To break it down:

• Social media monitoring involves tracking social media messages, comments and conversations directly related to your brand and responding to those engagements.
• Social media listening is the process of analyzing the full spectrum of conversations around your industry, brand, and any topics relevant to your brand to understand your audience better and improve your campaign strategy.

Ultimately, businesses need both because social media monitoring tells you what people say about your brand or industry, and social media listening tells you why.

For example, let’s say you lead marketing for an e-commerce brand, and you just launched a new product. Monitoring might show that many customers are discussing a particular product. These insights may indicate that the product is popular—in theory.

While social media listening could reveal that many of those mentions were negative. Dig even deeper, and you might find that the issue isn’t even with the product but with shipping delays. While monitoring addresses the symptoms, listening reveals the root cause.

In this article, we’ll define social media monitoring and social listening in depth and highlight the critical differences between the two.

Social media monitoring definition

Social media is a go-to channel for brands to connect with their audience. Social media monitoring is the first step towards powering these connections, helping brands find the conversations they should be aware of or participate in. It’s the process of gathering useful social discussions and messages to keep track of customers’ likes, dislikes, wants and changing needs.

It allows you to track mentions of your:

• Brand name and common misspellings
• Product names and common misspellings
• Main competitors
• Product or brand in particular areas

Example of social media monitoring

Social media monitoring tracks the key phrases and terms important to your company and surfaces relevant conversations for you to respond to.

For example, earlier this year, 100 Thieves, a lifestyle and gaming company, mentioned the footwear brand Crocs on X (formerly known as Twitter). Even though they didn’t tag the account, Crocs likely used social media monitoring to find the mention and respond promptly. 

The benefits of social media monitoring

Social media mentions provide vital business intelligence that can inform more strategic decision-making.

Monitoring is also essential to your brand’s communications pipeline. Your social media managers and customer care agents should own most of this interaction, acting as traffic controllers for what’s coming in across your social networks.

How to make the most of social media monitoring

First, centralize your social profiles into a single platform enabling message monitoring at scale. Then, create alerts to help your agents easily track and respond to direct or indirect brand mentions. Include your brand’s handle and broader mentions. Also, account for common misspellings, nicknames, flagship products and industry-adjacent terms.

By receiving these alerts, your social team will be better able to block and tackle on your brand’s behalf, answering FAQs while routing other critical messages to different departments within your organization—from HR to sales.

To get even more sophisticated, your community managers can identify potential entry points to guide purchasing decisions. But be careful: This tactic is as much an art as a science.

Social media listening definition

Social media listening is about examining the conversations and trends around your brand and industry, and using those insights to make smarter marketing choices.

It helps you determine why, where and how these conversations are happening and what people think—not just when they tag or directly mention your brand.

Example of social media listening

Social media listening can help you plan better campaigns and improve your content strategy and messaging by removing the guesswork of what content will resonate. Analyzing metrics like volume, share of voice and sentiment will help reveal what offers are most popular with your audience and how they truly feel about your brand and products.

One social media listening example is when a franchise restaurant used Sprout’s Listening capabilities to see which food items their customers loved and which were getting overlooked.

Our Listening Topic Themes data revealed some interesting patterns. While nachos weren’t mentioned as often as other food items, they had the highest percentage of positive mentions and the lowest percentage of negative mentions. So, the franchise decided to create more content about nachos because the data showed that customers really loved them.

The benefits of social media listening

Without social media listening, you might miss important industry trends and customer preferences, leading to missed improvement opportunities. Plus, while social media monitoring focuses on what’s being said and by who, listening helps businesses understand the overall sentiment and context of those conversations. Without it, companies might misinterpret customer feelings and feedback.

How to use social media listening for your business

Start with turn-key social listening solutions, then progress to more intricate techniques. Powerful, automated listening tools requiring minimal setup can deliver meaningful, actionable data as well as customizable ones.

For instance, you can look at how often your brand is mentioned on X during a certain time period, and which hashtags, keywords and related terms are often used. This can help you see how people feel about your brand, products and campaigns. All this is possible without creating complex search queries or relying upon algorithmic sentiment triggers. Simply listening to what people say alongside your brand mentions is enough.

Once you have a baseline, then you can get more advanced. Expand your listening with solutions that give the total volume and help you recognize patterns, find trends and figure out share of voice in groups of keywords or queries.

However you approach it, the goal is to reach clearly defined outcomes within your brand’s larger social strategy. For example, using monitoring tactics result in enhanced engagement and listening efforts to inform more strategic decision-making.

Key differences between social listening vs. social monitoring

If monitoring is the entry point, listening is the graduate degree. Most social media platforms offer basic, native monitoring capabilities. But a comprehensive social monitoring and listening strategy needs a tool like Sprout Social to track mentions and analyze data across multiple social media channels.

Here are a few more fundamental differences between social monitoring and social listening.

Micro vs. macro

Social media monitoring is micro. It’s focused on the details, like individual brand mentions or comments. In comparison, social media listening is macro. It’s about looking at the bigger picture and noticing how people talk about your brand, products, industry and competitors.

For example, monitoring would tell you thirty people directly tagged your brand in posts today. Listening would reveal that most of those mentions were either rave reviews about a new product or complaints about customer service.

Reactive vs. proactive

Social media monitoring is reactive. It involves observing and responding to direct mentions or tags as they happen. On the other hand, social media listening is proactive. It provides deeper insights that help you strategize and plan.

For example, while monitoring might alert you to a single customer complaint, listening can uncover a trend of complaints about a specific product feature, which can be fixed or optimized to prevent future issues.

Tactical vs. analytical

Social media monitoring is a more tactical, task-focused process. Many social media monitoring tools like Sprout Social collect all your mentions in one centralized place and notify you when there’s a new conversation. From there, you can focus on replying with appropriate responses.

In comparison, social listening is more analytical and strategic. Social listening tools offer in-depth insight into the context and sentiment behind what people are saying. Rather than simply responding to messages, listening shows you engagement patterns and trends for your brand and industry. This information enables you to set data-informed benchmarks and goals to make more strategic decisions. Social listening requires analyzing many different things to do this well, making it difficult to do it without an automated social listening tool.

How to use Sprout Social for social monitoring and listening

Sprout Social is a comprehensive social media management tool with monitoring and listening capabilities. These solutions enable users to zoom in on meaningful conversations and zoom out to analyze the trends and patterns that inform their social media strategy.

How exactly? Let’s explore this more in-depth.

Smart Inbox

The Smart Inbox is where you keep track of every conversation with and about your brand. It’s the essence of monitoring, helping you to centralize and foster authentic conversations with action in mind. Messages from your social channels are centralized into one feed to ensure you stay focused and never miss a message. Use Case Assignments to delegate messages to other team members and tags to keep all your messages organized. Plus, lean on our Message Spike Alerts to know when there’s a surge of @-mentions that need to be addressed, so you can avoid or address potential brand crises.

Brand Keywords

Brand Keywords help you capture more relevant conversations about your brand, industry or competition. This is a step towards listening as it enables you to track various topics beyond your brand. Brand Keywords are custom searches that run constantly and display results in your Smart Inbox, which you can interact with just like any other message. You’re still focused purely on messages to respond to or offer support on a personal level.

If you aren’t actively searching for these types of messages, you may miss the chance to participate in important conversations.

Sprout’s premium listening solutions

Sprout’s Listening solutions offer a window into an audience’s candid thoughts and feelings to uncover trends, reveal patterns and measure emotional response around any topic.

Listen in on millions of conversations happening across Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Tumblr, X, YouTube and the web about your brand or topics important to you. No need for boolean expertise, as we offer templates to help you build queries quickly. And with Recommend by AI Assist, generate keyword suggestions to help refine your Listening queries for richer insights. These capabilities enable you to easily keep a pulse on your brand’s health, track sentiment around events or analyze insights from your industry, competitors and campaigns.

Once you’ve refined your query, you’ll likely have a lot of information to sort through. Our Analyze by AI Assist helps you efficiently identify your Topic’s most significant Smart Categories, keywords, hashtags, emojis and mentions. It turns data into clear insights, helping you instantly cut through the noise so you’re spending less time on analysis and more on strategy. All while giving you the flexibility to go broad on trends or zoom into individual posts for qualitative insights.

The insights Sprout’s Listening provides can power your social and business strategy, so you’re ready for the future.

Get started with social monitoring and listening

Social monitoring and listening are excellent for tuning into conversations around a brand and industry. But it also comes with a learning curve. From determining what hashtags and keywords to track, to understanding how to interpret and act on the data in listening reports, it can initially be overwhelming.

Our social listening guide is a great place to start. In just 90 minutes, you’ll get answers to questions about brand sentiment, trending discussions and content performance to optimize your content strategy.

The post The difference between social media monitoring vs. social media listening appeared first on Sprout Social.

Regardless of product, partnering with an influencer can get your business in front of the right audience. But the first hurdle can be challenging: influencer outreach.

To help you more easily secure the right partnerships, we’ve created a 5-stage influencer outreach strategy. Find out how to define your approach, source the right influencers and nurture long-term relationships so you can continue to succeed.

What is influencer outreach?

Influencer outreach is the process of contacting influencers for brand collaborations, and typically involves research and communicating via direct messages or emails.

While some marketing strategies can be transactional, influencer partnerships are relationship-focused and mutually beneficial. You gain access to their followers, and they get to try your products or services and get paid. And both you and the influencer get fresh content.

Whether you work with a smaller group of reliable influencers or with hundreds at once, depends on the resources you have to manage those relationships.

As of 2024, 38% of brands have partnered with 10 influencers or less, but the remaining 62% of brands have worked with 10 or more different influencers, and 15% of those have worked with over 1,000. Your outreach process is all about finding a few that you’re comfortable with, and then scaling as your budget and bandwidth allows for it. But always remember to focus on the individual relationship your company has with each influencer.

How to create a successful influencer outreach strategy in 5 steps

These five steps will guide you to influencer outreach success, no matter your business size or industry.

1. Define your influencer marketing strategy

Define your overall influencer strategy. List the main goals you want to achieve with your partnerships. Create similar goals for your upcoming campaign, and look at where these goals can be aligned.

Some common examples of influencer marketing goals include:

• Attract more UGC (user-generated content)
• Build trust in your brand
• Raise awareness about a new product or service type
• Generate more leads
• Encourage more user reviews
• Drive sales
• Boost website traffic or follower count

These goals will drive every part of your influencer outreach strategy and your campaigns. They’ll determine the type of influencer to look for, the budget you need and what defines success within your partnership.

2. Identify the right influencers for your campaign

To find the perfect influencers, start by considering their reach.

Influencers are categorized into four key segments depending on their audience size across platforms. These range from mega-influencers and celebrities with 1M+ followers, to nano-influencers with less than 10K.

Having a larger following doesn’t automatically mean an influencer will be a stronger partner. It’s better to work with influencers who share your company’s values and who have a target audience that closely resembles yours. It also depends on your campaign goals; smaller influencers can be better for engagement and conversions, while larger influencers grant you further reach.

It’s not all about size. You should also prioritize diversity during your influencer search, and make sure you work with a wide range of influencers and creators, including black creators and other BIPOC influencers. Partnering with influencers of different backgrounds allows you to create more varied content for multiple audiences.

Search for influencers based on their audience demographics, like:

• Age
• Gender
• Location
• Preferred social network
• Buying power

Influencers who have strong audience affinity with your brand will lead to more successful campaigns. For example, Biona Organic, a vegetarian food brand, collaborated with Christinasots, a UK-based vegan macro-influencer to create a unique recipe featuring Biona Organic products. This partnership resulted in more than 788,000 impressions for the creator and the brand.

Track the engagement metrics of any influencer you might partner with, particularly for an industry-specific influencer or creator. Sometimes, a smaller, highly engaged community will lead to a better campaign than a larger community that doesn’t engage much.

