best practices to grow and engage your LinkedIn Group

Creating a group is just the beginning. To build a strong, active community, you need the right strategy to keep people engaged and coming back.

Here are some tips to keep in mind:

Invite members and expand your reach

Tap into your existing network and find people who are a good fit for your group’s topic. Bonus points if they’re active on LinkedIn and more likely to contribute.

For example, if you’re running a group for startup founders, you could invite people you’ve met at events or through industry communities.

You can also promote the group on your company page, newsletter, blog or even webinars. The key is to have the right people join instead of simply growing a number.

Facilitate engaging discussions

Keep the group active by posting regular, relevant prompts. Questions, polls and useful links are great conversation starters.

In a search marketing group, for instance, you could ask: “What’s one thing you’ve changed in your strategy after the latest Google update?”

Make time to build on the discussion and reply to comments. When the group’s owner engages, it often encourages others to share their thoughts.

Moderate and manage group content

If you want your group to stay useful, you have to consistently moderate the content.

For example:

• Remove off-topic posts, spam or repeated self-promotion
• Set up post approvals, especially as your group grows

Outline rules in your group description or welcome post so members know what to expect.

3 Examples of successful LinkedIn Groups

If you want to see what a thriving LinkedIn Group looks like, here are three examples of groups that are active and managed well.

Content Marketing Institute

The Content Marketing Institute group is a private, listed LinkedIn community built for anyone working in or interested in content marketing. The group has over 150,000 thousand members and continues to grow, with hundreds of new members joining weekly.

Members use the group to ask questions, share experiences and talk about what’s working in content marketing. All posts go through admin approval, and promotions and unrelated links aren’t allowed. This ensures all conversations stay relevant and useful.

Women in Photography

Women in Photography is a private, listed LinkedIn Group for women who are passionate about photography. The group is open to both beginners and professionals and sees regular activity with new posts every day.

The group is a supportive space where members are encouraged to post once a day, share their work, ask questions and start photography-related discussions.

You need to request access to join the group. Moderators will review your profile to confirm you’re female before approving your request. This is also mentioned in the group’s rules, which you can review before joining.

Search Engine Land

Search Engine Land is a private, listed group with over 137,000 members focused on SEO, PPC and search engine marketing. It’s known as a go-to hub for industry news, how-to guides and expert analysis.

The group stays active with polls, job posts and daily discussions. Members often use the tag #QuestionForTheGroup to ask for help or feedback, and responses are quick and thoughtful.

It brings together a mix of professionals, including marketers, developers and tech leaders, which makes it a valuable space to learn and connect.

Build a community with your target audience using LinkedIn Groups

LinkedIn Groups give you plenty of opportunities to learn about your audience. Where else can you have such a concentration of people who have come specifically to consume your content and interact with you?

Now that you know all there is to know about LinkedIn Groups, go ahead and start making and joining groups today.

If you’re looking for more LinkedIn tips for your brand, use our LinkedIn strategy template worksheet to audit and expand your efforts.

The post LinkedIn Groups: How to create and use groups for business growth appeared first on Sprout Social.

And with over a billion active users and countless customer communities to reach, it’s clear why.

Still, weaving Reddit into your social media marketing strategy can be tricky. Despite Reddit’s popularity, the platform is radically different from apps like TikTok, Instagram and Facebook.

But with the right strategy, you can engage customers and build a meaningful presence.

This post breaks down everything you need to know about marketing on Reddit.

What is Reddit marketing?

Reddit marketing refers to brands engaging with customers through discussions in subreddits (Reddit’s online communities) relevant to their target audiences’ interests.

Marketing on Reddit on behalf of brands can involve a variety of activities including:

• Engaging with your audience through your own dedicated company subreddit
• Responding to Reddit discussions across multiple subreddit communities in which your target audience engages
• Running Reddit Ads targeting industry-specific subreddits
• Monitoring brand mentions through tools to engage with conversations on Reddit about your brand, products or services

For example, a sporting brand might chime into discussions about their latest line of running shoes on /r/trailrunning. Companies like NZXT have a dedicated subreddit for customers with questions about their pending orders and recent purchases.

