Brand awareness: What it is and strategies to improve it

What does it take to build brand awareness?

In the old days, a steady drumbeat of messaging across a few audience-preferred channels might have done the trick. But in today’s cluttered landscape, that messaging needs to be even more consistent—and more compelling—to get noticed.

While it takes effort, the payoff is substantial. High brand awareness, combined with strong reputation management, builds trust that fosters long-term customer loyalty.

Building a memorable brand image takes some big swings, but you have to walk before you can run. To help, we’re breaking down the why and how behind driving and measuring brand awareness.

What is brand awareness?

Brand awareness is the extent to which audiences are familiar with your brand’s identity and its product or services. It’s the bedrock of your sales funnel. After all, you need to be able to recognize a brand to trust and buy from it.

Strong brand awareness is the competitive edge that keeps a business top-of-mind for consumers. Brands with high levels of consumer recognition can even become synonymous with their product. For example, when someone needs to fix a misspelled word written in pen, they’re usually not asking for “correction fluid”; they’re asking for Wite-Out.

Of course, achieving that level of brand recognition is a lofty goal. Our advice? Start where you are. Focus on building awareness within targeted audiences and grow from there.

Why is brand awareness important?

Every customer journey begins with the same step. That step is brand awareness.

Source: Marketoonist

Your brand awareness strategy will set the tone for a person’s entire experience with your brand. Start things out on the right foot, and you could sow the seeds for your next crop of brand advocates.

If that’s not enough, don’t worry—it’s not even the best part.

As your brand awareness strategy matures, you’ll soon find that the most effective awareness drivers don’t come from your official brand channels: they come from your fans. Our research shows that the most effective purchase drivers on social media are recommendations from friends, comments and product reviews and familiarity with a brand.

“Brand awareness creates a community that generates word of mouth buzz, ‘I love this product, and I know you will too.’ Your community knows what their friends and family like. Your audience becomes a pipeline to your most relevant customer in the exact moment their friends and family need your product. That is the power of brand awareness.”

– Akeeme Hogg, Social and Email Marketing Lead, ServiceMaster Brands

Combine positive brand sentiment with high brand recognition and you get fans. Fans beget more fans. Brand awareness truly is the gift that keeps on giving.

How brand awareness works

At its core, brand awareness is about standing out in a crowded market through consistent, memorable messaging and a strong visual identity. This can be achieved through a mix of organic and paid efforts, including social media, content marketing, PR, influencer marketing partnerships and more.

Brand awareness is the cornerstone of how consumers perceive and remember your brand. It works by increasing visibility across various touchpoints, making it easier for potential customers to recall your brand when they’re ready to make a purchase.

But exposure alone isn’t enough. Long-term brand awareness hinges on resonance—the ability of your audience to not only remember your ad but also like it, associate it with your brand and ultimately consider your brand when making purchasing decisions. This resonance keeps your brand top-of-mind, shortening sales cycles, reducing customer acquisition costs and fostering long-term loyalty.

How to measure brand awareness

Connecting brand awareness to ROI can feel like trying to explain how to get from Chicago to San Francisco by foot. Sure, it’s doable, but it’s pretty complicated.

The classic marketing funnel looks straightforward, but in reality, every customer journey is different and some can be much longer than others. Trying to track and assign value to every interaction between awareness and purchase simply isn’t the best use of anyone’s time.

Although it may be difficult to quantify the monetary value of every awareness effort, there are still important metrics worth tracking. There are quite a few methods to understand your efforts as you pilot new awareness strategies. Here are some of our favorites to help you measure brand awareness.

Brand surveys

Brand surveys are routine (often biannual) surveys that assess what an audience thinks and feels about your brand. Data from brand surveys can be used to track brand perception over time, providing businesses with the insights needed to shape their brand’s image in the right direction.

Unfortunately, these surveys take weeks (if not months) to design and distribute. If you want more timely data, you’ll want to supplement a brand survey with the following options.

Website traffic

Tracking month-over-month differences in web traffic isn’t an exact measurement of brand awareness. However, it’s much easier to connect web traffic to ROI, making it a management-preferred reporting metric.

As you test out new brand awareness tactics, use Google Analytics to see how those changes impact growth in new users. That’ll give you a rough estimate of how your efforts translated to site traffic.

You can also dig deeper to look at specific traffic sources, like organic search, referral and direct traffic. Direct traffic means someone found your site through a firsthand channel–like typing your brand’s URL into the address bar or revisiting a bookmarked page–a good indicator of brand awareness.

Social listening

Every day, people turn to social to rant and rave about the companies they love—and the ones they don’t. The right social listening tool can help you synthesize that chatter into timely, actionable brand insights.

If you use Sprout’s social listening tool, here are just a few of the metrics you can pull to understand how conversations are trending around your brand:

• Total message volume tracks the total amount of messages shared around your brand.
• Sentiment summary measures how people feel about your brand and whether or not it’s trending positively.
• Share of voice compares your brand’s market share on social to its top competitors.

12 proven strategies to increase brand awareness with social media

Social is a go-to channel for raising brand awareness. But how do you become a familiar face within your followers’ feeds versus someone they just scroll past?

There’s no one correct answer to that question. The truth is, the options are as limitless as your creativity. If you want to use social media for brand awareness, use these 12 ideas to jumpstart your efforts. From fine-tuning your profile to experimenting with your content, any combination of these tips will help you rise above the noise.

1. Give your social presence some personality

First things first: your social media presence shouldn’t look like everyone else’s.

One of the most persistent social media marketing myths is that only certain industries can have a “fun” social presence. Fast food, retail, sports—those brands can get experimental. Everyone else has to play it safe.

That couldn’t be more wrong.

If you don’t believe me, just take a look at the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation’s social strategy.