Some of this research can be done manually through social platforms, but it can be time-consuming. Save time by using a dedicated solution like Sprout Social Influencer Marketing (formerly Tagger).

With Sprout, you can filter search results based on brand affinity. This immediately reveals influencers who share the same interests and audience as your brand, through data-driven research. You can also assess audience authenticity, to make sure an influencer’s following is legitimate and engaged.

When identifying influencers, cater your strategy to different social networks. We’ve outlined how your strategy should change for each major network below.

Influencers for an Instagram campaign

The majority of consumers (61%) say that Instagram is their top social media network for product discovery, which is influencers’ bread and butter.

With Instagram influencer marketing, engagement rates are vital. Look for an engagement rate of at least 3%.

Also, pay attention to the type of content an Instagram influencer produces. If you’re planning a campaign that needs video, make sure your chosen influencer specializes in Reels.

Influencers for a TikTok campaign

TikTok influencer marketing can be an entry point into smaller subcultures. TikTok influencers often speak to very niche audiences who have specific content preferences based on their hobbies and interests.

Tracking TikTok subcultures can also be a useful way of determining an influencer’s niche audience. Tapping into these audiences can help your brand access some of the benefits of niche marketing, like having less competition and being able to optimize your marketing spend.

Influencers for a YouTube campaign

Several metrics are important for YouTube influencer marketing success, particularly subscriber counts, engagement rates‌ and watch time.

Track an influencer’s average video length and how often they post. This should give you a better idea of how long it takes them to make a video, and where your ad could fit into their usual video format.

Influencers for a Facebook campaign

Facebook influencers can help brands market to huge audiences; 83% of social users have a Facebook profile, and almost half (44%) of them have interacted with brand content through Facebook at least once a day.

Now that Instagram Stories and Reels are accessible within the Facebook app, it’s also possible to negotiate bundled content packages with your influencers. Your Facebook influencer marketing campaign can then reach more people while being more cost-effective.

Influencers for a LinkedIn campaign

When finding LinkedIn influencers, the most important metric is usually follower count.

Pay particular attention to audience affinity, as well as what an influencer is posting about. It’s also worth looking at whether a LinkedIn influencer has a newsletter on the platform or a substack. These materials can extend their audience, while also showing you the topics they’re known for talking about.

3. Prepare your compensation offer

Once you’ve created a list of influencers, decide how you’ll compensate them. Familiarize yourself with common influencer pricing figures. The amount you’ll offer will depend on factors like the influencer’s reach, the type and volume of content they’ll create and the chosen compensation model.

Common compensation models include pay per post, pay per subscriber‌ or pay per view, among others.  Don’t forget to factor in other payment strategies, like affiliate marketing, complimentary product/software access or long-term package deals across several months.

One example of a unique influencer partnership is SeaVees’s deal with inclusive food influencer Lahbco. SeaVees worked with Lahbco to design an exclusive shoe, based on his values and life experiences, made to appeal to his audience of followers. All the proceeds for the shoe also go towards the Ali Forney Center, who support homeless LGBTQ+ youth in New York City. This is a great example of an alternative compensation model where the company, influencer and the wider community all benefit.

All of this needs to work within your budget. If you haven’t already, download Sprout’s influencer marketing toolkit for a budgeting template that will help you make sense of influencer marketing spend within your overall social media budget. You’ll also get a campaign brief template, where you can further refine your campaign goals.

4. Craft a compelling influencer outreach message

Streamline your influencer outreach strategy by creating DM and email templates that allow you to contact several different influencers at once. However, avoid generic, mass-produced templates that influencers are likely to ignore.

To make your templates feel personal, include a handful of customizable sections where you can mention the influencer’s name, recent work or something specific that resonates with you about their content.

Some examples might be “I loved your recent campaign post with ____, we were hoping to create something similar”, or “It was great to see you raise so much awareness about ____ in your latest Reel.”

The more personalized, the better. You want to create a strong first impression and prove to an influencer that you genuinely appreciate their work.

Here’s a list of the essential information to include in your influencer outreach template:

1. Start with the influencer’s name and a personalized greeting related to their content.
2. Introduce your company and your brand. If possible, connect this to the personalization above.
3. Explain what your campaign is. Personalize further by linking this to a campaign they’ve done for another company if you can.
4. Outline the specifics of how you expect the campaign to work. Include deliverables and a timeline. You can refine these at a later stage, but make sure this information is accurate.
5. Explain your mutual value proposition and your initial offer of compensation.
6. End with a CTA requesting a meeting, or their thoughts on your campaign idea.

This could then look something like this:

Hey [influencer name], I saw your [previous content and thoughts].

I work with [brand] on [your role], and we’re looking to partner with an influencer on a new campaign.

The campaign is [campaign details]. After seeing your [recent content, awareness, work with or other personalization] I thought you’d be a perfect fit.

We’re hoping to offer [compensation and budget].

Please let me know if you have any thoughts or questions and I’d be happy to answer them. Thanks for your time, and I look forward to hopefully working with you,

[your name, title]

[your company]

Use this general template to create more specific messages for agencies or different outreach situations. To find more template examples, check our master list of influencer outreach email templates.

If you’re sending emails, don’t forget to create a subject line. Make this as short and clear as possible, like “Collaboration Opportunity with [Your Brand]”. You can extend this with more personalization, but it’s important that the influencer can see clearly what your email is about when scanning their busy inbox.

Following up on your influencer outreach messages

If you haven’t received a response to your initial outreach, don’t give up! Follow up within a couple of weeks.

Influencers are often busy, so a friendly follow-up can keep the conversation going. Keep this follow-up message short, to the point and polite. Here’s an example:

Hey [influencer name],

I’m just quickly following up on my last message about our upcoming [campaign name]. Would you be interested in partnering or discussing this further?

Thanks,

[your name]

[your company]

5. Nurture a long-term relationship with influencers

Building a long-term relationship with influencers is a win-win. For starters, you won’t have to invest in as much outreach for your next campaign.

Working with an influencer long-term is also perfect for boosting your brand’s credibility. Your audience will see regular campaigns with the same influencer, which proves you’re a company that people enjoy working with. You might also be able to agree on a package deal over a longer period, which usually works out better for your budget and for the influencer you’re working with.

The influencer’s audience will also continue to see your campaigns which will help build their awareness and trust in your brand.

Mega YouTube influencer NakeyJakey has regular channel partnerships with OperaGX and RocketMoney among others. He creates comedic skits which have become a regular part of his gaming videos. These skits have built a huge following and increased awareness around the tech companies he’s agreed to partner with.

To nurture your relationship with an influencer and foster a long-term partnership, focus on genuine connection and mutual support like:

• Sharing your results
• Checking in with them regularly, not just when you have a new campaign idea
• Celebrating your joint successes
• Highlighting where their ideas or content made a real difference
• Engaging with their content on your social accounts
• Treating them as creative partners, not just promotional tools
• Making sure they get paid on time
• Having admin processes in place that make their job (and yours) easier

If you invest your time and energy into your working relationship, that effort will translate into more successful campaigns.

Influencer outreach best practices

Though every influencer outreach strategy is different, these are three best practices that are always relevant.

Do your research

Research is a fundamental part of the vetting process. Without accurate research, you risk dooming your campaign before it even starts.

Make use of solutions like Sprout Social Influencer Marketing to make data-driven decisions on who to work with. Our solution aggregates the data available to help you track relevant metrics like engagement rates and brand affinity.

When you reach the outreach stage, research how each influencer likes to be approached. Some will have an agency that handles collaborations. Others may have a separate email address or might prefer DMs. Find these in their bio. Using an influencer’s chosen communication channel shows a level of respect that starts your relationship on the right footing.

In the example below, fair fashion campaigner and influencer activist Venetia La Manna’s bio states that she doesn’t look at her DMs and refers potential partners to her email address.

Communicate campaign needs clearly

Outline all of your campaign expectations before an influencer starts creating content. A lot of this information should be in your outreach messages.

Also, include your campaign needs in an influencer contract. Remember to outline who is responsible for any costs incurred by creating content, as well as usage rights.

Share your goals and expected KPIs with your influencer before a campaign starts. They’ll then not be surprised when you go through the results of the campaign later.

This is one of the most crucial stages when figuring out how to hire an influencer. Communicating clearly across every stage keeps your campaign on track and more likely to succeed.

Evaluate campaign results and continuously improve

Campaign results can be tracked using several influencer marketing KPIs.

The first of these should be your ROI. Calculate expected ROI while you’re preparing your initial compensation offer. To maximize this ROI, work to continuously improve your campaigns over time.

But the success of a campaign doesn’t depend solely on financial returns. Other KPIs worth tracking can include:

• Reach and impressions
• Earned media value
• Positive brand sentiment increases
• Increased awareness
• Leads generated or conversions made
• Follower or audience growth rate

Set a KPI against each of your campaign goals. This makes it easier to track the success of each objective and shows you where to modify your campaigns to improve in the future.

Evaluating your KPIs can be streamlined by using Sprout Social Influencer Marketing. Sprout’s solution helps you figure out if your influencer campaigns are actually working. We use modular analytics dashboards to help you track ROI and other metrics. This means you can easily see how well your campaigns are doing and prove their value to leadership.

Harnessing the power of influencer outreach

With your refined influencer outreach strategy, you can identify and work with the right influencers for your brand. By continuing to improve your campaigns and nurturing your relationships, you’ll be well on your way to achieving even greater success.

Refine your strategy using Sprout’s influencer marketing plan template. Start a 7-week schedule that streamlines your efforts while boosting your campaign performance.

The post Influencer outreach: The 5-step strategy guide appeared first on Sprout Social.

In this article, we’ll break down the FTC influencer guidelines, why they matter and the branded content policies for each major social media network. We’ll also share tips on how to fit these guidelines smoothly into your strategy so your content stays compliant, authentic and on-brand.

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

FTC guidelines for influencers and content creators

In August 2023, the Federal Trade Commission introduced updated guidelines for online reviews and social media endorsements. These guidelines apply whenever an influencer or content creator has a “material connection” with a brand, defined as a financial, personal, family or employment relationship.

In other words, if a content creator is paid to talk about a product, receives a free item or gets a discount, they must make it clear in their posts. These guidelines ensure endorsements are honest and transparent, so it’s obvious when an influencer has a brand connection.

If an influencer wants to share about something they bought and liked, they can do so if there is no relationship with the brand. But whenever there is a material connection, these rules apply, and it’s both the brand and influencers’ responsibility to make sure their followers know.

FTC influencer guidelines do’s and don’ts

Here are some quick FTC compliance do’s and don’ts for influencer brand partnerships.

DO:

• Be crystal-clear. If an influencer received a free product, discount or any other benefit, they must disclose it—even if their review is genuine and unbiased.
• Place the disclosure up front, with the endorsement message, where followers will immediately see it.
• Match the disclosure to the media format. Consider how consumers view the content and match the disclosure accordingly– for example, if the endorsement is in a live stream, the disclosure should be repeated periodically so that even viewers who only pop in for a portion of the stream will view or hear the disclosure.
• Keep it simple. Use direct language like “Thanks to [brand] for the free product,” “Gifted by [Brand],” or “In partnership with [Brand] or hashtags like #ad or #sponsored.
• Use the same language as the endorsement and avoid jargon like “comped” or “ambassador” that might confuse followers.

DON’T:

• Assume an influencer’s followers already know about their brand relationships.
• Hide disclosures by putting them in a spot that requires extra clicks, like in a profile, in an “about me” section or at the end of the post.
• Mix with other hashtags (e.g., #beauty #ad #faveproducts”) or links where your audience might miss it.
• Use vague terms or unclear abbreviations like “sp,” “spon” or “collab.” Stick to terms like “ad” or “sponsored.”
• Publish endorsements from influencers who haven’t tried, disliked or can’t verify the product or service. Only share genuine experiences.
• Publish endorsements that claim results for which you don’t have evidence. Claims of health benefits or results need to be supported by proof.
• Incorporate influencer endorsements into any consumer review average ratings or lists without adequate disclosure.