Through Reddit marketing, brands can build rapport with customers through real conversations.

What makes Reddit a good platform for businesses?

Reddit is a massive hub for product discovery across industries. No matter what you’re selling, there’s a niche community or subreddit that you can potentially reach. This makes Reddit an ideal platform for businesses looking to connect with highly engaged, interest-specific audiences.

How does Reddit compare to other social media platforms for business use?

Comparing Reddit to social networks like TikTok and Instagram is apples and oranges.

Reddit is almost entirely community and discussion-based, kind of like an old-school forum. While users post plenty of videos and photos, Reddit prioritizes content over profile popularity, allowing even small businesses to gain traction with valuable contributions. Reddit’s emphasis is on text-based discussions. That means it more in-depth written reviews and debates about product recommendations than you’ll find anywhere else.

With a tool like Sprout Social Listening, brands can reach users during key moments of decision-making. When approached with transparency and value, Reddit becomes a powerful space for organic brand awareness and customer loyalty

Alternatively, if your goal is to get on the radar of potential customers. Reddit can help build awareness and word of mouth.

High levels of authentic discussion are a big reason why Reddit threads rank well in Google searches. Searchers want authentic, unfiltered opinions and UGC. Reddit threads deliver in that department. Product-related posts on Reddit often rank for non-branded queries which makes them incredibly valuable for brands.

While these organic rankings are a major win, many brands are now taking it a step further by implementing a dedicated Reddit SEO strategy to proactively influence which threads surface for their target keywords.

While discussions on Reddit do move quickly, the fact that threads rank months or years later highlights how the platform is different from TikTok or Instagram where posts have a relatively short life span. That’s where marketing on Reddit can support your SEO efforts as well.

Brands on Reddit can engage with their target audiences in various subreddit communities that appeal to their interests and are places brands can provide value to the discussions by sharing their expertise and perspectives.

Check out how Lodge is extremely active in the /r/castiron subreddit to answer questions about products but the brand itself doesn’t run its own community. The ability to go back and forth candidly with customers helps brands build trust.

That said, brands need to be mindful of transparency when it comes to marketing on Reddit. Companies that try to “fake” being a brand or hide their motives often get downvoted into oblivion or downright blacklisted.

What are the pros and cons of using Reddit for business?

Using Reddit for business has its pros and cons for brands. Here’s a breakdown of the pros:

• Engage and build community with your target audiences in niche subreddit communities
• Address customer questions and concerns about your products or services publicly
• Gather timely feedback and potential UGC from positive customer comments
• Greater visibility in Google search results

Of course, marketing on Reddit isn’t without its potential drawbacks:

• Brands must personalize their responses and avoid one-size-fits-all, which can require a significant time commitment
• Like other social platforms, justifying or explaining the ROI of Reddit can be complicated
• Unlike owned accounts, poor customer experiences or negative comments on Reddit are public-facing and can’t really be erased

How to use Reddit for marketing

Chances are you’ve spent a fair share of time on Reddit as a user. That said, marketing on Reddit requires a proper strategy and steps. Below is a framework to help you get started.

For a specific framework on how to launch your brand presence, check out these lessons on building a Reddit marketing strategy from our own social team.

Set goals to support your Reddit presence

Given the time commitment involved with Reddit, you need to be clear about why you’re going to be active on the platform in the first place.

Different social media goals mean tracking different KPIs and prioritizing different actions for engagement.

Ask yourself: what do you want to get out of the platform? Brands focused on customer care will need to closely listen to conversations and brand mentions. If your primary goal is high engagement with Reddit users, you’ll likewise need to post consistently and consider writing in-depth and personalized responses for high-traffic threads.

Plan your brand’s engagement strategy

With an understanding of how you’ll approach the platform, think about how you’ll engage users.

While the rules of social media engagement apply, it’s especially important to speak your customers’ language and to be transparent and approachable. In terms of engagement, consider how you’ll primarily spend your time based on your goals:

• Engaging with your audiences in subreddits by sharing expertise and knowledge
• Responding to questions about your products
• Replying to criticism or critiques of your brand
• Recommending your product to other users
• Conducting customer care

Depending on your brand’s size, you may not need to be super active on Reddit at first. Like any other platform, however, consistency counts.