It would be easy for them to just share some cute animal pictures every now and then. However, it’s their off-the-wall personality that’s made them so endearing to followers.

Marketers are told time and time again to create “unique” content. It might sound corny, but the person behind your social presence represents a one-of-a-kind voice.

Before you hit post, make a point to ask yourself: “Does this sound like something a bot would say?”

2. Fine-tune your profiles

Recognition is a key element of building brand awareness.

When followers glance at your social profiles, they should be able to understand the basics of your brand, its purpose and its personality.

From social bios to profile images, how you set up your profile determines whether or not people recognize you.

Brands only get a few seconds to grab someone’s attention and tell a quick story. If you can’t sum up your brand ethos in a few characters and 1500×500 pixels, don’t worry. A clean, well-optimized profile and photo are enough to establish your brand with new audiences.

3. Make your posts pop

A defined visual content strategy leaves a lasting impression. Consistent visuals—like logos, colors, typography and design—make your brand more easily identifiable in a sea of content. This increases the likelihood that consumers will recall your brand when making purchase decisions.

Don’t have eye-popping images featuring your products? No problem. The principle of making your posts stand out rings true in content marketing, too.

Notice how Sprout’s blog posts are all coupled with these colorful illustrations instead of generic stock photos?

Anything you can do aesthetically to make your posts stand out is a point in your favor. Even if you’re not a designer, there are plenty of social media post templates to help you whip up some eye-catching imagery.

4. Collaborate with other brands

You know what they say: Teamwork makes the dream work. When brands collaborate on new releases or campaign ideas, both parties get a chance to introduce themselves to new audiences.

Both co-marketing and co-branding campaigns bring engagement from the jump. Not only that, but collaboration is a surefire way to make positive impressions on other players in your industry.

Keep an eye out for strategic partnerships as you watch over your industry’s content landscape. You never know who could be the best fit for your dream team.

5. Harness the power of hashtags

Every now and then a viral hot take will try to force hashtagging into an early grave. Fret not, my fellow marketers, the hashtag is alive and well. If you’re choosing relevant, brand-applicable hashtags, they’re a surefire way to increase impressions on your posts.

When choosing which hashtags to include in your posts, consider both the network you’re posting on and the trends driving conversations at the moment. To get a look at hashtag trends thriving across multiple platforms, consider social listening. These tools surface hashtags and keywords that are trending within specific conversations, so you can develop your social copy with intention.

6. Take it to the comments

As more networks experiment with algorithmically ranked comment sections, marketers are gaining new territory to make their brands known.

Take this video from creator CorporateNatalie. Calm earned the top comments on the post, scoring more than 2,000 likes for their addition to the original joke in the video. On top of that, this video has been liked over two million times. That’s some seriously valuable brand exposure for every brand that’s secured a top spot in the comment section.

As you scroll through your social feed, keep an eye out for viral posts that relate to your brand or industry. When it comes to brand awareness, there’s no shame in riding on coattails.

7. Repurpose your content

If you’re like most marketers, you’re probably trying to boost brand awareness across multiple networks.

In that case, it’s important to repurpose your content to fit in with the best practices of each platform. After all, what works best on Instagram might not be prime for Facebook or Twitter.

One-size-fits-all content and captions aren’t going to win your brand much attention. To keep your feed from growing stale, you should always have new social media ideas on the back burner to support speedy content creation.

8. Share a distinct point of view

Stats. Case studies. Surveys.

If your brand is conducting any sort of original research, it can be a huge authority booster that does wonders for brand awareness, too.

And if you’re not in a position where such research is possible, don’t panic.

Consider how you can comment on industry trends and happenings from your point of view. Keep up with industry publications and research to see where you can insert your brand’s POV.

The takeaway here is that you should contribute to the ongoing conversation of your industry at large versus just sitting on the sidelines.

9. Experiment with social copy

We’ve talked a lot about visuals, but text is yet another opportunity to showcase your brand’s social persona. Use your copy to pique people’s interest and encourage engagement, giving a sort of taste to readers before they click through.

You can look to The Cut for inspiration on this one. Their posts on X (formerly Twitter) always pair perfectly with article link previews, creating a post you can’t help but click.

Don’t count out the power of a well-crafted text post. Once you find your brand voice, it can be a prime opportunity for connecting with followers and letting them know exactly who you are.

10. Use social as a teaching tool

Educational and “how-to” content is widely sought after on just about every social network. We surveyed consumers for our 2024 Social Media Content Strategy Report and found that 66% of social users find “edutainment”—content that educates and entertains—to be the most engaging of all brand content. It outranks memes, serialized content and skits.

Posting such content regularly positions you both as a positive resource and a thought leader. The more opportunities to show off your brand’s product or know-how, the better.

11. Partner with influencers

The creator economy is thriving. A new crop of trendsetters and thought leaders rises up every other week. No matter what industry you work in, there’s probably an influencer making waves with your target audience—and those waves have the power to result in serious revenue gains.

According to The 2024 Influencer Marketing Report, almost half of all consumers (49%) make purchases at least once a month because of influencer posts. On top of that, trust in influencers is holding steady if not on the rise, as nearly half of consumers trust influencers as much as they did six months ago, and another 30% trust them more.

12. Show up consistently

Finally, consider that nobody can truly be aware of your brand if you don’t post consistently.

According to The Sprout Social Index™ 2023, 74% of consumers think brands should post 1-2 times per day. To help you save time and to make the process of showing up easier, having a scheduling tool such as Sprout on deck can be a game-changer.

The more ground you and your brand can cover, the better. It all comes down to having a specific strategy which makes the most out of the time you spend on social media.

3 examples of building brand awareness

Now that we’ve explored the various paths to building brand awareness, let’s take a look at how some standout brands achieve it. These top-tier examples can serve as inspiration for your own strategy:

1. ServiceNow

B2B brands are often thought of as serious and straightlaced on social. ServiceNow, a software company focused on helping enterprise brands manage digital workflows, takes a different approach.