Following these simple do’s and don’ts will help brands and influencers maintain transparency, build trust with their audiences and stay on the right side of the FTC rules.

Why the FTC influencer guidelines are important

The FTC guidelines for influencers aren’t just a legal formality. They keep branded content truthful and free from hidden motives so followers get the whole picture and can properly weigh the value of an influencer endorsement. Here’s why following them matters:

Building trust with your audience

Imagine a friend recommends a restaurant, and later, you find out they received a free meal to talk it up. It would likely make you second-guess their glowing review, right? This is the premise behind the FTC guidelines. By revealing brand connections upfront, consumers can make more educated choices, and influencers and brands can maintain credibility with their audiences.

According to our Q4 Pulse Survey, 59% of social media users say that the #ad label doesn’t affect their decision to purchase a featured product. But it makes a difference among specific demographics. A third (33%) of Gen Z respondents said it makes them more likely to buy, while about a quarter (26%) of Baby Boomers are less likely to purchase after seeing the #ad label.

These insights show that, for most social media users, adding disclosures doesn’t negatively impact their content-viewing experience or buying behavior. Many younger consumers appreciate disclosed partnerships and see them as credible endorsements.

Keeping up with evolving influencer trends

Influencer marketing is constantly evolving, so the rules around influencer relationships must keep pace. For example, virtual influencers complicate FTC guidelines since they aren’t real people. Human influencers can have a personal experience with a product or service, but virtual influencers can’t.

FTC guidelines protect consumers by mandating that any paid relationship is clearly disclosed regardless of who or what is endorsing a product. This way, consumers are always in-the-know, no matter how influencer marketing shifts.

Consequences of non-compliance

Both influencers and brands face serious consequences—like fines, legal fees and other penalties—if they don’t properly disclose partnerships. For example, in 2020, a tea company agreed to pay a $1 million settlement after the FTC found it had misled consumers by not disclosing payments to influencers promoting its products.

There is also the risk of consumer backlash. In 2023, the FTC issued warning letters to TikTok and Instagram health influencers who failed to disclose paid endorsements for artificial sweeteners and sugary foods. The resulting scandal eroded trust with followers, leading to negative comments and press.

Influencer marketing regulations by network

Each social network has its own approach to disclosure requirements, and brands and influencers need to understand the nuances of each one. Remember, however, that using a platform’s built-in disclosure tools doesn’t guarantee compliance with the FTC’s rules. Here’s a quick guide to keeping content compliant across Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and more.

Instagram

According to their branded content policies, Instagram creators can only post branded content using the branded content tool, which applies a “Paid Partnership” label on posts, Stories, Reels and live content. This label indicates when a brand or business has influenced the content in exchange for payment or gifts. Creators must use this tool for sponsored content to maintain transparency with their followers.

For Instagram posts, disclosures should be placed near the start of the caption, above the “more” button, so they’re visible without additional clicks. Avoid burying the disclosure among hashtags or in a lengthy caption. For Instagram Stories, overlay the disclosure directly onto the image or video and keep it on screen long enough for viewers to read. These practices make the brand partnership instantly evident to the influencer’s audience.

TikTok

On TikTok, creators must use the platform’s “commercial content disclosure” toggle for any branded content, which automatically adds a “paid partnership” label to videos or LIVEs. This label immediately identifies the content as sponsored or part of a brand collaboration. TikTok also requires creators to obviously mention the promoted product or service in the content so viewers don’t have to check the creator’s profile or click links to understand the endorsement.

FTC guidelines recommend that video disclosures be audible, visible and placed at the start of the content. For livestreams like TikTok LIVE, it’s also best to repeat the disclosure periodically to tell any viewers who join late about the brand partnership.

Facebook

Since Meta owns Instagram and Facebook, they follow the same branded content policy. This requires creators on both networks to use the branded content tool for sponsored posts, even if the product or service they endorse was gifted.

When disclosing a partnership in a Facebook post or caption, use plain language like “Thank you [Brand] for the free service” or hashtags like #ad or #sponsored near the beginning of the caption. Avoid vague terms or hashtags like #ambassador or #partner, as these don’t meet FTC standards.

YouTube

Putting #ad in the video description isn’t enough. On YouTube, creators must disclose paid promotions, endorsements or product placements directly within their videos. To comply, they must check the “paid promotion” box in YouTube Studio’s video editing settings, which adds a disclosure message to the first 10 seconds of the video.

Disclosures should be audible and visible for video content and included at the beginning of the video. For longer videos, creators should consider adding another disclosure before the product endorsement so the brand affiliation is clear throughout.

X (formerly Twitter)

According to X’s paid partnerships policy, creators need to disclose when a post is sponsored. The simplest way to do this is by adding #ad directly to the post so followers immediately know it’s branded content. With X’s character limits, disclosures should be kept short, but confusing abbreviations or acronyms should be avoided.

The post should also directly mention the product, service or call-to-action without requiring viewers to click on links for additional information. If there’s room, consider adding terms like “[Brand] Partner” or “[Brand] Ambassador” to make the brand connection extra clear.

How to implement FTC influencer guidelines in your social strategy

Keeping your influencer strategy FTC-compliant is more straightforward than it sounds. Setting clear expectations and using the right tools will protect your brand and build trust with your audience. Here’s how to make it happen.

Thoroughly research and vet potential influencers

Before engaging influencers, ensure their values and style align with your brand’s voice and audience. Review past content for consistency and check for any red flags (like a lack of brand partnership disclosures).

Sprout Social Influencer Marketing streamlines this process by providing insights into influencer metrics, audience demographics and engagement rates, helping marketers make data-backed decisions.

Set clear expectations around compliance

The FTC holds brands accountable for influencer compliance, so set explicit guidelines from the start. Include FTC compliance clauses in contracts and provide influencers with guidelines on disclosure requirements and acceptable content practices, like the FTC’s Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers.

Sprout Social Influencer Marketing’s Creator and Collaborator portals make organizing communication, feedback and approvals in real-time easy, to ensure all of your influencer marketing campaigns are both compliant and on brand.

Use pre-approval processes for time-sensitive content

With fast-moving content like Instagram Stories and TikTok LIVEs, a pre-approval process can keep everything legally compliant and brand safe without slowing down content production.

For example, you could have your influencers submit a draft of each Instagram Story slide with the disclosure (#ad or “Sponsored by [Brand]”) in advance. Hosting a live stream? You might have influencers share a brief outline of talking points, noting where they’ll make brand disclosures (e.g., “This is a paid partnership” at the start and every five minutes).

Follow best practices for different content types

Regardless of the social media network, keep the following content guidelines in mind:

• Photos and Static Posts: Make disclosures clear and upfront. Don’t bury them in a sea of hashtags. Use simple terms like #ad at the start of the caption so viewers see it immediately. Also, consider using a text overlay on the image itself in addition to the caption disclosure, especially on platforms where the image grabs attention first.
• Videos: Include audio and on-screen disclosures within the video, not just in the description. This way, all viewers can easily spot the brand partnership—even if they’re watching with the sound off. Repeating disclosures before brand mentions in longer videos helps all viewers understand the content is sponsored. Even if they skip around or don’t watch the entire thing.
• Livestreams: During live broadcasts, repeat the disclosure periodically to notify new viewers. This is especially important for longer streams where audiences may join and leave throughout. For sessions with multiple product demos, mention the disclosure at the start and end of each demo so everyone tuning in gets the context.

Streamline your workflow with an influencer marketing platform

Managing multiple influencers can get complicated, especially when coordinating disclosures and approvals. Sprout Social Influencer Marketing simplifies the process. The platform allows you to track campaign performance, coordinate schedules and monitor compliance across all stakeholders—all in one place. With features like invite links for labeling TikTok branded content and centralized content feedback, Sprout makes maintaining FTC compliance seamless.

The future of influencer compliance starts here

What does the future of influencer marketing look like? Only time will tell. But as the field evolves, so must consumer protections. The FTC’s goal is simple: to maintain honesty and transparency in advertising. For brands and marketers, this means staying adaptable and proactive. Having the right processes will help you manage compliance as guidelines shift.

That’s why using a dedicated influencer marketing platform like Sprout Social Influencer Marketing makes all the difference. With Sprout, you get the tools to track disclosures, manage campaigns and communicate directly with influencers in one streamlined platform.

Schedule a demo of our influencer marketing platform and see how easy managing compliant, successful influencer campaigns can be.

Disclaimer

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

The post FTC influencer guidelines, explained: Tips for engaging influencers appeared first on Sprout Social.

Cybersecurity threats are constantly evolving, so companies need to evaluate and adjust. In this article, we’ll cover social media security best practices to help you develop a security-first approach for your organization’s accounts.

What is social media security?

Social media security refers to the strategies, tools and best practices businesses and individuals use to mitigate risk and protect assets across social media platforms. This includes safeguarding sensitive information like customer data, employee details and confidential business information.

Common social media security threats include:

• Password theft
• Account impersonation
• Phishing and social engineering
• Data breaches

With the right privacy and security measures in place, organizations can lower the risk of these attacks and maintain a positive reputation.

The importance of social media security

Social media security goes beyond preventing account hacks and phishing attempts. It’s essential for protecting your brand’s reputation, employee and customer information, as well as ensuring compliance with evolving data protection laws (like GDPR and CCPA) and avoiding financial losses.

Think of it this way: Every employee, vendor and leader who touches your social media accounts plays a role in your overall security posture. Why? Because social media is inherently public. Any security breach can instantly damage your brand’s reputation through inappropriate posts, misinformation or scams visible to a wide audience. On top of that, the real-time nature of social means a malicious post can spread like wildfire, leaving little time to react.

And the stakes for brands are high. Not only can failing to follow data protection regulations lead to hefty fines, it can also lead to lost revenue due to damaged brand trust. According to a Q1 2024 Sprout Social Pulse Survey, 78% of consumers agree that, compared to a year ago, a brand’s social media presence now has a bigger impact on whether they trust that brand.

Top social media security risks and threats 

Here are the most common social media cybersecurity risks, along with sample scenarios of how they might occur in an organization.

Password theft

Password theft involves stealing login credentials (username and password) to gain unauthorized access to a social media account. This can be done by stealing the login credentials of an employee or through a brute force attack.

Password theft can apply to the networks and any third party tools used to access and manage social media accounts.

Account impersonation

Account impersonation in social media security refers to the act of creating a fake account that mimics a legitimate individual, brand or organization.

Attackers use these fraudulent accounts to deceive others into believing they are interacting with the real entity. This can include impersonating executives, employees or entire businesses to scam customers, spread misinformation or damage a brand’s reputation.

Phishing

Phishing is a common cyberattack where cybercriminals impersonate trusted entities via email or social media to trick individuals into sharing sensitive information, like login credentials or financial details. These messages may look legitimate, but often contain links or attachments that lead to malicious websites or install malware—programs intentionally designed to harm a device, network or server.

Phishing is a serious security threat, as it can compromise accounts and systems, leading to privacy breaches and financial loss.

Malware

Malware is malicious software designed to harm a device, network or server. On social media, it can be spread through links, downloads or attachments shared on various platforms.

One wrong click can lead to malware being installed on a user’s device, potentially compromising sensitive data or allowing attackers to take control of the system.

Social engineering

Social engineering is a manipulation tactic used to trick people into giving up sensitive information, like login credentials or financial details. Instead of using technical hacking methods, social engineers rely on psychological tricks to exploit human nature.

For example, a scammer impersonating a customer or a partner might send a direct message (DM) that includes a link to a malicious website. Without proper training on social media security best practices, your team might click the link, assuming it’s legitimate.