Consider how you can integrate Reddit into your existing social media strategy and calendar versus treating it as a totally separate entity.

Identify and monitor relevant subreddits

Marketing on Reddit can be overwhelming. That’s why it makes sense to primarily focus on brand mentions, relevant keywords and a handful of subreddits versus trying to have a blanket presence on the site. If possible, find a balance between active subreddits with high engagement (think: 100K+ users) and niche subreddits that delve deep into your target audiences’ interests rather than trying to marketing to all 97 million daily users. Reddit search can clue you in on communities that you may have not even been aware of. For a comprehensive understanding of your campaign performance on this unique platform, consider leveraging various Reddit analytics tools to understand the impact of your Reddit marketing efforts.

Track key conversations and results

The more closely you track conversations on Reddit, the better.

The platform can be a goldmine of insights related to brand awareness and how customers feel about your business. For example:

• Are customers talking about your brand more in the past 30 days versus the previous period?
• How has sentiment changed over the past 90 days?
• What trending topics and keyword phrases is your Reddit audience using?

The best and most time-efficient way to zero in on these conversations on Reddit (and beyond) is through social listening tools like Sprout Social Listening.

Aggregating messages and posts from across the web, you translate Reddit listening data into actionable data for your business.

With Sprout, you can set up tracking for competitor mentions or threads about your specific product lines.

These are the exact sort of conversations your business should be privy to and Reddit is rife with them. Take some time to explore industry-specific subreddits to better understand trends and what your customers are thinking.

Consider running paid Reddit advertising campaigns

Reddit offers a variety of paid ad tools for brands that range from text-based posts to photos and video-based ads. Among the biggest benefits of paid campaigns on Reddit is the ability to advertise to super-niche communities and audiences.

Right now, many marketers tout the relatively low CPM compared to other social media ads which could be a window of opportunity for brands that want to test the waters.

4 Reddit marketing strategies to jumpstart your Reddit marketing

Even if you’re unsure about building a presence on Reddit, you should understand how brands are using it. If nothing else, Reddit is a brilliant place to conduct market research and maintain a pulse on trends in your industry.

Below are five ideas for how to use Reddit for marketing based on your goals.

1. Uncover customer feedback and suggestions

Reddit is a treasure trove of conversations relevant to businesses.

From your audience’s favorite products to what people are saying about your competitors, you don’t have to look hard for customers asking for advice and recommendations.

However, you don’t have to immediately intervene or take action.

Instead, just listen.

By keeping tabs on conversations about your products or competitors, you can get a better sense of where you’re winning, where you might be falling short and how you can improve.

2. Discover unique user-generated content

In addition to questions from customers, Reddit is home to tons of user-generated content such as product photos and testimonials.

Customer photos are perfect for platforms like Instagram. Meanwhile, the fact that you have redditors talking up your brand is a brilliant form of social proof to give your business some serious credibility.

Check out these recent posts on /r/FancyFollicles talking about Arctic Fox’s hair dye.

With just a quick search, you can uncover brand advocates and success stories from satisfied customers. Just get permission before reposting their content!

3. Provide support and recommendations to your audience

So how much of how to use Reddit for marketing involves prioritizing support over selling.

Many brands have dedicated subreddit communities for asking questions and troubleshooting problems. This creates a direct line between your brand and customers, all the while being a public forum for people to seek out solutions and product recommendations in the future.

Done right, your brand can over time answer frequently asked questions and those Reddit Q&As are poised to rank in search to help future customers find answers faster.

4. Engage with customers from a personal account

This is a subtle tip but definitely one worth mentioning.

Ideally, you don’t want to potentially approach redditors with a totally inactive account. Accumulating posts and comments on the site might take time, but doing so is worth it to prove to your community that you aren’t a spammer.

Some companies get around this by approaching customers from a variety of accounts tied to actual employees. Corsair uses Reddit as an extension of its existing customer support efforts.