Their social team creates short-form video content that stands out in a sea of whitepapers and demo CTAs. When they joined the conversation around workplace jargon, they added their own clever multiverse spin. The team took overused phrases like “ducks in a row” and “foot in the door” and interpreted them literally, capturing their audience’s sense of humor perfectly. The post earned the company over 840 likes on LinkedIn and 23 reposts.

2. Scrub Daddy

For National Donut Day, Scrub Daddy teamed up with Dunkin to create donut-shaped sponges, generating excitement among their fans.

This collaboration not only tapped into their audiences’ enthusiasm but also drove significant brand awareness. The partnership, which started from a playful social media exchange, leveraged both brands’ fan bases, sparking viral interest. By listening to consumer feedback and delivering a creative product, both brands boosted their visibility and strengthened their connection with existing and new audiences.

3. UPS

UPS effectively leverages user-generated content (UGC) from frontline employees and satisfied customers to enhance brand awareness.

By featuring employees prominently in their TikTok strategy, UPS highlights their unique backgrounds and personalities, fostering a sense of community. Similarly, UGC from happy customers sharing personal stories about their UPS carriers strengthens emotional connections.

This strategy not only generates significant impressions and engagement but also differentiates UPS from competitors. According to Sprout Listening data, UPS enjoys higher sentiment than its top rivals, along with a 93% share of voice, showcasing how UGC contributes to a powerful competitive advantage on social media.

Take your brand awareness strategy to the next level

Building buzz around your brand takes an eye for both experimentation and data. Try new things, report on what works, rinse, repeat.

And when the workload gets too high, try automating some of your routine responsibilities. Sprout’s scheduling and analytics tools can remove bulky, manual processes from your day-to-day so you can focus on creating new brand awareness strategies that gain and retain loyal followers.

Try Sprout Social for free

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How to launch a product on social media: Strategies for success

A successful social media product launch should always tick a few boxes.

Cost-effective? Check. Scalable? Double-check. Positive return on investment (ROI)? Triple-check.

According to The 2023 Sprout Social Index™, 68% of consumers follow brands on social to stay informed about new products or services. The data shows consumers are discovering and researching new products on social media platforms, making it a popular way to announce your latest offerings.

The aim for a social media product launch is to generate excitement, drive sales and boost brand image. But with so much competition, it’s important to get the fundamental parts of a product launch right.

In this guide, we’ll explore the key steps and strategies to ensure a successful social media product launch. From setting goals and choosing the right platforms for your social media marketing strategy to measuring results, we’ll cover everything you need to know to make your product launch on social media effective.

Optimizing your social media product launch strategy

To launch a product on social media successfully, brands must start by setting clear goals and building a solid strategy.

Define clear goals and KPIs

According to the Index, marketers plan to connect the value of social campaigns to business goals, with 60% of marketers aiming to quantify the value of social engagements through potential revenue impact.

Before publishing a single post about an upcoming product launch on social media, clearly map out your goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) for the campaign. Are you on the hunt for mentions and new followers? Engagement from your community? Direct social sales?

Start by outlining what you want the campaign to achieve and linking these goals with KPIs that matter.

Choose the right social media platforms

Every social media network has different audiences and uses. Before launching a product, align on:

• Your target audience. Understand where your target audience spends their time online, as some demographics and interests are more present on certain channels than others.
• Network strengths. While TikTok is a great option for product launches involving videos and influencers, LinkedIn is well suited for corporate products or targeting larger businesses.
• Campaign goals. Do you want to build brand awareness or drive people to buy a product immediately? The main goal for the campaign will help you decide which social media networks to focus on.

Craft a compelling product launch narrative

Strong brand messaging is the key to making a product launch stand out. It helps the campaign focus on what you’re selling, and why it matters to your target audience.

Highlight the benefits and unique features of the new product, but the main message should focus on connecting features to your audience’s pain points. When Grammarly launched Grammarly Authorship, its messaging focused on solving the challenge of balancing AI-written content with human oversight instead of just features.

This product launch narrative fostered an emotional connection between the audience and the product (spotting AI-written words) rather than focus on the technical aspects of how the feature works.

Building anticipation on social media

Creating excitement for a new product on social media is a large part of a successful launch. It requires a well-crafted plan full of engaging content that’s published at strategic times.

Create a launch timeline and content calendar

Teaser posts, stories and social activities leading up to the product launch are all pieces of a product launch timeline.

Although you might need all of these deliverables for every social media product launch, you will need to plan accordingly. Having a defined social media content calendar and asset library puts all of your social media marketing assets in one place, so you avoid having to scramble to fill in the gaps during a social launch.

Below is an example of a social content calendar in Sprout, which enables you to schedule your content across networks based on your timeline. This helps you align your messaging and timeline so your product launches successfully. You can also access all of your brand assets using Sprout’s Asset Library.

Use anticipatory content to promote your product launch

A good product launch doesn’t reveal too much too soon. Use a mix of “coming soon” posts, countdowns, product previews and early giveaways to drive social media engagement and excitement.

This speaks to the importance of putting together a launch timeline and your marketing creatives well before your launch to make sure your messaging is consistent.

For example, check out this email from Graza announcing its latest food product. The email previews a granola made with olive oil, natural ingredients and a limited number of boxes available to purchase.

Days later, Grazola followed up with a teaser post on Instagram asking followers to guess what the new product would be to generate interest.

Partner with influencers to generate buzz

Influencers are an ideal way to reach your target audience through someone they already trust. As long as an influencer has a strong following that aligns with your target market, they can broaden the reach of your product launch.

The main hurdle when building a partnership with an influencer for a product launch is finding one that aligns with both your brand and target audience. Tagger, Sprout Social’s influencer marketing platform helps you connect with top creators in your industry to plan and execute product launch campaigns and measure success.