Spam and bot accounts

Spam and bot accounts are automated accounts used to spread spam, malicious links and misinformation, polluting your feed and potentially harming your brand. They typically mimic real users and can be tricky to spot.

The real threat lies in their ability to distribute harmful content, launch phishing attacks and impersonate legitimate users or brands. This increases cybersecurity risks for both your social media team and your followers.

Privacy breaches

Privacy breaches occur when unauthorized individuals gain access to personal or sensitive information shared through social media platforms. This can include login credentials, private messages, financial details or proprietary business information.

Breaches often happen due to weak security practices, phishing attacks or vulnerabilities within social media networks and third-party platforms.

4 social media security best practices to know in 2025

Here are some social media security best practices you can follow to safeguard your brand, employees and customers:

1. Implement strong password practices

Strong passwords are foundational to your social media security. They’re your first line of defense against unauthorized access, protecting your social accounts and any third-party management tools. But while most people understand the dangers of weak or shared passwords,  it’s easy to fall short in practice.

That’s why it’s crucial to choose tools with built-in security features like multi-factor authentication and single sign-on. These features combat “password fatigue” by making it easier to create and manage strong, unique passwords for each account. They also make it much harder for unauthorized users to gain access, even if a password is compromised.

Equally important is avoiding manual password sharing (like keeping passwords in a shared note). This practice makes it impossible to track who has access to which profiles, creating a major security vulnerability. If you can’t control access, you can’t ensure security.

2. Educate employees about social media security

Social media moves fast. This rapid evolution allows cybercriminals to innovate quickly, and unfortunately, exploit vulnerabilities on a large scale. But here’s the thing: Many employees may not be aware of the unique security risks that come with using social media for business.

That’s why it’s crucial to educate your team about the specific challenges of social media security. Here are a few key reasons it requires extra vigilance:

• Public nature: Social media platforms are inherently public, making it easier for attackers to gather information about your employees and target them with personalized attacks.
• Decentralization: Security on social media is a shared responsibility between platforms, users and businesses. This makes it more challenging to enforce consistent security practices across the board.
• Third-party apps and integrations: Many marketers connect their social media accounts to third-party apps and services, which can increase the risk of data breaches if those apps have weak security practices.

Empower your team to make smarter security decisions with up-to-date training that includes specific examples of social media threats. By illustrating how these risks can play out in realistic scenarios, you can help employees recognize and respond to potential attacks effectively.

3. Regularly review and update access permission settings for third-party applications

People change roles, leave organizations and projects evolve. To maintain strong social media security, it’s crucial to regularly review and update access permissions for all your social accounts and any third-party tools.

Start by setting clear user permissions. Your social media management platform should enable you to grant specific access levels based on each team member’s responsibilities. For example, in Sprout Social, you can set user permissions at the company and feature level. This ensures that team members have access to the tools they need—and nothing they don’t.

Equally important is establishing a clear workflow for removing system access when someone leaves the team or changes roles. This helps prevent former employees or those with new responsibilities from accessing sensitive information or performing actions they no longer have authorization for.

4. Create a social media crisis management plan

Crises don’t follow business hours. When a social media crisis hits, you need a plan to guide your response and minimize damage to your brand. This plan should outline the steps your team will take to address different scenarios, such as a hacked account or a data leak.

Imagine a hacker gains access to your social accounts and starts posting content that goes against your brand values. Or worse, what if they leak sensitive customer data? Without a plan, your response will likely be reactive, inconsistent and potentially damaging.

A strong social media crisis management plan will help you:

• Respond quickly and effectively to minimize damage.
• Communicate clearly and consistently with your audience.
• Protect your brand’s reputation and maintain customer trust.
• Coordinate efforts across different teams (social media, IT, communications, legal).
• Back up important data regularly and establish a recovery plan to handle security breaches.
• Learn from the experience and improve your future response.

Bonus Resource: Download our three-step template to document a social media crisis management plan. This template will help your team effectively respond and recover if a crisis strikes.

Get the template

Social media security best practices for executives and brand advocates

Executives and fellow employees can be powerful brand advocates. Their personal social media posts can humanize your brand, build trust and reach new audiences. However, it’s crucial to ensure they can participate safely and effectively without compromising security.

Here’s how to empower these groups while maintaining a high level of social media security:

Executives

When it comes to executives, managing their social media presence within a secure platform is key. This eliminates the need for shared passwords and provides a centralized hub for managing content and approvals.

With Sprout Social, executive communications teams can efficiently oversee leadership profiles on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter). Easily schedule and approve posts, photos and videos directly within Sprout. If your executive prefers to approve content outside the platform, assign them an “External Approver Seat” to send content directly to their email for approval.

Employees

Employee advocacy is a powerful way to amplify your brand’s reach. Using a centralized platform enables employees to easily share pre-approved brand content while ensuring compliance with your company’s social media policy.

If your team has concerns about connecting their personal profiles to a company’s tool, reassure them that platforms like Sprout Social prioritize data privacy. Explain that Sprout only collects the essential information needed for employees to connect their profiles and share content from within the platform. This enables them to share company posts directly through our Employee Advocacy tool without needing to access their personal accounts.

How secure social media management tools keep you safe

Secure social media management tools act as a central hub for all your social media activity, making it easier to control access, enforce security policies and monitor for suspicious behavior. They provide a layer of protection between your valuable brand accounts and potential threats, helping you mitigate risks and safeguard your reputation.

At Sprout Social, we understand the importance of keeping data secure. That’s why we’ve incorporated world-class, enterprise-grade security standards into our platform. We’re trusted by over 35,000 organizations to help them manage millions of daily conversations across social media.

Here’s how we prioritize security:

• Purpose-limited data processing: We clearly identify our purposes for processing personal data from social media networks and limit our processing solely to those purposes.
• Data minimization: We ensure that the personal data we process is adequate, relevant and limited to only what is necessary.
• Stringent data retention policies: We have established standard data retention periods for customer data and are stringent in ensuring that deletion requests are respected.
• Enhanced login security: We offer capabilities like single sign-on (SSO) and multi-factor authentication (MFA) to add extra layers of protection to user accounts and prevent unauthorized access.
• Responsible AI usage: We weave AI into our product responsibly to enhance our platform’s capabilities while prioritizing data security. Whether it’s Sprout’s proprietary AI models or integrations with third-party providers like OpenAI or Claude, Sprout never sells customer data and ensures these models cannot use or store data for model training.

For more on Sprout’s security and privacy standards, check out trust.sproutsocial.com.

Guarding the gateways to social accounts and data

Safeguarding your brand requires staying vigilant in the ever-changing cybersecurity landscape. Continually educate yourself and your team to stay ahead of emerging threats. Remain proactive, and you can keep your accounts secure today and into the future.

Managing all your accounts and permissions on one central platform is a significant step toward greater social media security. Request a personalized demo to discover how Sprout Social empowers over 35,000 brands to achieve smarter, faster business impact with comprehensive social media management solutions. Our platform includes tools for publishing, engagement, customer care, influencer marketing, advocacy and AI-powered business intelligence.

The post Social media security best practices to keep your company and customer data safe appeared first on Sprout Social.

But what about gifts for social media managers? Some would argue social marketers are those in the greatest need of a pick-me-up during the holiday season.

We turned to our internal team and Sprout’s community, The Aborteum, to find out which gifts are at the top of social marketers’ wish lists this year. Here’s what they said, arranged by interests and niches.

Disclaimer: None of the products mentioned in this article are sponsored, endorsed or contain affiliate links. They are only meant to show product examples of highly requested gift categories. Prices listed represent current prices at time of publishing and may vary.

Gifts for the coffee crazed

If the social media marketer you know has a coffee habit that rivals Lorelai Gilmore (don’t most?), there’s only one gift that really matters: coffee.

Local coffee shop gift card: $10+

It’s a cliche at this point: Social media managers love coffee. Not only does caffeine run through their veins, but cafes are also a great work-from-home spot during the winter months. Going out into the world, even for just a few hours, is a great way to keep spirits high during the darkest, coldest time of the year.

A coffee shop gift card of any value would be deeply appreciated—especially if it’s for a local spot.

Monthly coffee subscription: $15/month

If your recipient brews at home, their greatest nightmare is running low on coffee grounds and beans. With a personalized monthly subscription, their favorite coffee will be delivered right to their door. You can gift a subscription for one month or an entire year, depending on your budget.

Smart mug: $150

We’ve already emphatically mentioned how much social marketers love coffee. But, in the flurry of daily tasks, it can be easy to forget to actually drink your cup of joe. That’s where smart mugs come in. They keep coffee warm for hours.

Like this mug, which allows you to set an exact drinking temperature. Social marketers can use this mug to prevent their coffee or favorite warm beverage from getting too cold or too hot (nobody likes burning their mouth mid-meeting).

Coffee and espresso machine: $200

If the social marketer in your life is still using their college coffee machine that takes a half hour to brew or has questionable cleanliness, it’s time for an upgrade. A machine that brews both coffee and espresso is a great choice for those who want to experiment with making cafe-caliber drinks at home. Bring on the caramel lattes.

Gifts for wellness warriors

They drink electrolyte water and green juice during your 9 a.m. meetings. They love protein. Their workout class attendance rate is a KPI. Here’s what we’d gift our favorite social marketer wellness enthusiasts.

House plant: $50

Not only do house plants beautify your remote work background, they have tangible benefits. They’ve been shown to reduce stress, sharpen attention and increase happiness.

This suggestion came from Sprout’s Sr. Social Media Strategist, Olivia Jepson, who mentioned how beneficial it is to have green space indoors when you work in social’s fast-paced environment.

You can find house plants and pots at local home garden stores—they often offer repotting and plant care services, too. Or you can get a plant delivered through a brand like The Sill.

Read how to balance working in social media and maintaining good mental health.

Instant camera: $60

Imagine sparking new content ideas without having to spend hours scrolling. With an instant camera, social marketers can capture content—or just hone their photography skills—the old fashioned way. Without running up against their app or screen time limits.

This fun lavender camera is an example of the newest generation of Polaroids. You could also consider buying new camera lenses, film and photography classes for social content creators who already have a film or digital camera at their disposal, and want to devote more time to their hobbies.

Spa gift card: $100+

While any social marketer would appreciate a spa day, fans of wellness trends would be even more excited to receive this gift. Especially for a spa that offers services like infrared saunas, massages and cold plunges. Bonus if the spa is especially aesthetically pleasing (just in case they want to capture content while they’re there).

$100 is a great starting point, but spa services come with hefty price tags so budget accordingly.

A year-long ClassPass membership: $240

ClassPass, a monthly fitness and wellness membership, is a favorite for those who like to mix up their workouts. Every month, members accrue credits they can use toward different fitness studios, gyms and even beauty venues.

While you can give any amount toward ClassPass credits, $240 covers a year-long basic membership.

Under-desk walking pad and treadmill: $300

As these social marketers will tell you, sitting too long comes with harmful health risks. A walking pad or under-desk treadmill is a great solution to help get those steps in and warm up during chilly winter days.

Some walking pads come with a place to hold your computer—making it easy to walk while you work. Others only have a bar, which means they require a standing desk to use during the workday.

Gifts for on-screen talent

Social marketers who serve as the face of videos, webinar events and other digital content want to put their best foot forward. And they already have a state of the art ring light. Here’s everything else they need to take their at-home recording to the next level.

Read our step-by-step guide to remote video production.

Portable charger: $25

Picture this: You’re about to film a video for social when you get an alert that your phone is going to die. Now you have to try and squeeze in a good take without eating up all of your battery life. Or you have to stop and plug in (and hope you can find an available outlet).

With a portable charger, social marketers can make sure they’re always ready to go. Plus, is it just us, or do chargers actually drain faster during the winter?

A portable charger like this one keeps social marketers’ phones charged on-the-go. We especially like that it charges two devices simultaneously and works with a wide range of devices.