This creates visibility for your brand and likewise proves how committed you are to helping customers. Providing customer care from multiple accounts gives your efforts a more personal touch and helps your brand cover more ground, too.

Similar to how brands conduct employee advocacy efforts, this is a great way to approach people on Reddit minus the “corporate stamp” on your presence.

Best practices for engaging with audiences on Reddit

Let’s say you’re ready to engage with redditors but aren’t exactly sure where to start:

Below are some tips for Reddit marketing that brands should keep in mind:

• Be transparent and authentic. Don’t try to hide the fact that you’re a brand. Instead, be open and honest about the fact that you’re trying to engage your community. Redditors will appreciate your honest and can likewise spot a “corporate” account from a mile away.
• Drop the jargon and business-speak. That’s not to say you should abandon your brand’s tone altogether. However, Reddit is typically not a place where it’s necessary to be suit-and-tie. Speak your customers’ language and help them recognize that you understand them.
• Prioritize specific subreddits. Instead of searching far and wide, start by considering where your customers are most likely to hang out. For example, a coffee brand might hang out in /r/espresso or /r/pourover. Don’t try to spread yourself too thin and focus your efforts on the most valuable communities based on your target audience.
• Focus on community over selling. Unlike some social channels where it’s okay to hit customers with a hard sell, Reddit ain’t it. Building trust happens by answering questions and offering assistance to those who may not even be expecting it. Don’t put down competitors or try to hard sell but rather show folks that you’re listening to their concerns.
• Provide personalized responses. Copying and pasting or trying to use one-size-fits-all customer care responses on Reddit is a recipe for downvotes. Instead, make sure to respond.
• Stay proactive when responding to comments. Conversations move fast on social media and Reddit is no exception. Keep a close eye on brand mentions and make sure you address any customer concerns that could impact your brand’s reputation. You don’t always need to have the last word.
• Take conversations beyond Reddit if necessary. If a customer has a complex or truly unique issue, consider taking the conversation to a private one-on-one channel or DMs. Not everything has to be 100% public-facing.

Best tools to use for marketing on Reddit

Nailing your Reddit marketing strategy means having the right tools in your toolbox. Below are a few that can help depending on your campaign goals:

1. Sprout Social

Social listening is crucial for Reddit marketing, full-stop. From brand mentions to keywords related to your business or industry, keeping track of it all without a dedicated tool isn’t realistic.

That’s where Sprout Social Listening can save the day. Not only can Sprout identify keywords and mentions but also analyze sentiment, identify trends and provide competitor analysis.

This means brands can keep a constant pulse on their industry and mentions without bouncing between accounts or subreddits.

Start a free Sprout Social trial

2. Gumloop

Not sure where your brand should be posting? You can try a tool like Gumloop which uses AI to summarize subreddits and create briefs and trend reports. This is useful for exploring potential places to post as a brand or run your Reddit ads.

3. Reddit Ads Library

Speaking of running ads on Reddit, chances are you can use all of the inspiration you can get to maximize your ROI and optimize your campaigns. The Reddit Ads Library analyzes how headlines, calls-to-action and ad creatives come together with transparent performance data to help you produce better ads yourself.

How to take your Reddit marketing to the next level

Marketing on Reddit has become an expectation for brands of all shapes and sizes.

From building brand loyalty and awareness to increasing your search presence, being active on Reddit has unique upsides for brands that do it right.

Getting started means understanding the platform, plus all of the conversations that could be happening around your brand where you can make an impact.

And again, that’s where social listening tools are make-or-break.

If you haven’t already, check out a free trial of Sprout Social to see how your brand can master Reddit and the rest of your social media presence in one platform.

The post Reddit marketing: How to reach and connect with your audiences appeared first on Sprout Social.

Navigating the healthcare social media landscape

Social media marketing in the healthcare industry presents a unique set of challenges. It’s a crowded and competitive space, rife with misinformation and often dominated by attention-grabbing distractions. Breaking through the noise to connect with patients and provide accurate, accessible health information is no easy feat. For Penn State Health, with its vast network of hospitals, outpatient locations and a global community of students and researchers, the task was even more daunting.