With Sprout, you can find the right influencers with a target audience match, negotiate contracts and generate content calendars for your product launch. The platform also analyzes post performance across each social media network so you can measure ROI from each paid influencer you engage with.

Launch day and beyond

Launching a product on social media isn’t just about creating a buzz. It’s about executing strategic plans, promoting to the right audience and maintaining momentum after publishing your posts.

Executing your social media product launch

Successfully executing a product launch on social media is all in the details.

According to Greg Rokisky, Senior Social Media Strategist at Sprout, strong partnerships across internal teams are the best way to make a splash on socials. When Sprout recently announced its integration with Salesforce’s Agentforce assistant for Service Cloud, their teams worked cross-functionally on the launch from the moment they knew it was coming.

Sprout’s team shared information about Agentforce on LinkedIn, TikTok and Instagram Reels to help with the launch. The launch strategy involved brainstorming between the Creative and Product Marketing teams. These sessions resulted in creating social video assets that could be used across Reels, TikTok and Linkedin.

“We wanted it to be very lo-fi, so we were able to align with our product marketing, internal communications and creative partners on asset direction and who would film talent. We used Sprout’s Employee Advocacy tool to have something ready the morning it went live as well as having assets in a timely manner to be able to schedule it in Sprout at the optimal send times on launch day,” Rokisky says.

“All of this to say that to be prepared for a social-first product launch, it starts well before launch day,” he says.

Use paid advertising to promote your campaign

Paid advertising can amplify the reach of social media campaigns. It’s an investment, but can return dividends in exposure and engagement.

Decide what demographic and channel to invest in and then narrow down your audience using your chosen channel’s ad tools. For example, if you want to set up paid ads on Facebook for the product launch, you can choose to target people living in a particular country. It’ll then calculate potential reach based on your parameters and budget.

Once these parameters are built, turn your attention to crafting a message that makes your ads stand out.

Monitoring social media conversations

During a product launch, it’s crucial to have all hands on deck when it comes to customer care. This isn’t just about catching negative remarks—it’s about engaging with your audience to gather early feedback.

Since social media interactions are transparent and forward-facing, you’re not just answering them for one customer: You’re likely answering for multiple followers curious about what you’re selling.

If you are jumping between multiple social networks or have multiple people on your support team, tools like Sprout’s Smart Inbox keep all of your customer interactions on social within a single platform, all the while enabling teams to work together at the same time.

Sprout’s Listening tools can also track keywords related to your product launch to track whether audience sentiment is positive or negative.

Measuring and optimizing your results

What happens post-launch is equally important as the product launch itself. Understanding campaign performance using the metrics and KPIs you identified at the start is the best way to know how to optimize future product launches.

Analyzing your social media metrics

As your launch wraps up, use social media analytics tools to track the performance of your launch to reflect on what worked and what didn’t. This brings us full circle as you think about your goals and KPIs.

Did your social efforts result in direct sales? Did you improve storefront traffic from social? Did your mentions increase during your launch?

These answers and more can be determined through your analytics tech stack including social media analytics. Google Analytics can attribute website visits and conversions to various social networks. Meanwhile, native social analytics and URL tracking can attribute specific clicks to your social campaigns.

Sprout’s suite of social analytics tools provide a breakdown of performance across networks, including impressions, reach, engagements, conversions and clicks. With automated reporting, you can explain which social networks were most successful and demonstrate the ROI of doing a social-first product launch.

Making data-driven improvements for future product campaigns

Campaign analytics will give you the data needed to optimize your live launch activations and reflect and improve. The data collected throughout the launch will clearly show which social media posts generated the most buzz and if certain networks performed better with your audience. Incorporating these insights will help you pivot and tweak based on what the product launch campaign data tells you.

Social media product launch post ideas to inspire you

Launching a product on social media isn’t just about announcing your new product. It’s about telling a story that engages your audience. Here are some examples of brands that used storytelling to successfully launch a product.

Wilson x Caitlin Clark Limitless Collection

2024 was the biggest year in WNBA history for brands and advertisers and Wilson didn’t miss a beat when the sporting goods brand partnered with rookie Caitlin Clark to release an exclusive collection of basketballs.

The collection was highlighted on the brand’s social media for weeks, telling the story of how Clark dreamed of getting a basketball scholarship and one day making it to the WNBA. One of the special-edition basketballs featured Clark’s childhood handwriting.

To get a chance of buying a ball, people had to sign up for exclusive access and were notified when the collection dropped. When Clark’s signature basketballs finally went on sale, it sold out in less than 40 minutes.

The lesson from Wilson’s product launch is simple: Tell a story, know your audience and build up hype by making the product an exclusive offer.

ClickUp’s answer to Slack

When project management software company ClickUp launched its alternative to the communication platform Slack, they did so by going viral on LinkedIn.

The brand created a campaign called #CutTheSlack to directly challenge Slack by offering its own messaging tool as a better option. The campaign caught traction on social media because it used sarcastic humor and dared to be different in the software industry.

Not only did the campaign go viral, it also earned mentions in publications like VentureBeat after it launched.

Magic Spoon’s limited-edition launch

When Magic Spoon’s cereal started making noise in 2019, it was a direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand that could only be purchased online. It focused on marketing its product by sponsoring podcasts, making TikToks and harnessing influencers to promote its cereal online. However, the market was saturated, so it needed a way to stand out.

The brand decided to launch a limited-edition bowl and spoon for its third birthday.

The tactic worked, and the bowl went viral. Magic Spoon now re-releases the bowl in limited edition numbers and demand is always high.

Your product launch success story starts here

Launching a new product on social media is all about the planning.