USB microphone: $85

Having a broadcast-quality microphone that blocks out ambient noise is a massive time-saver. With a high-fidelity microphone, social marketers can pull together videos quickly. As one of our Arb members said, “I’d like a podcast-caliber mic. Especially a cool retro one. It would really help with quick voiceovers.”

This one has a bidirectional polar pattern that makes it possible to speak in the front while someone else speaks in the back, helping marketers capture audio from interviews or collaborate on posts.

Read our guide to getting your own podcast up and running.

Ultra HD webcam: $170

A blurry webcam—like the default on most computers—doesn’t meet quality standards for hosting webinars or filming content. Social marketers who frequently serve as on-screen talent need a high definition version. For example, this webcam records in 4K and highlights the subject in all lighting scenarios.

Gifts for home office optimizers

These social marketers have a home office that rivals even the best Pinterest boards. It’s organized and impeccably designed. But they’re still missing tech that will elevate their work-from-home experience.

Note: All of these gifts are on the pricier side.

Google Nest Hub: $100

With a Google Nest Hub, you can view and control all your devices from a single dashboard. You can turn the lights on and off, change the temperature, listen to music, view your calendar and more. As one Arb member put it, the hub provides all the household information you need at your fingertips—without having to leave your home office. The ultimate luxury for optimizers.

Portable Bluetooth speaker: $150

A powerful speaker with crisp sound sets the right tone for a top-tier home office experience. Social marketers can jam to their favorite playlists or “co-work” to the voices of their favorite podcast hosts.

While this speaker is around $150, some of the more high tech versions will set you back much more. Make the right choice for you, with your budget and the recipient’s needs in mind.

Noise-canceling Bluetooth headphones: $350

Members of the Arb expressed their frustration at continually having to re-purchase Bluetooth headphones that break after a few months. Others shared how helpful noise-canceling headphones would be for focus. Bringing both capabilities together is music to their ears.

While noise-canceling headphones help social marketers zero-in on the work in front of them and tune out the rest, powerful and reliable Bluetooth allows them to dive into their own rhythm. Plus, they’re the perfect fit for an open-concept office.

Ergonomic desk chair: $549

We get it. A few years ago, we didn’t know if hybrid or remote work would catch on. So, you still have that uncomfortable chair. Or the chair you bought because it looked beautiful, but doesn’t offer proper support. Your favorite social marketer can relate.

The ultimate gift this holiday season is an ergonomic, comfortable chair that still has stylish, chic flair.

Give the gift of something social marketers actually want

Finding a meaningful, useful gift for a social marketer may seem daunting, but a thoughtful choice can make a big difference in their daily lives. From the coffee fuel they rely on to the tech they use to produce content, these gifts show you see and appreciate the work they do.

Whether it’s a smart mug to keep their coffee warm or a pair of noise-canceling headphones for laser-focused content creation, each of these ideas serves as a reminder that they’re supported. This holiday season, go beyond the basics and give something that truly enhances their work—and their well-being.

Want to win some of the prizes in this article? Join the Sprout Social Arboretum and follow our 2024 Holiday Engagement Giveaway.

The post The best gifts for social media managers appeared first on Sprout Social.

But if you’re manually posting each Reel, especially multiple times a day, you’re doing more harm than good. Your team will end up spending hours each week on a repetitive task that can easily be automated with a social media scheduling tool.

Scheduling Instagram Reels in advance helps you post consistently, hit peak engagement times and focus on creating better content. It’s also a great way to keep the algorithm happy and rake up those views, likes, comments and shares.

In this post, we’ll show you 3 ways to schedule Instagram Reels.

Can you schedule Instagram Reels?

Yes! You can schedule Instagram Reels in three different ways:

• Natively using the Instagram app
• Using social media scheduling tools (e.g., Sprout Social)
• Using Meta Business Suite

We’ll show you how to schedule your Reels with each method below.

Note: Scheduling Instagram posts and Reels is only available for Instagram Business or Creator accounts (not personal accounts), so make sure you check your account type before diving in. Learn how to switch to a professional account here.

How to schedule Instagram Reels from the Instagram app

Third-party scheduling tools for Instagram have been around for a while, but the app itself did not support native scheduling until the end of 2022. Users can now schedule up to 25 posts daily and up to 75 days in advance directly through the Instagram app only. Scheduling is only available through the native app and not through desktop login.

Keep in mind, only Instagram Business and Creator accounts have access to this feature. Personal profiles are unable to schedule content.

Follow these steps to get started.

Step 1. Create a new Reel

Open your Instagram app and tap the + at the bottom of the screen or swipe right on your home feed to create a new Reel.

Select Reel from the content types at the bottom.

Step 2. Film or upload your video

Either shoot clips directly using the in-app camera, or upload videos from your phone.

Step 3. Edit and finalize your Reel

Add text, stickers, music, effects, etc., then add your caption.

Step 4. Schedule your Reel

Tap More options at the bottom of the screen.

Toggle the Schedule this reel option on, then select your preferred date and time from the menu that appears.

Go back to the previous screen and tap Schedule.

While Instagram’s native scheduling is straightforward, it has some limitations. For example, you can’t cross-post to other accounts. So if you need to share content across multiple platforms, check out methods two or three for scheduling Reels.

Using a third-party scheduling tool also gives you access to more in-depth analytics to track the performance of your Reels. We’ll talk more about that later.

How to schedule Instagram Reels with Sprout Social via desktop

Scheduling Reels through Instagram’s native app works fine for some businesses. But if you’re a business dealing with a larger social strategy, you’ll need a tool that lets you easily schedule and manage content across multiple platforms.

Sprout Social is one of those tools that let you do more than just schedule Reels. You can cross-post on other networks, collaborate with your team, engage with your audience and track in-depth analytics—all in one place.

Here’s how to schedule Instagram Reels with Sprout on your desktop.

Step 1: Sign up and connect your Instagram profile

Before you can schedule your Reels via Sprout Social, you need to connect your Instagram profile(s). Log in to your Sprout dashboard or sign up for a free 30-day trial here.

Click Connect a Profile and choose Instagram from the various options. Then, follow the on-screen guidelines to link your Instagram profile to your Sprout account.

Note: Link all your Instagram profiles to Sprout to schedule Reels to multiple accounts. You can also connect your other social profiles, including Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (X).

Step 2: Compose your Instagram Reel

Once you’ve connected your profile, click Publishing on the left to open Sprout’s social media calendar. You can switch between list, week or monthly calendar views.

Hover on your calendar to schedule a Reel on a specific day. There’s also an option to leave notes (e.g., Reel ideas you want to share with the team).

You can also skip the calendar view and click the blue pencil/paper icon in the top right corner from any screen to create a new Reel.

Select the Instagram profile you want to publish to from the drop down menu.

Now, you can start composing your Reel. If you’re looking for inspiration, here are some Instagram Reel ideas to get your creative juices flowing.

Add your Reel video

Start by uploading your media. There are several ways to do this in Sprout:

• Upload your Reel video directly from your computer
• Import from Bynder, Dropbox or Google Drive
• Add a video from your asset library in Sprout

Once you’ve uploaded your video, you can change the thumbnail frame by clicking on the pencil icon that appears when you hover on the attached media. You can also upload a different image to use as your thumbnail.

This is also where you can toggle the option to share your Reel to your profile feed or have it appear only in the Reels tab.

Write your caption

Next, write an engaging caption for your Reel. You can also add relevant Instagram hashtags, or tag users and other brands in your caption (e.g. during a partnership).

Sprout pro tip: Use our Enhance by AI Assist feature to generate more caption ideas and speed up your creative process. If you’re not sure what to post about, Enhance by AI Assist can help you create content based on a draft you input into the Compose box. If you’re looking to change the tone of the content (think: confident, friendly or professional), try Suggestions by AI Assist to align captions with your brand’s tone of voice.

Set a Mobile Publisher (optional)

If you want to use audio from Instagram’s sound library in your Reel content, you’ll need to choose a Mobile Publisher. This person will post your Reel from Instagram’s mobile app and will get a reminder (push notification) from Sprout’s mobile app on their device when it’s time to do so.

Step 3: Schedule your Reel

Scroll down to When to post and select your preferred date and time. This is when your scheduled Reel will go live. You can also adjust the time zone if your audience is located in a different country or region.

If you’re not sure when to post your Reel, select Optimal Send Times to see data-driven recommendations when your audience is most likely to see your content. Sprout’s ViralPost™ technology suggests the best times to post based on your historical engagement data to help you maximize your Reel’s impact.

After finalizing the date and time, click Submit or Schedule to add it to your calendar.

How to schedule Instagram Reels with Sprout Social via iOS app

Scheduling Instagram Reels using Sprout’s iOS app is similar to doing the same on desktop, with some minor differences. You can easily schedule videos on the go from your phone.

Follow the steps below to schedule Instagram Reels using Sprout’s iOS app.

• Step 1: Tap the Compose box and select your Instagram profile.
• Step 2: Upload your Reel video from your iOS device or Asset Library to the Compose box.
• Step 3: Write a caption, add your hashtags and insert any mentions or tags.
• Step 4: Tap Done and add Mobile Publisher Notes.
• Step 5: Tap Notify and then choose a publishing date and time for your Reel.
• Step 6: Tap Save. Your Reel is now scheduled and will appear on the publishing calendar.

How to schedule Instagram Reels from Meta Business Suite

You can also schedule Instagram Reels using the Meta Business Suite.

First, connect your Instagram account to your Facebook page so you can access both from the Meta Business Suite. Then follow the steps below to schedule your Reel.

Step 1. Create a new Reel

Log in to the Meta Business Suite, and click Create reel.

Step 2. Add media and caption

Upload one or more videos for your Reel content.

This is also where you can write a compelling caption to go with your video. Include any relevant hashtags, location tags or mentions.

Step 3. Edit your Reel

You can make basic edits to your Reel before you publish or schedule it.

Crop your video, add trending sounds from the built-in library, insert text and even enhance the original audio. There’s a timeline editor at the bottom to make editing and syncing audio easier.

Step 4. Schedule your Reel

Hit Next and select a date and time to schedule your Instagram Reel.

You can also add a poll and adjust privacy settings (Public or Restricted) at this step.

When you’re done, click Schedule. Your Reel is now ready to go live at your chosen time.

Why should you schedule Instagram Reels?

If you’re like most marketing teams, you’ve figured out that Reels are your ticket to growing on Instagram. But if you’re posting your videos manually throughout the day, you’re doing it the hard way.

Here’s why scheduling your Reels in advance might be the best thing you do for your Instagram strategy.

Maintain a consistent presence

Scheduling Instagram Reels ahead of time helps you consistently post fresh content, which keeps your audience engaged and your brand top-of-mind.

It also signals to your followers that you’re active and invested in connecting with them. Without consistency, even the best content can get lost in the noise, and your audience may drift away.

Sprout’s scheduling tools make it easy to maintain a regular posting cadence. You can plan your publishing calendar well in advance and make sure you’re not just posting Reels but also mixing in other content types like image posts, Carousels and Stories.

Maximize reach and engagement

Reaching your audience when they’re online is key to getting your Reels noticed. Instagram’s algorithm rewards content posted at the right time with more visibility and engagement.

But figuring out the best times to post isn’t always easy, especially when your audience is active in different time zones.

That’s where Sprout’s ViralPost™ feature can help. It analyzes your audience’s activity and recommends the best times to post for max engagement. Instead of guessing, you can rely on data to schedule your Reels for when they’re most likely to make an impact.

Save time and improve efficiency

Posting Reels manually every day can take time away from other important things like strategy building or content creation. Scheduling lets you batch your work, which frees up time to focus on those big-picture tasks that truly matter.

Need proof? Our Social Media Productivity Report revealed 63% of marketers feel that manual tasks hold them back from doing high-impact work. With the right social media management tools, however, 59% find they have more time to finish their tasks.