Before Sprout Social, Penn State Health’s emerging social media team juggled a complex mix of tools and platforms, struggling to manage their sprawling digital presence effectively. They needed a way to streamline their workflows, improve efficiency and truly harness the power of social media to achieve their ambitious goals.

A prescription for social media success

Penn State Health discovered a comprehensive solution in Sprout Social. Recognizing the platform’s ability to unify and streamline their social media efforts, they were drawn to Sprout’s user-friendly interface and powerful features. With Sprout, Penn State Health was poised to transform their social media strategy and enhance their digital engagement.

“We were looking for something that had greater capability to manage and monitor all of the different audiences that we engage with on all the platforms we operate across,” explains Amy Peiffer, Social Media Lead at Penn State Health. “And we had to do it in a really streamlined, centralized manner since we’re a very lean team.”

Sprout’s Smart Inbox streamlines patient interactions

The Smart Inbox became the cornerstone of Penn State Health’s social media operation. It empowered their team to efficiently manage a multitude of social channels, track conversations and respond to patient inquiries with empathy and speed. Critical messages no longer get lost in the shuffle.

Saved Replies deliver humanity at scale

Sprout’s Saved Replies feature proved to be a game-changer for Penn State Health’s customer care strategy. By creating a library of pre-written responses to frequently-asked questions, they ensure consistency in their messaging while still allowing for personalized touches. This not only saves valuable time but also enables their team to connect with patients on a human level, even during high-volume periods.

“Community managers who monitor our channels don’t have to hunt for the necessary answers to the same questions time and again,” says Amy. “At the same time, it still offers enough flexibility to maintain a personal, human touch on social media.”

Tagging and Reporting illuminate social media insights

With Sprout’s powerful Tagging architecture, Penn State Health can now segment their audience, track content performance with precision and extract meaningful insights from their data. This data-driven approach revolutionized their social media strategy, enabling them to make informed decisions based on concrete evidence rather than guesswork.

Amy Peiffer, a self-proclaimed “analytics evangelist,” finds that Sprout has fueled her passion for data-driven decision making.

Sprout is very customizable and powerful. It allows us to pull Reports that are very visual and easy to understand, giving top-line accessibility to key facts and figures.

Amy Peiffer
Social Media Lead

In the first six months of using Sprout, their time to build a custom report dropped by nearly 70%.

This approach hasn’t only improved their social media performance but has also improved transparency and collaboration across departments. Sprout’s customizable Reports have made it easier to communicate the value of social media to executive leadership, influencing budget allocation and strategic decision making.

Social Listening amplifies the voice of the patient

Sprout’s Social Listening tools opened a new window into the world of their patients. By monitoring conversations and tracking brand sentiment, Penn State Health has a deeper understanding of their audience’s needs, concerns and preferences. This invaluable information helps them identify potential disasters, address patient concerns proactively and tailor their content to appeal to their community.

The human touch in a digital world

In a world where healthcare can often feel impersonal and overwhelming, Penn State Health uses Sprout Social to bring a human touch to the digital space. They understand that behind every social media interaction is a real person with real needs and concerns.

“One thing that I wish people knew about managing social media for a place like Penn State Health is that at the end of the other stream of communication, it’s a real person,” says Amy. “And at the other end of our social media channels at Penn State Health, it’s always a person who’s responding.”

With Sprout Social, Penn State Health has found a powerful ally in their mission to provide compassionate, patient-centered care. They aren’t just managing social media channels; they’re building relationships, fostering trust and making a positive impact on the lives of their community.

A partnership for the future

Penn State Health’s journey with Sprout Social is a testament to the power of technology to enhance human connection. By embracing Sprout’s comprehensive platform and dedicated customer support, they’ve found a true partner in their pursuit of social media excellence. The results have been transformative. Sprout has empowered their team to achieve significant time savings, increase efficiency and make more informed, data-driven decisions. But the true impact goes even deeper, enabling them to connect with their audience on a more human level and make a real difference in the lives of the people they serve. Penn State Health saw an 80% reduction in errors, resulting in just one support ticket per month. Their support turnaround time was reduced from 3-5 days to 1 hour. They were also able to eliminate the need for an additional contractor-supported role due to the efficiency gains they saw with their full-time team members.