It’s crucial to get your team aligned on the goal of the launch and which networks are the best for your content. Partnering with influencers to create engaging content is a great way to generate buzz for your new product, and using paid promotions can give more exposure to your target audience.

To give your next campaign the best chance of success, we put together this product launch checklist template to make sure it gets the social promotion strategy it deserves. It’s designed for creating a social-specific product launch campaign brief and setting up post-launch metrics that matter most to your brand.

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TikTok hashtags: How to use the best hashtags for more views in 2024

Hashtags have become a universal tool for discovering topics on social media and other online platforms—and TikTok is no different. Using hashtags can help you find content related to your niche and help people find your content.

With over 1.6 billion monthly active users (and counting), it’s important to stand out among the noise. And TikTok hashtags can be a great way to do that.

In this article, learn more about what TikTok hashtags are, the benefits of using them, top TikTok hashtags and tools that can help you find the best hashtags.

What are TikTok hashtags?

TikTok hashtags are words or key phrases that are denoted by the hashtag (#) symbol and used to categorize content on the platform so users can browse content easily.

TikTok hashtags function similarly to those on platforms like Instagram and Twitter, connecting users with relevant content. Adding a certain hashtag to a video will make the content discoverable when someone searches for the hashtag. This allows users to join in on trending or relevant conversations using the right hashtags.

For example, someone searching for #gaming on TikTok can discover content related to gaming only if that hashtag has been added to the video description. Or if someone searches for #BookTok, they’ll find content from that specific TikTok subculture.

8 Benefits of using hashtags in your TikTok strategy

Incorporating hashtags into your TikTok marketing strategy is a must. Learn seven benefits your account can get from using hashtags in your video captions.

1. Increase visibility

Adding hashtags to your TikTok captions can help you get your content in front of TikTok users who aren’t already following your brand. When you use a hashtag relevant to the content of the video, you could attract people who are already interested in the topic.

For example, adding #DIYProject could help your video show up in the search results of people who are searching for the hashtag.

2. Boost engagement

Better visibility could also translate to higher engagement rates. When more people see your TikTok content, there’s a chance many of them would want to engage with it by liking or commenting on it.

3. Build community

Branded TikTok hashtags are a great way to create a community around your business. You could encourage your audience to create videos using a brand-specific hashtag. This will help you build a strong community of followers who enjoy sharing content related or relevant to your business.

For example, Jellycat has managed to build a community around the #jellycat hashtag. Users post about their own Jellycat stuffies, talk about launches and more. The hashtag has generated 1 billion views, proving just how popular these videos are.

4. Identify competitors

Popular industry-specific hashtags can also help you uncover other businesses that are using the hashtag. And you can conduct a competitive analysis using this hashtag data (among other metrics) to uncover their strategies, content and performance to benchmark your TikTok performance against theirs.

5. Get TikTok content ideas

Searches for category-specific hashtags will bring up results for top-performing content relevant to the hashtag. This is a great way to see what resonates with your target audience and get content inspiration.

6. Find relevant influencers

You can also use hashtag searches to discover influential accounts that are creating content relevant to the hashtag. If you plan on running an influencer marketing campaign, this is a great way to discover TikTok influencers you can partner with.

7. Jump in on trends

TikTok trends come and go, but capitalizing on the right ones at the right time can help boost visibility and engagement. When you create content based on trending hashtags, you’re showing your followers that your brand is fun and relevant.

Discover trends by tapping the search icon in the top right corner of your TikTok home feed. You’ll see popular trends as well as topics the app thinks you’ll like based on your activity. Browse TikTok like someone in your target audience might to see what types of content ideas pop up.

8. TikTok monitoring

Hashtags—especially branded hashtags—are a key component to social media monitoring on the TikTok platform. TikTok monitoring can help you track and respond to social engagements to understand your target audience and protect your brand.

Use a TikTok monitoring tool to gain insights about your target audiences, competitors and brand sentiment.

Top TikTok hashtags in 2024

Curious on how to find the trending hashtags on TikTok? We’ve got some of the top TikTok hashtags in several industries for inspiration.

50 Popular hashtags on TikTok

1. #fyp
2. #foryou
3. #viral
4. #foryoupage
5. #tiktok
6. #fy
7. #trending
8. #funny
9. #duet
10. #comedy
11. #love
12. #meme
13. #tiktokindia
14. #funnyvideos
15. #learnontiktok
16. #music
17. #video
18. #like
19. #memes
20. #cute
21. #prank
22. #fun
23. #follow
24. #aesthetic
25. #tik_tok
26. #tiktokuni
27. #tiktokviral
28. #tiktok_india
29. #happy
30. #new
31. #tiktoker
32. #foodtiktok
33. #viralvideos
34. #followme
35. #live
36. #dancer
37. #repost
38. #tiktoklover
39. #funk
40. #tiktokphilippines
41. #tiktoktravel
42. #tiktokchallenge
43. #funfacts
44. #likeforlike
45. #dancetutorial
46. #levelup
47. #like4like
48. #viralpost
49. #followforfollowback
50. #follow4follow

Top 10 Trending TikTok hashtags

Keep in mind that this changes week to week, so you’ll need to check out what TikTok is saying their trending hashtags are right now.