With Sprout’s publishing tools, you can upload and schedule Reels in bulk, plan weeks ahead and eliminate the stress of daily posting. With everything organized in one platform, you’ll have more time to think creatively and engage meaningfully with your audience.

Improve content quality

Creating great Reels isn’t just about hitting “post”—it’s about planning, editing and crafting content that truly resonates with your audience.

When you schedule your Reels in advance, you have more time to research customer needs and preferences, brainstorm content ideas, refine your visuals, write thoughtful captions and pick the best hashtags to boost visibility.

Combine that with Sprout’s AI Assist to get caption suggestions and help with drafting posts. Our smart writing tools make sure every Reel you share is polished and high-quality.

Streamline your workflow

Managing social media content can get overwhelming, especially when you’re juggling multiple platforms or working with a team. Scheduling keeps you organized and prevents last-minute issues like mistakes, typos or missed deadlines.

Sprout Social simplifies this further with a centralized workflow for drafting, approving and scheduling Instagram Reels and other posts. Team members can collaborate on, review and approve social content, making sure it’s aligned with your brand before it goes live.

Make data-driven optimizations

Understanding how your Reels perform is crucial for improving your strategy. Metrics like reach, views and engagement rates reveal what’s working and where there’s room to grow. Without these insights, you’re just guessing what your audience wants.

Sprout Social’s powerful Instagram analytics let you track your Reels’ performance in real-time. With granular data on your audience as well as individual posts, you can adjust your content, target the right audience and improve ROI in the long run.

Start scheduling Reels today

Let’s be real: manually posting Reels throughout the day is probably not the best use of your time. Sure, Reels are crushing it on Instagram right now—but spending hours on publishing means less time actually creating great content.

Good news? Scheduling changes everything. You’ll keep a consistent posting rhythm and free up time to focus on growing your brand on Instagram. No more dropping everything to post a Reel right this second.

Using a tool like Sprout makes this even easier, giving you everything you need to manage, schedule and optimize your Reels in one place. Sign up for a 30-day free trial now and see the difference scheduling makes.

The post How to schedule Reels on Instagram in 3 ways appeared first on Sprout Social.

Who should you partner with? What kind of content should you create with influencers? How can you make sure your influencer marketing methods are going to pay off? It all comes down to influencer authenticity.

In this article, we get into the nitty gritty of what influencer authenticity is, why it matters and how you can use it to drive revenue and make a business impact.

What is authenticity in influencer marketing?

Authenticity may sound like social media jargon, but it’s a concept that’s essential to connecting with your brand’s social media followers. The definition of what is authentic in marketing is a moving target, as it varies across generations and demographics. In the context of social media marketing, influencer authenticity refers to influencers that are true to their values and mission. In authentic influencer marketing, brands work with influencers whose values and mission align with their own.

Authenticity in social media is something users want more of—whether it’s from influencers or others. According to The 2023 Sprout Social Index™, authentic, non-promotional content is the number one thing users don’t see enough of on social media. It’s what they crave.

Influencer authenticity makes your brand look more believable to consumers simply by association. How can you spot an authentic social media influencer? Look for these traits:

Transparency and honesty

Examine how the influencer communicates with their audience, especially about their brand partnerships and brand deals. The FTC now requires influencers to disclose brand partnerships, so influencers must note which posts are sponsored by their partners or that they’re doing a brand deal with a specific company who’s paid them to create content.

Disclosing a brand partnership is just one way to be transparent. As we’ve seen in our research, social media users are looking for authenticity and transparency about business practices and values. Look at how the influencer talks about the brand in their posts. For example, do they share that they loved the brand even before they started working with them? Do they talk about certain aspects of the brand that align with their personal values and interests? This type of transparency and honesty helps to create trust with followers.

@SpiceSpoon is a social media influencer that focuses on modern Pakistani, Afghan‌ and Persian Cuisine. In the post below, she specifies that she has a partnership with a sponsor so her audience is aware that it’s a paid post. In the caption, she notes specific aspects she loves about the product, such as their sustainable farming methods—something she’s passionate about.

Genuine passion and interest

Does the social media influencer really care about the topics they post about? Are those topics an important part of their life? Unless the social media influencer is a talented performer, most users and brands can see right through faked passion and interest.

Authentic influencers live and breathe their area of expertise—it’s not only how they make money, it brings true joy and value to their lives.

Engagement with followers

Look at how the influencer interacts and engages with their followers. Do they passionately talk about common interests or do they brush off comments and DMs from followers?

Showing authenticity with social followers involves engaging with them, whether that’s by liking comments, replying to comments or even using user-generated content (UGC) in posts.

If an influencer isn’t building an emotional connection with their followers, they likely aren’t putting their authentic selves out into the world—and a partnership with them could harm your brand.

Why authentic influencers matter

Why should your brand prioritize influencer authenticity? Appealing directly to consumers is a major reason, one that helps increase influencer marketing return on investment (ROI).

Authentic marketing with influencers not only captures your target audience’s attention and gives them what they want, but it also has several other benefits like enhancing your credibility, increasing engagement with followers and creating meaningful relationships with consumers. Who can say no to that?

Here are other reasons influencer authenticity matters:

Builds trust and credibility

Brand trust—you can never have too much of it, but you can certainly have too little. If your consumers trust your brand, they know they can rely on you to fulfill your promises to them. This makes them much more likely to purchase from you again or refer you to their family and friends.

The same is true for authentic influencers. They build trust with their audience by showing how true they are to their values and mission. This increases credibility with their followers, encouraging them to engage online and consider making a purchase based on the influencer’s recommendations. People are much more likely to buy a product or service from someone they trust, after all.

The Pasinis’ social media presence revolves around their connection to Italy—it’s the area of their expertise. As a result, when they share travel tips for Italy (that include brand partnerships like the one below), their followers trust their recommendations.

Drives engagements and conversions

Authentic influencers tend to engage with their followers by liking and responding to comments, especially when discussing matters that align with their own values. Meaningful interactions like these increase the likelihood of their followers taking action—such as going to your brand’s social media profile or clicking through to your website from a sponsored post.

Never underestimate the value of social media engagement. It helps social media users feel connected with influencers and the brands they promote, creating a sense of loyalty and community.

@Maymah is an influencer whose content focuses on fitness training and modest gym outfits. She responds to her followers’ comments in almost every post, driving further engagement.

Create long-term relationships

Speaking of loyalty and community, authentic influencer marketing is a great way for brands to create long-term relationships online—both with influencers and their followers, benefiting everyone involved. How does this work?

Influencer authenticity, by association, builds brand authenticity. When the influencer’s followers feel aligned with the influencer’s values and see them as being authentic online, they feel more inclined to trust what they say. And if the influencer vouches for your brand, their followers will want to create a relationship with you as well, all based on the influencer’s word.

Be sure to live up to expectations by engaging with your influencer’s audience online when and where it feels appropriate to do so.

Enhances brand reputation

Influencer marketing and authenticity in content creation go hand in hand. You can’t have authentic social content without an authentic influencer and vice versa. Partnering with the right influencers can positively impact your brand’s image and reputation, especially if your brand values align with the influencer’s values. This kind of alignment will help both the brand and the influencer create content that feels meaningful

For example, if you work with an influencer who values sustainability just as much as your brand, you’ll be able to enhance your brand reputation with their followers through a strategic partnership. If your brand doesn’t feel the same way about sustainability, however, your partnership won’t resonate with followers.

@GreenGirlLeah is an influencer whose content revolves around sustainability and environmentalism. Naturally, her content features brands with similar values, like in the example below, where she partnered with brand Brilliant Earth.

How to identify authentic influencers

There’s no shortage of social media influencers online, so how do you find the best partnership for your brand? Our blog on how to find the right influencers is a great start to getting a shortlist of candidates, but you’ve also got to consider influencer authenticity.

Follow these tips to find the right influencer for your brand.

Conduct a content analysis

When it comes to influencer marketing and authenticity in content creation, the best way to find what your brand needs is to do a deep dive into the influencer’s content. This is a key step, so be sure not to rush it—you want to take time to watch or read posts in detail.

Look for consistency in the influencer’s message: Do they talk about their values in the same way across their posts? Also consider how genuine their content feels. Is the influencer enthusiastic in how they talk to their followers? Do they show passion and interest in the topics that matter to your brand?

Originality can’t be understated. It’s ranked as one of the top factors that make a brand memorable on social, with 38% of consumers remembering brands who share original and creative content. Consumers don’t want to see the same trends over and over again. If the influencer shares new and interesting content on a regular basis, they might be a winner.

Identify values alignment

Influencer-brand partnerships are successful when the influencer’s values align with the brand’s values. If there’s a major disconnect, the authenticity of the relationship fades—and consumers can tell.

When reviewing the influencer’s content, pay special attention to what drives them and compare them to your brand’s values. While the influencer may not share 100% of your values, there needs to be considerable alignment on the things that matter most.

For example, if a luxury home decor brand values high-quality manufacturing and doesn’t like to cut corners—and the influencer’s whole platform is about cheap and quick home decor “hacks”—there’s a disconnect in values here. Even if the brand and the influencer agree on other values, this type of misalignment can tank a partnership and create a brand crisis.

Evaluate audience engagement metrics

Analyze the quality of interactions between the influencer and their followers. Look at engagement metrics such as likes, shares and comments to evaluate the level of engagement the influencer has with their audience. Around three-quarters of marketers focus on engagement metrics when tracking social performance.

Other important metrics to track include click-through rates, reach and impressions, which are also directly impacted by audience engagement. If you note upward trends, it’s typically a good sign. Downward trends should be investigated—because it may mean the influencer is struggling to connect with their followers.

Consider follower count—but not too much

On a related note, the influencer’s engagement may depend on how many followers they have. In some cases, the more followers an influencer has may mean they have more engagement as well—but that’s not always the case.

Often, micro and nano-influencers have high levels of engagement because they have a highly targeted, engaged follower base. So, while follower count is important, it’s not as important as the level of engagement or authenticity.

Authenticity in influencer marketing isn’t impacted by follower count. While it can be beneficial for your brand to work with mega influencers, the ROI only pans out if those influencers align with your brand and have loyal followings

If you want to connect with your target audience through strategic partnerships, check out this worksheet to help you create a social strategy that blends data and values.

Review past partnerships

Do your due diligence by looking at the influencer’s history of collaboration to gauge their authenticity and alignment with your brand. How many brands have they worked with before? What kinds of brands do they typically work with? How do those brands compare to your brand? The answers to these questions can help you evaluate if the influencer is right for your needs.

Consider influencer marketing benchmarks, like those found in The 2024 Influencer Marketing Benchmarks Report, to see how well the influencer’s partnerships have performed. If the influencer hasn’t met past brand expectations, there could be something amiss with their partnerships, messaging or engagement.

DermDoctor is a board-certified dermatologist. His brand partnerships are typically with skincare brands, like in the example below, showing consistency and authenticity.

Use an influencer marketing platform

An influencer marketing platform is a great way to speed up the identification and vetting process. Whether you’re interested in virtual influencers or human influencers, you can use influencer marketing platforms to connect with top creators in your industry, narrow down your search and identify influencers that align with your brand.

Once you’ve found your partner, you can use influencer marketing platforms to manage contracts, content and analytics.

Finding authentic influencers with Sprout Social Influencer Marketing

In order to harness authenticity in influencer marketing, you need the right tools. Sprout Social Influencer Marketing (formerly Tagger) is an influencer marketing platform that helps brands find and connect with influencers that align with their brand values. Brands can maximize their influencer marketing ROI and create lasting business impact.

Check out these key capabilities:

Advanced search and filtering

Sprout’s Influencer Marketing enables users to filter influencers based on criteria such as audience demographics, engagement rates and content categories. Use the 50+ search filters to find influencers that not only align with your brand values and mission, but serve the same target audience as you.