“I genuinely lean on them in ways where customer support can be challenging in social media,” says Amy. “It’s been very refreshing and helpful to have almost an extension of our team.”

As Penn State Health continues to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of healthcare and social media, they can rest assured that Sprout Social will be there to support them every step of the way.

Request your free Sprout Social demo to see how you can transform your social media strategy today!

The post How Penn State Health delivers efficient, empathetic engagement on social appeared first on Sprout Social.

For marketers, brand love leads to the same delighted feelings, but on an even deeper level. It signals the depth of connection they’ve reached with their audience. The affirmation they need that their strategy actually succeeded at building loyalty and evangelizing their mission.

Nicholas Charlier, Head of Global Community and Education at Vivobarefoot, explains: “We’re a footwear company, but we’re really trying to drive awareness, engagement and connection with natural health. The reason we want people to love our brand is because we want them to love themselves, their health and the environment around them.”

If you’re still asking yourself, “What’s brand love (on social) got to do with it?”, the answer is everything. Brands who are able to build lasting, meaningful relationships with their audiences are the ones who will succeed in this new era of business.

What is brand love?

Brand love describes the positive sentiment consumers feel toward your brand that inspires them to engage with your content, buy your products or services, pick you over a competitor and spread the word about your company. It extends across channels and touchpoints—which means each stage in the customer journey should be considered an opportunity to forge brand love.

Brand love has become increasingly important in light of heightened competition across industries and platform oversaturation. Charlier expanded, “There’s so much information on the internet. There are many brands competing for attention. Consumers want to know if brands and products actually do what they say they will, and if they can trust the people behind the products and marketing. It isn’t about short-term wins like viral campaigns, it’s about earning and keeping brand trust, transparency and goodwill for the long haul.”

The elements that drive brand love

Just like in loving relationships between people, brands have to treat love like a verb. As Charlier put it, “Building brand love is like cultivating love in any relationship. It takes honesty, open mindedness, and a willingness to learn and change. It’s your products doing what you say they will, and listening to feedback when they don’t. It’s creating opportunities for connection, both online and in real life.”

Findings from The 2025 Sprout Social Index™ back up his assessment. The report found that consumers are most likely to favor brands on social that have a high quality product or service. Which is a striking reminder for brands that social can’t overcompensate for larger business issues—and providing a top-tier customer experience should be a critical priority.

The report also explains what consumers say are the most important traits of brand content: authenticity and relatability. People don’t really care how lo- or hi-fi content is, or if you talk about your product. They care that you show up for them instead of talking at them.

In fact, consumers say companies should make personalized customer service their first social media priority in 2025, according to a Q4 2024 Sprout Pulse Survey. Charlier underscores how paying close attention to community feedback helps create a thriving brand. “We’re lucky that our customers tell us when we screw up. Because that gives us a chance to take accountability and fix the situation. Listening to your community is what instills brand love. Transparency in everything you do is what creates connection.”

Ways to measure brand love on social media and beyond

Measuring brand love isn’t as intangible as it might sound. In some cases, it’s as simple as repurposing existing metrics. In others, it’s about setting up new measurement parameters that benefit teams across marketing, sales and customer service.

Charlier explained how Vivobarefoot measures brand love, and shared insights into why each metric matters that can inspire your strategy.

Awareness

Whether or not awareness is a vanity metric is debated in the social media landscape. It doesn’t capture intent or directly tie to revenue. But that doesn’t mean it’s obsolete, especially when you need to capture overall awareness compared to competitors. Or, in Vivobarefoot’s case, if you need to educate previously problem-unaware consumers.

“Before learning about Vivobarefoot, many people believe that your feet need to be in overly cushioned shoes that restrict movement, and reduce foot strength and mobility. This has negative impacts on posture, pain and performance, but also how we interact with the ground generally,” says Charlier.

Vivobarefoot educates their community through social content, health professionals-turned-creators, events and more to platform the scientific evidence behind the minimalist footwear movement. That awareness turns into evangelism when people actually try the products for themselves (more on that below).