1. #dodgers
2. #terrifier3
3. #terrifier
4. #mizukiakiyama
5. #projectsekai
6. #glorilla
7. #fornitemares
8. #robot
9. #rafecameron
10. #moonmusic

Top 10 TikTok hashtags for B2B

1. #B2BMarketing
2. #BusinessGrowth
3. #EntrepreneurLife
4. #CorporateCulture
5. #BusinessTips
6. #B2BSales
7. #Networking
8. #BusinessInnovation
9. #Leadership
10. #B2BContent

Top 10 TikTok hashtags for fashion and beauty

1.  #FashionInspo
2. #BeautyTips
3. #OOTD (Outfit of the Day)
4. #MakeupTutorial
5. #FashionBlogger
6. #BeautyHacks
7. #StyleGuide
8. #FashionTrends
9. #BeautyGram
10. #Fashionista

Top 10 TikTok hashtags for fitness

1. #FitnessJourney
2. #WorkoutMotivation
3. #HomeWorkout
4. #Fitspo
5. #GymLife
6. #FitnessChallenge
7. #HealthyLifestyle
8. #FitnessGoals
9. #FitFam
10. #ExerciseRoutine

Top 10 TikTok hashtags for food and beverage businesses

1. #Foodie
2. #FoodPorn
3. #Recipe
4. #Cooking
5. #FoodBlogger
6. #Yummy
7. #FoodLovers
8. #Restaurant
9. #Cocktails
10. #FoodTikTok

Top 10 TikTok hashtags for technology and software

1. #TechTips
2. #SoftwareDevelopment
3. #Innovation
4. #Coding
5. #TechNews
6. #AI
7. #CyberSecurity
8. #TechGadgets
9. #Programming
10. #TechTrends

Top 10 TikTok hashtags for travel

1. #TravelTok
2. #Wanderlust
3. #Adventure
4. #TravelBlogger
5. #Explore
6. #TravelGuide
7. #RoadTrip
8. #TravelVlog
9. #BucketList
10. #TravelTheWorld

TikTok hashtag best practices

Maximizing your reach on TikTok starts with a smart hashtag strategy. By following these best practices, you can effectively use hashtags to enhance your TikTok content’s reach and engagement, growing your presence on the app.

1. Mix popular and niche hashtags

Combine widely used hashtags with more specific, niche ones. Popular hashtags increase visibility, while niche hashtags help you reach a targeted audience. This will not only increase your reach, but also attract more engaged and interested followers who are more likely to interact with your content

2. Avoid irrelevant hashtags

Steer clear of banned hashtags, as they can limit your content’s visibility, but also ensure your hashtags are relevant to your video. Irrelevant hashtags can confuse the algorithm and may even lead to your content being flagged as spam. So don’t use trending hashtags in the hopes that it’ll stick and widen your reach. Use relevant hashtags intentionally with your content.

3. Use the right number of hashtags per video

While TikTok allows up to 100 characters for hashtags, using too many can make your caption look cluttered. Stick to 3-5 relevant hashtags per post to maintain a clean look and maximize the impact of each hashtag.

4. Place hashtags strategically

Where you place your hashtags matters. Include them in your caption, either at the beginning to immediately catch the viewer’s eye or at the end to keep the caption clean. Or, you can add them in a comment under your video to keep the caption concise.

TikTok hashtag generators and discovery tools

Looking for even more inspiration for TikTok hashtags? There are many tools available to help you find the perfect hashtags for every video you publish. These four are the perfect starting points.

Sprout Social

Sprout Social is an all-in-one social media management platform that can help you through dozens of tasks—from monitoring online conversations to discovering trends and so much more. Find relevant hashtags as you write content in the Compost box, which automatically suggests hashtags as you begin adding them to your post. Alternatively, use Suggestions by AI Assist to generate copy and hashtags as you compose posts. These AI automation features can help eliminate the guesswork from manually researching relevant hashtags.

Hashtag Expert

Hashtag Expert is an easy-to-use smartphone app that can help you find hashtags based on a starter keyword, a category relevant to your industry (of which there are 35 to choose from) or a group of hashtags you’ve used before. Download Hashtag Expert and start compiling hashtags for your video content.

You can easily get a group of relevant hashtags for your video and save them for later, or copy them right inside the app to then paste into your TikTok caption. Plus, you can get access to daily trending hashtags to help you discover even more content ideas.

TikTok Hashtags

TikTok Hashtags is a basic hashtag generator that can help you find related hashtags.

Start by typing in a hashtag like #style and generate a handful of relevant and popular hashtags that can help increase visibility on your content. This is a completely free tool that’s easy to use for each of your new videos.

For the record, TikTok has no association with this website.

Ahrefs TikTok Hashtag Generator

Ahrefs has a free AI TikTok Hashtag Generator tool as a part of its free digital marketing and SEO tools arsenal. But this hashtag generator works a bit differently than the others.

With Ahrefs’ AI hashtag generator, you can type your video caption or a brief synopsis of your video into the text box and wait while the tool generates a list of hashtags for you to include. Specify the number of hashtags you want, the formatting you prefer, as well as the writing tone you’re going for. Then copy and paste the hashtags right into TikTok.

Make TikTok hashtags work for you

With more businesses using TikTok in their marketing strategies, incorporating the use of hashtags can be a great way to stand out. But just using the right hashtags isn’t enough. You also need to keep an eye on your TikTok analytics to look for opportunities to keep improving.

The post TikTok hashtags: How to use the best hashtags for more views in 2024 appeared first on Sprout Social.

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How social media changed the sports marketing game

Sports marketing isn’t new, but it does look different. The use of social media in sports marketing has transformed the way fans interact with their favorite athletes, teams and sporting events.

Sports figures—once separated from their fans by traditional media—have become our favorite influencers and mainstays in our feeds. Events and recaps previously reserved for stadiums and live TV are now available to watch 24/7, and fans—not commentators—get to have the last word in the comment section.

No longer just spectators, consumers play an active role in the sports industry and sports marketing campaigns. It’s consumers who have changed what sports marketing looks like by putting their engagement and dollars behind female, para, BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ athletes, and athletes from a wide range of sport backgrounds. This diverse range of athletes has sparked a global sports marketing renaissance, and is giving brands a way to expand their reach (especially to new audiences).

Brands who have capitalized on this new golden age of sports marketing are increasing their awareness and positive sentiment—even if they aren’t directly related to the sports industry. As you plan for 2025, consider how the changing face of sports marketing could align with your strategy and goals.