Brands can create data-driven influencer-marketing strategies for effective collaboration. By partnering with social influencers who have the power to introduce your brand to their loyal audience, you can reach more people who may be interested in what you have to offer.

Authenticity and brand affinity analysis

Sprout’s Influencer Marketing helps you assess an influencer’s authenticity by analyzing their content, audience engagement and past brand partnerships, so you can be sure they’re the right fit for your campaign.

Influencer Marketing’s proprietary algorithm uses machine learning and audience psychographics to match brands with creators who have a strong affinity for one another. The platform also has a content health capability that compares crucial performance metrics among influencers so you can make data-driven decisions that result in business impact.

Streamlined workflow and collaboration

Once you’ve found the influencers you want to work with, managing the partnership is made easy with Sprout’s Influencer Marketing. It simplifies the process of overseeing influencer campaigns with its end-to-end campaign workflow. You can optimize every aspect of the campaign, from planning to approval and posting.

Foster collaboration between your team and the influencer with collaboration portals, which make onboarding and communication easy. Organize feedback and approvals for the influencer and track performance all from one interface.

Build long-term relationships with authentic influencers

Nurturing long-term relationships with authentic influencers isn’t a one-and-done job. It requires strategy, planning and continued collaboration, but it’s worth it for the level of brand advocacy you get in return.

The key? Mutual respect.

Brands and influencers need to see eye to eye and be on the same page about the goals of their collaboration. Through candid communication and clear expectations, you can be on your way to establishing a partnership that lasts years.

Consider giving influencers creative freedom to create content for your brand, avoiding overstepping your role as a partner. Provide guidance when needed to protect your brand, but keep in mind that the influencer has built a following for a reason and they know what kind of content appeals to their audience.

Champion authenticity in your next campaign

Whether you’re new to influencer campaigns or have already partnered with several influencers, it’s time to put authenticity front and center. It’s what social media users want and they’re in charge of your brand’s success on social.

Use this influencer marketing toolkit which will set you up with the resources to begin, budget and build an influencer strategy optimized for ROI. Establish strong relationships on social for the long term with influencers, followers and customers.

The post Authenticity in influencer marketing: How to find authentic influencers appeared first on Sprout Social.

In this post, we take a deep dive into the art of social media listening for Instagram. We explain why it’s important, how it works and how to build an Instagram social listening strategy. Let’s get started.

What is Instagram social listening?

Instagram social listening is the process of tracking relevant conversations on the platform. It involves listening in on conversations about specific keywords, topics, hashtags and competitors. This helps you extract valuable insights to inform other aspects of your Instagram marketing strategy.

Not sure what to post? See what your followers are buzzing about to get inspiration for new content ideas. What memes are they sharing? What topics are they discussing?

Similarly, these conversations help you:

• Identify potential customers and influencers
• Assess your overall brand health and sentiment
• See what your competitors are doing
• Guide customers on their path to purchase
• Stay on top of the latest industry trends

Instagram social listening gives you firsthand, actual answers based on facts. So you’re no longer wasting your efforts and resources on guesswork.

Why Instagram social listening matters

Brands shouldn’t live in a bubble when it comes to their Instagram activity. Listening puts your mentions, interactions and comments into context. This helps you engage people and grow your account.

Below are some specific ways that Instagram empowers you to connect with customers.

Learning what your audience wants on a personal level

Social listening on Instagram lets you hone in on the needs and pain points of your target audience. It shows you what conversations people are having, even outside of your brand’s account. This gives you a better idea of what they want based on the posts they’re creating and the comments they’re leaving on a friend’s or influencer’s post.

These insights will then inform your social media content strategy and promotion strategy. Knowing what your audience wants can even guide your product development efforts.

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Providing more impactful Instagram customer service

“Good” service goes hand-in-hand with having a pulse on customer questions, comments and concerns.

This becomes challenging when people use Instagram to vent their frustrations instead of talking to you. Instagram social listening ensures that you never miss a @mention. It also helps you track posts containing branded keywords. So you can stay on top of customer service conversations beyond your direct call-outs.

That way, you can respond swiftly and step up your social media customer service efforts.

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This could be a game-changer, with 76% of consumers in our 2023 Sprout Social Index™ report valuing how quickly a brand responds to their needs. Our report found that consumers also equally appreciate it when a brand prioritizes customer support. 70% also expect to get a personalized response for their customer service needs.

Discovering meaningful customer content to promote your brand

Your customers are your best marketers. Listening can clue you in on valuable content and social proof you can promote yourself. This might include:

• Positive reviews, testimonials and customer success stories
• User-generated content (think: customer photos and videos)
• Shout-outs from potential co-marketing partners (think: brands, influencers and creators)

Rather than dig for these opportunities, listening ensures that they all come to you.

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Instagram social listening vs. social media monitoring

Quick side note! Let’s take a moment to break down what Instagram listening isn’t.

Listening is about more than @mentions, comments and #hashtags

Terms like “monitoring” and “listening” often get used interchangeably among marketers. They aren’t the same, though.

• Social media monitoring is the act of tracking @mentions, comments and hashtags. Monitoring is a crucial aspect of listening, but it’s only part of the process.
• Instagram social listening involves translating conversations and customer talking points into action.

Interactions matter, but so does context. Think about it. Someone tagging a fashion brand in their OOTD post versus calling out that brand’s products are apples and oranges.

A tag simply means, “This is what I’m wearing/using.” A call-out goes deeper into what they love about the product or why they chose it specifically. Also, not every mention of your business on Instagram involves a direct call-out or tag. This is likely to happen when people are complaining about your brand or expressing their frustration.

Social listening for Instagram is about deciphering the context behind those relevant conversations. This then empowers you to take appropriate action and make informed decisions.

The takeaway? If you’re only looking for mentions of your brand name or campaign key terms, you’re missing out on key conversations.

You’re also missing opportunities to intervene and take action to engage customers. That’s why it pays to be proactive via listening.

How does Instagram social listening work, though?

Good question! Instagram is a strange beast as far as listening to customer interactions goes.

For starters, you’re juggling a lot of different queries. Tags, mentions and branded keywords are just the beginning.

And although IG search has improved, you need to do some digging to find and pull together relevant conversations.

Instagram social listening involves the following three-step process:

• Creating queries based on your business, hashtags and terms relevant to your industry
• Monitoring mentions, tags, comments and interactions
• Assessing all of the above to take action

This action could be something as simple as responding to a post. Or it may involve a bit more complex process of solving a customer’s problem.

Starface uses brand tags and hashtags to find relevant customer content. The following Reel shows how a customer created a DIY bag charm using the brand’s star balm. Starface responds with a comment about how smart this is. Even a simple acknowledgment like this is enough to build a strong brand community.

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Features such as Instagram’s keyword search and tags can help you dig out content relevant to your brand. Coupled with your comments and brand tags, you have a decent idea of what people are saying about your business.

This is obviously a lot to sift through by hand. Again, Instagram doesn’t make listening particularly easy by default.

The good news is that there are tools out there to help. Sprout’s social media listening tool helps you hone in on relevant Instagram conversations. Brands can create their own listening queries for Instagram via Boolean syntax and rules logic.

Choose from existing templates to simplify your Instagram social listening efforts. Monitor brand health, discover industry insights and analyze your competition. Or check out how your campaign is performing and how people are responding to an event.

Sprout’s Query Builder is where you enter the words, phrases or hashtags you want to track. For Instagram, it’s crucial to include hashtags as a part of your Query since Sprout uses hashtags to collect data from the platform.

Not sure what words or phrases to track? Queries by AI Assist is a useful feature that automatically suggests additional words or phrases. Enter one keyword relevant to your industry and the capability comes up with other related keywords to add to your Query.

Optionally, exclude specific words and phrases and select industry themes to reduce noise in your social listening data. You can also configure your alerts and apply additional filters to streamline your search.

How to build an effective Instagram social listening strategy

Of course, understanding Instagram listening and how it works is only half the battle.

How do you turn all of these metrics and observations into action?

Your social listening strategy ultimately boils down to your goals. Below is how brands can use Instagram social listening to level up their marketing efforts.

Conduct competitive analysis to find ways to stand out

One of the best uses of social listening is competitive analysis.

Consider ultra-competitive markets such as the beauty industry, for example. New products are constantly popping up every day, with new brands adding to the competition. Tracking tags and trending discussions will show you which brands are dominating the space and why. So you can better position yourself in the face of stiff competition.

Meanwhile, direct mentions and branded hashtags highlight conversations specific to your brand. This helps you uncover what makes your brand different.

Uncover opportunities to improve your products

If you want to know how to improve your own products and services, who better to ask than your own customers? Prompted or not, followers can clue you in on new ideas.

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Of course, not all feedback from your followers is going to be direct. People might create posts or Stories complaining about your products without tagging you. Using an Instagram social listening tool will help you zero in on those relevant discussions.

Likes, comments and shares also help you measure how customers are responding to certain products. Look at an influx of interactions to see which products are a customer favorite. Alternatively, posts with a lower engagement can show you which items are falling flat.

Make valuable customer touchpoints on the path to purchase

The latest Instagram stats show that 70% of shoppers look to the platform for their next purchase. And over 60% research brands and products on the app. So if you take the opportunity to engage these potential customers, you could effectively grow your sales.

Instagram comments are a goldmine for finding folks interested in your products. This rings true for people who don’t know about you yet or might be looking for a new spot in your space.

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Listening makes it easier to maintain relationships with satisfied customers, too. This includes check-ins and opportunities to earn more UGC.

Discover industry and content trends relevant to your followers

Social listening is invaluable for tracking industry trends. For starters, you should know the tags your audience follows. But are how they responding to such trends? What’s the context behind those trends? How can you apply them to your own campaigns?

On a related note, Instagram listening can keep you from accidentally copying your competition.

For example, brands need to differentiate their tone, content calendar and captions if they want to stand out on Instagram. Effective listening can help you uncover tags and trends that your competitors might be missing out on and how you can fill the void.

Monitor your customer sentiment and keep people happy

Let’s say you’ve launched a new product or campaign.

You obviously want to know how your audience feels about it, right? Are you building the kind of buzz you expect? Or is the campaign falling flat with your audience?

Again, you may not always get those answers from direct mentions. Chances are there are users out there who can provide a concrete answer, though. You need to keep track of the posts people are creating about the product or campaign to get an idea of its impact.

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This is where sentiment analysis comes in, helping you gauge how folks are reacting to your brand on Instagram. Track the sentiment around specific campaign tags and products. Whether it’s “yay,” “nay” or “meh,” sentiment analysis can inform you to better serve customers and score more love from your Instagram followers.

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What Instagram social listening tools are available to brands?

Native Instagram search tools allow basic brand listening. But the process is manual and taxing, especially if you’re going all in with Instagram social listening.

After all, brands need to track multiple tags and competitors. That’s not even considering your own mentions and branded keywords. Given the sheer amount of content posted to Instagram daily, sifting through it all is no small feat.

Investing in a proper Instagram social listening tool saves you the trouble of digging through thousands of posts each day.

Sprout’s robust suite of social listening features is a game-changer for brands looking to step up their Instagram presence. Businesses can track dozens of queries beyond simple hashtags with the help of our Query Builder. This gives you a holistic understanding of your brand and industry to inform your larger marketing efforts.

Reporting and analytics provide a quantitative look at your listening so you can make data-driven decisions. Second-guessing a campaign or your next move on Instagram? Look no further than your numbers for peace of mind.

Listen, learn and grow with Instagram social listening

Social listening on Instagram helps you tap into the pulse of industry trends and conversations. These insights inform various aspects of your business—from your content to your product development.

Stay on top of those critical conversations with Sprout’s robust social media listening solution. Try it for free for 30 days to see how it can power your Instagram social listening efforts.

The post Instagram social listening: Transform your brand’s strategy appeared first on Sprout Social.