Charlier sums it up like this: “We have an amazing community who are very passionate about our mission. That brand love has helped drive the growth of our business through awareness efforts.”

Engagement

The Index found that overall engagement is the top way marketing leaders will measure social success in 2025. Engagement metrics like comments, shares and reactions tell a compelling story about your content’s resonance, and can help you understand how your audience engages with your products offline, too.

Charlier explained how important it is for Vivobarefoot to understand how their footwear impacts their customers’ daily lives. “We want to measure how people are engaging with our product, and their overall satisfaction with it. Are they aligned with our mission? Are they practicing that healthy mission themselves? We can answer those questions by seeing how much our community is engaging with online content—through social or our online courses—on a regular basis.”

Sentiment

Yet, engagement alone doesn’t illustrate the full scope of community buy-in for your narrative. That’s where sentiment comes in—the tone people use when they talk about your product. According to Sprout Listening data from December 28, 2024 to January 27, 2025, Vivobarefoot has an impressive 91% positive sentiment score on X. That’s largely to do with how well their brand storytelling resonates with audiences, and how their customers feel when they actually try on their shoes.

“We want to inspire people and empower them to be their healthiest—for them to connect with our message and embody it themselves. Our brand sentiment conveys how people feel about their own health journeys, and the role Vivobarefoot plays in them.”

Evangelism and customer loyalty

Those old marketing adages, “The best advertising is word-of-mouth” and “It’s easier to keep a customer than acquire a new one,” ring true when measuring brand love. It’s simple (and somewhat cliché) but every brand’s goal is to earn customers for life, and to encourage happy customers to share about their experience.

For Vivobarefoot, that starts when customers try on their shoes. “When people start wearing our products, they instantly feel the ground. It’s probably the first time in a long time. Unless we’re on the beach, most of us are never barefoot as adults. It’s an eye-opening and revolutionary experience. The products do what they say they will and create a quality experience that leaves a memorable impression. This moment (and all the moments after) create an emotional connection to our products, which leads to brand evangelism,” Charlier expounds.

This emotional connection is a vital aspect of brand advocacy, and is a tactic used by many elite brands when aligning themselves with culturally relevant events, like March Madness for instance. Doing so allows brands to create a large-scale emotional connection with a broad audience.

When you can translate an emotional connection into brand advocacy, that’s a telling sign that your brand love strategy is working. “Are customers going beyond buying your products and doing more? Are they sharing your content? Are they attending events? Are they buying multiple products? Are they leaving reviews?” asks Charlier.

User-generated content

While audience engagement is welcome and appreciated, user-generated content (UGC) is next-level brand love. When fans create their own content about your brand, it helps you gain exposure to new audiences and engenders their trust. Measuring the amount of UGC that comes pouring in, plus how often that content is engaged with, is a helpful barometer of brand affinity.

“As a footwear company, we make products for a lot of different occasions—training in the gym, hiking mountains, walking the dog and exploring the city. We even have kids’ shoes. UGC helps showcase how our designs work for every occasion in a way that feels authentic to each specific user and their lifestyle. Then, we can take a closer look at how many people are creating content on our behalf, what their engagement rate is and how the conversation about our brand is taking shape,” says Charlier.

(Brand) love is actually all around

Just like the joy of exchanging Valentines, building brand love is about creating moments that make your audience feel seen, valued and connected. Whether it’s through authentic content, thoughtful engagement or products that deliver on promises, those acts of care and consistency spark lasting connections.

When your audience starts to share their love for your brand—through likes, comments, reviews or UGC—it’s like opening a box overflowing with glitter-covered affirmations. The more love you give to your audience, the more your brand’s relationships (and business) will flourish in return.

Charlier sums it up like this: “There are two sides to building brand love. There’s the rational side focused on quality and price. Then there’s the emotional side. The part of the experience that’s influenced by the feelings people associate with your brand and mission. That is the sweet spot.”

Looking for more on what it takes to create a memorable brand experience? Read The 2025 Sprout Social Index.™

The post Brand love: How to make audiences’ hearts grow fonder appeared first on Sprout Social.