Social media sports marketing catapults into mainstream culture

In the past, sports marketing campaigns targeted a smaller subset of sports fans. They largely failed to see the potential of incorporating a diverse range of athletes (with a few exceptions, like tennis superstar Serena Williams). Today’s sports marketing campaigns capture the attention of all kinds of audiences, and bring sports figures into the cultural zeitgeist. Which expands the opportunities for brands and athletes alike.

Interest in women’s sports sets new records

Recent media moments like WNBA rookie Angel Reese and rugby player Ilona Maher on the cover of Sports Illustrated demonstrate how far sports equity has come. More fans are tuning into women’s sporting events around the world than ever, there’s increased pressure to close the pay gap and female athletes’ bodies are celebrated for strength rather than aesthetics.

Yet, there are still naysayers and trolls who cast doubt on the ability of female athletes to compete at the highest level and draw profitable audiences—despite all evidence to the contrary. For example, Google launched a deal to double The Athletic’s coverage of women’s sports, and Ally Financial’s recent one-year, multimillion dollar sponsorship deal with ESPN will funnel 90% of its overall investment into women’s sports. Many brands who have successfully reached Gen Z audiences cite increased interest in women’s sports as the primary way they’ve been able to reach that demographic.

Interest in women’s sports mirrors newfound interest in other underappreciated events and athletes. Some of the most celebrated campaigns of 2024 feature athletes from women’s leagues, para athletes and up-and-coming players. In Ad Age’s lineup of the best sports marketing campaigns of 2024, they feature campaigns like Adidas’ Runner 321, which spotlights triathlete and marathon runner Chris Nikic, Adidas’ first sponsored athlete with Down Syndrome. Another standout is Gatorade’s Caitlin Clark is just getting started campaign, a simple yet inspiring homage to the rookie WNBA star.

New rules expand opportunities to partner with athletes

The Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) ruling in 2021 also greatly expanded the pool of athletes brands could work with by making it possible for college athletes to profit from partnerships—including those who had already built an online following. Like Olivia “Livvy” Dunne, the Louisiana State University gymnast who collected $3.6 million in 2023 from brand endorsement deals, including her partnership with Accelerator Active Energy. A recent video she posted about the brand received more than 60,000 likes and 1.5 million views on TikTok.

Renee Samms, Principal Strategic Services Consultant at Sprout, cautions brands to act ethically when signing deals with young athletes. “After the introduction of NIL and sponsorship deals, college athletes were thrown into the world of influencer marketing. They are athletes and students first, not influencers. This is a new, very nuanced world for them, and the decisions they make and contracts they sign could massively impact their career beyond their collegiate years. They don’t have the experience of working in this world or have teams behind them. It’s up to brands to act responsibly, and provide the best possible guidance for rights usage and fair pay.”

This advice applies to brands forging partnerships with all athletes—especially young, female, queer or para athletes—who are new to paid collaborations. Brands should always assume deals with athlete influencers could go public and act accordingly.

Brands of all types are taking a cue from the sports marketing playbook

A record-setting 5 billion people engaged with the 2022 World Cup on social, while there were 12 billion engagements about the 2024 summer games. The sheer volume of sports fans worldwide means even unlikely brands can use the sports industry for co-marketing opportunities and brand partnerships that extend reach and grow their audience.

Samms puts it like this: “Sports have always brought people together. Most people—including celebrities—are sports fans. After going through a global pandemic and other dark cultural moments, the positivity and inspiration of sports have mass appeal. People are seeking a sense of community—from pickleball courts to social media. This is the perfect time for brands (from all industries) to seize the moment.”

Here are a few examples of brands across industries taking the plunge into sports marketing.

Food and beverage

The Hershey Company took notice of the online buzz surrounding their Reese’s brand and WNBA star Angel Reese. The confectionary company turned that social insight into surprise-and-delight marketing activations followed by a viral collaboration.

As Paige Walker, Social Media Intelligence Supervisor at The Hershey Company told us, “The campaign was so successful because we listened to our consumers and Angel Reese’s fans. Audiences really appreciate when brands take their ideas and feedback into consideration. It creates a genuine relationship. Fans had repeatedly asked Reese’s to partner with Angel, and we made it a reality. My favorite part of the campaign was seeing the fan reactions—it made the hard work worth it!” The campaign resulted in millions of views, major media pickups and very happy fans.

Other food and beverage brands such as McDonald’s and Hellman’s are partnering with teams and athletes to create unexpected moments. Like when internet darling Grimace threw the first pitch at a New York Mets game (and went on to become their good luck charm). Or when Titans’ quarterback Will Levis starred in a mayo fragrance campaign.

But as unexpected brands dabble in sports marketing, how can you create a meaningful campaign? Here’s advice from Walker: “Use social listening to look where you’d least expect to find a brand connection or opportunity. You never know who is talking about your brand or products and how they’re using them in their daily lives. It may be a partnership your brand has never considered before, but it could help create more awareness within new communities.”

Fashion

SKIMS became the official underwear partner of the WNBA this year. While a fashion and shapewear brand may not seem like the most obvious choice for a partnership, the empowering campaign message landed with basketball and fashion fans alike.

Other fashion brands like David Yurman and Savage x Fenty are partnering with athletes who share a passion for both style and their sport.

Insurance and finance

Gainbridge partnered with athletes Caitlin Clarke, Billie Jean King and Annika Sörenstam to promote their product ParityFlex, an annuity designed to address women’s unique retirement needs.

Other insurance companies like GEICO and State Farm sponsor athletes, events and athletic associations year-round.

Legal concerns to remember when racing to execute sports marketing campaigns on social media

Even with the massive opportunity sports marketing presents, brands need to proceed with care. The industry can be particularly litigious when it comes to intellectual property (IP).