The answer: Edutainment social media.

Blending education with entertainment is more than a trend—it’s a powerful method that’s reshaping how businesses connect with their audiences and develop their brand stories. The 2024 Social Media Content Strategy Report found 66% of social users find edutainment to be the most engaging of all brand content, even more than skits, memes or serialized content.

In this article, we’ll explore how to create your own edutainment content and the best social media networks for those types of posts, using data from the report.

What is edutainment content?

Edutainment is a portmanteau of “education,” and “entertainment.” Edutainment social media content is designed to educate audiences while entertaining them. Edutainment content can include videos, podcasts, webinars, live streams, games and more. This content type typically uses eye-catching images, stories‌ and interactive or immersive elements like audio or virtual reality (VR). It’s also one way businesses can combat social media saturation—edutainment interrupts feed scrolling and makes your brand memorable.

Why edutainment content is the perfect formula for social

We found across all social networks, social media consumers are seeking entertaining content from brands. If brands balance highlighting their products and services with amusing content, consumers are more likely to buy from them.

When we asked consumers which platforms brands should avoid, the #1 answer was none. You can use edutainment social media content on almost every platform, so the opportunity is limitless. Take an intentional approach to social media content creation by tailoring your edutainment by network.

What are the best networks for edutainment content?

Each network offers the opportunity to connect with your audience through edutainment content. But let’s review some stats you should be aware of, by network.

Instagram

Instagram is used by 84% of social media users, the most of all networks. The main reason for scrolling on Instagram is to connect with friends and family and alleviate boredom. You can use this wide appeal to incorporate edutainment content on Instagram. Static images and short-form videos under 15 seconds tend to perform the best. Instagram is also the top social media channel for product discovery.

YouTube

Over three-quarters (78%) of all social users have a YouTube profile. We found that entertainment content is the #1 thing social media users want brands to prioritize on YouTube, followed by educational product information.

Although short-form videos are popular across networks, long-form thrives on YouTube with

51% of users saying they’re most likely to engage with brands’ long-form videos. However, YouTube Shorts shouldn’t be ignored as consumers say 31-60 second videos are their second choice when consuming brand content.

TikTok

It’d be remiss to write an article about edutainment social media content and not include TikTok. It’s more than a social network—it’s an amalgamation of a search engine, culture driver, news source and online shopping platform. TikTok is a top channel for news and product discovery, with 54% of users engaging with branded content at least once per day. In terms of entertaining content, they’re most interested in influencer partnerships and contests and giveaways.

LinkedIn

Even LinkedIn, also known as “The Briefcase App,” (a term coined by creator Jayde Powell) can provide edutainment content. The network’s user base consists of professionals in the corporate workforce, making it a great place for you to share educational product information, customer support and community management. Sharing educational product information is the #1 thing social users want from brands on LinkedIn. And there’s an opportunity to stand out by blending entertainment with the educational content you share. The most engaging content types include text posts, static images, short-form video and user-generated content.

Threads

Threads is an emerging platform that’s seen massive growth since its launch in late 2024. Only 15% of our survey respondents currently have a Threads profile, but they are coming to the platform for edutainment. Entertaining content and educational product information are the top two items social media users want to see from brands on Threads.

How to create edutainment content

The best edutainment social media content captivates audiences and delivers valuable information in a digestible way. Here are actionable tips for creating compelling edutainment content across networks.

Understand Your Audience

Before diving straight into content creation, consider who your audience is and what they’re interested in. Conduct a social media audit to identify their pain points, interests and preferred content formats. This will help you tailor your edutainment content to resonate with your target audience.

Explore tactics for blending education with amusement

Striking the right balance between learning and enjoyment is easier said than done. Incorporate these tips to help you:

• Keep it simple: Break down complex topics into digestible information by focusing on key points. Use clear language so your message is easy to understand. Incorporate language your audience is familiar with so the information resonates.
• Use storytelling: Incorporate storytelling techniques to connect with audiences on an emotional level and make the information more memorable.
• Use visuals: Get creative with visuals by using photos, videos, animations, infographics and GIFs to make your content more visually appealing. ​​Visuals can also cater to different learning styles, ensuring that everyone can understand the information.
• Use humor: ​​Inject humor and relatable anecdotes into your content if it makes sense for your brand. This can help lighten the mood and make the educational material more approachable, helping to maintain interest.
• Gamification: Evoke the fun of games by implementing gamification elements like choose-your-own-adventure, points, badges or leaderboards. These can motivate learners to engage more deeply with the content and provide a sense of achievement.

Measure performance data and iterate your strategy

Creating effective edutainment social media content is an ongoing process. Empower your creativity and decision-making by being data-driven. Use analytics tools to monitor engagement metrics such as likes, shares, comments and views. Tracking the performance of your edutainment content will enable you to make adjustments based on the insights you find. Analysis will help you understand what works and what doesn’t, allowing you to improve your strategy over time.

3 examples of edutainment content

Let’s explore three brands who have great examples of edutainment content on social media.

Jackson’s Art Supplies

Jackson’s Art Supplies is an online retailer of fine art materials in the United Kingdom. They lean heavily on storytelling and sophisticated visuals to showcase products and elevate artists’ works. For example, on Instagram one of their series uses art history to tell the story behind specific colors. Below, Studio and Materials Specialist Evie Hatch describes the creation of brat green and its connection to popular culture.

Apple

Apple is known for their captivating ads that incorporate simple, yet effective messaging. In the YouTube video below, they anthropomorphize their new Mac mini. Instead of giving a product-heavy tagline from a narrator, we learn about the innovation from the Mac mini’s perspective. Using a different point-of-view and personifying a product makes the video compelling and educational.

Atlassian

Atlassian provides a great model for B2B brands who want to tap into edutainment social media content by activating influencers and celebrities. The software company ran a campaign with Zach Woods using TikTok Ads. The content was launched on YouTube as well. By collaborating with an influencer, the brand incorporates humor while sharing key product messaging like “Jira projects are highly customizable, which we’re typically proud of.”

Want more inspiration for edutainment social media? Take a look at the brands featured in the Post Performance Report, a monthly series where we analyze social posts and campaigns inspiring us—plus we break down the business impact so you can spark your own scroll-stopping ideas, build awareness, nurture community and support your bottom line.

Edutainment social media captivates audiences

Using edutainment on social media platforms is a powerful way to connect with audiences and deliver meaningful information. By seamlessly blending education and entertainment, you can build your community while highlighting your product and services, ultimately creating increased revenue. To learn more about edutainment and other consumer trends across networks, download The 2024 Social Media Content Strategy Report.

The post Perfecting your edutainment social media content strategy appeared first on Sprout Social.

The answer, as with many marketing questions, is a bit more complex than a simple yes or no. While EMV is a great tool for understanding your brand’s social presence, it’s just that—a tool.

This blog post will explain in detail, explaining its benefits and its limits. It will also help you understand why a complete approach to measurement is important for showing social media ROI.

What is earned media value?

Earned media is any content that mentions your brand that your business didn’t paid for. In simple terms: Earned media means earned engagement by your “digital word of mouth,” not engagement from your own media channel or bought through paid promotions or advertising of content.

Earned media value, or EMV, is a way to value the different actions people take when they interact with different social media content. These engagement actions include comments, likes, shares and mentions. These actions are then projected to be worth a numerical dollar value to your business.

So, for example, if a creator receives 1,000 likes on an Instagram post, using a customized EMV benchmark of $0.10 per like, that post would provide an estimated value of $100.

Is it worth measuring EMV for your brand?

The answer to that question depends on your specific social media marketing goals and objectives.

While earned media value can provide valuable insights into the impact of your social media efforts, it isn’t the only metric that should be considered. It’s important to also track other key performance indicators, such as reach, engagement rate and conversion rate. This will help you to get a more comprehensive understanding of your social media success.

Ultimately, using EMV as a tool together with other metrics can still help guide you in guaging the effectiveness of your social media strategy.

Earned media value can be a useful metric for:

• Benchmarking: Track your brand’s performance over time and compare it to competitors.
• Identifying trends: Spot spikes in EMV that might indicate successful campaigns or viral content.
• Reporting to stakeholders: Provide a high-level overview of your social media impact.

However, keep in mind that EMV has its limitations. It doesn’t directly correlate to business outcomes like sales or leads, and it can be influenced by factors outside your control (like changes in platform algorithms).

What to look out for when earned media value is calculated

When reporting to stakeholders about your social media impact, it’s valuable to include a high-level overview of your earned media value.

While earned media value can be a useful measure for evaluating the success of your social media efforts, it’s important to keep in mind common challenges around earned media value formulas.

Here are a few key things to watch out for around how earned media value is calculated:

• Common calculation inconsistencies: The challenge with EMV calculations is that there is no standard way to assign a monetary value to social media engagements. Some methods rely on advertising equivalents, like cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-engagement (CPE), while others use arbitrary multipliers based on perceived value. Not to mention, the calculation of earned media value can vary significantly between different social media platforms and partners. This can lead to inconsistencies and make it difficult to compare results across platforms.
• Lack of transparency: Be wary of partners who are vague about their approach to calculating EMV. Some may claim their calculations are based on a “proprietary algorithm” or a “trade secret.” This lack of transparency makes it difficult to determine the accuracy and reliability of their results.
• Misaligned KPIs: Ensure the EMV calculation aligns with your specific goals. Misalignment can lead to skewed earned media value figures and make it challenging to accurately measure the success of a campaign. It’s crucial for companies to carefully choose and align their KPIs with their EMV calculations to get a more accurate understanding of their campaign’s effectiveness.
• Over-reliance on EMV: Don’t fall into the trap of relying solely on earned media value. In today’s sophisticated marketing landscape, we have access to far more granular data and attribution models that can paint a bigger picture on ROI than this one calculation.

Looking for the best way to capture your social media data across various social platforms accurately for calculating your social ROI and overall EMV?

Enter: Sprout Social, the all-in-one social media management platform.

Under Sprout Social’s Premium Analytics, Sprout seamlessly integrates reporting across various social media platforms for you. This integration ensures that you have a comprehensive view of your social media engagements for your various accounts across multiple social media networks. It enables you to analyze accurate data for seamless EMV calculations. Additionally, with Sprout Social’s reporting, you will find a repertoire of invaluable data tracking and visualization to present your social media ROI to stakeholders.

Curious to explore Sprout Social? Get started with a 30-day free trial today.

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How to calculate earned media value

As previously mentioned, calculating earned media value does not look the same for everyone. A common approach we can easily recommend, however, is as follows:

1. Determining your average cost-per-engagement (CPE) for paid social media. This provides a baseline for valuing organic engagement.
2. Assigning weights to different types of engagement. For example, a share might be weighted more heavily than a like.
3. Multiplying the number of engagements by their respective weights and your CPE.

Let’s give you an example. We’ve decided that our average CPE is $0.50.

You receive 100 likes, 50 comments and 20 shares on a post.

You assign weights of 1 to likes, 2 to comments and 3 to shares.

• Likes: 100 likes x 1 x $0.50 = $50
• Comments: 50 comments x 2 x $0.50 = $50
• Shares: 20 shares x 3 x $0.50 = $30

Total EMV for the post: $50 + $50 + $30 = $130

Important Note: This is a simplified example. More complex calculations might factor in reach, content type and other variables.

Leverage powerful social media analytics to prove ROI

To sum up, earned media value is a useful metric for benchmarking, identifying trends and reporting to stakeholders. However, it isn’t the be-all and end-all of social media measurement. To truly maximize your social media strategy, it’s essential to integrate EMV with other metrics that provide a more complete picture of your efforts. By understanding the nuances of EMV calculations and leveraging tools like Sprout Social’s reporting tool, you can ensure that your social media strategy is data-driven and aligned with your business goals.

The post Earned media value: How to calculate it and what to look out for in the calculating process appeared first on Sprout Social.