As Samms explains, “IP rights—like rights to usage of content, logos of various teams or various leagues, and athlete names, images and likenesses—are particularly challenging to navigate. I highly recommend working with a skilled and experienced legal team in these instances.”

While the risks of mismanaged sports marketing campaigns are similar to influencer marketing, there are added layers of complexity that usually come from teams, leagues and events. The ANA describes two primary legal infractions:

• Trademark infringement: This refers to unauthorized use of a mark that is likely to cause “confusion, deception or a mistake about the source of the goods or services.” For example, using a name similar to a league, team or athlete, or misusing a logo, could be considered trademark infringement. Other actions, like cybersquatting, trademark counterfeiting or using a trademarked visual could all be seen as deliberate trademark infringement. Unless you have a specific partnership in place (which is notoriously hard to obtain), it’s typically best practice to avoid using sports industry IP in your content.
• Ambush marketing: This occurs when a company that’s not an official sponsor takes advantage of an event’s high profile attention by “launching marketing activities that create an association with the event.” Ambush marketing isn’t always unlawful, but it can still result in legal repercussions from event owners, official sponsors and legislative bodies. For example, if a company tries to run a promo or campaign tied to a particular event, athlete or organizer, that could be seen as ambush marketing. Also, attempting to market yourself in the physical space where an event is taking place could be frowned upon.

Both of these areas can be murky. Where does commenting or participating on a cultural event end and IP infringement or ambush marketing begin? Those most qualified to answer those questions will be your legal team. Just because they may caution you to avoid specific names, likenesses, images or events, doesn’t mean you can’t find creative ways to join the conversation on social or work with athletes.

Create your own sports marketing wins

Sports marketing has become a much more inclusive, highly engaging space, largely driven by social media and the diversity of athletes now in the spotlight. Brands that tap into this transformation can reach new audiences and build deeper connections, leveraging the passion and loyalty of sports fans across the globe.

As you plan your 2025 social media strategy, consider how the growing influence of women’s sports and diverse athletes could complement your brand (even in the most unexpected ways). The clock is running and it’s time for brands across industries to explore sports marketing as a key part of their growth strategy (in partnership with their legal team).

Looking for more content strategy insights for marketing leaders as you head into 2025? Download our CMO 2025 social content strategy pre-mortem to facilitate more productive planning for you and your team.

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A guide to choosing the most effective social media networks for your brand

Which social media networks should your brand focus on?

Not too long ago, the answer may have been, “as many as your team can handle.” But times have changed. Social media management is evolving rapidly, and consumers are becoming more discerning about where they engage. They now turn to different platforms for different purposes—whether it’s customer care, entertainment or staying informed. And they expect your brand to meet them where they already are.

The most successful strategies strike a balance between your business objectives and the behaviors of your audience. In this article, we’ll explore how to prioritize social media networks so your brand shows up where it matters most.

What is a social media network?

A social media network is an online platform that supports communication, interaction and content sharing among individuals and communities. It’s a broad definition, and intentionally so. As consumer and advertiser preferences shift, so do social media networks.

Consider this: Early social media was primarily about connecting existing communities through text-based content and personalized profiles—think custom-coded MySpace page or writing on your friend’s Facebook Wall.

Today, visual content and algorithmic feeds reign supreme on social, ushering in an era of hyper-personalization. Feeds and timelines have become entirely unique to the individual, based on user preferences. Interactions are less public and flourish in comment sections, direct messages and closed communities.

These shifts may feel sudden, but they’re the result of small changes happening constantly over longer periods of time. That’s why it’s crucial to stay up to date with the state of your favorite networks.

The three types of social media networks (and their benefits)

The social media network landscape has grown exponentially in recent years. Emerging networks are constantly introduced; existing networks evolve to remain competitive and the idea of maintaining a presence on every platform is becoming less feasible, even for teams with ample resources.

Before we can help you decide where to focus your efforts, let’s get on the same page with how consumers are using different types of social media networks today.

General social media networks

General social media networks are what most people think of when they picture traditional social platforms. They’re built primarily for communication, connection and content sharing. These networks enable a broad range of interactions—from posting text and images to professional networking and community-building. These networks include:

Instagram

According to the 2024 Social Media Content Strategy Report, 84% of social media users have an Instagram profile, making it the most popular social media network across ages.

Users’ primary reasons for scrolling Instagram are to connect with friends and family and alleviate boredom. But half of all users also interact with brands there at least once per day.

Facebook

Two decades after Facebook first appeared and revolutionized how we connect and share online, it’s still one of the most popular platforms in the world.

Today, about 83% of all social users have a Facebook profile. Gen X leads the way in Facebook usage, followed closely by Boomers and Millennials. It remains the top choice for news and current events. Consumers across all ages are also likely to turn to Facebook for social media customer service.

X (formerly Twitter)

Almost half (48%) of all social users across age demographics have an X profile, with men significantly more likely to have a profile than women.

Consumers use X for entertainment, connections with friends and family and keeping up with influencers and celebrities. When interacting with brands, X’s purpose changes slightly. While still wanting to be entertained, consumers are also most likely to engage with educational product content and contests and giveaways.

Pinterest

Social users view Pinterest as a source of good vibes. In fact, more than half (51%) of surveyed consumers feel that Pinterest content is more positive than content on other platforms. That number climbs even higher for Gen Z.

The best brands on Pinterest use the social media network to inspire their audiences with aspirational content. Affirm, a fintech company offering buy now, pay later services, uses the brand to connect with Millennial audiences planning their next big purchase—whether that be a bucket list trip or furnishing their first home.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn’s user base primarily consists of Gen X and Millennial corporate professionals, making it the go-to platform for everything career-related—jobs, networking, professional development and personal brand building.

As the leading platform for B2B marketing, it’s also an excellent place to source leads. In fact, recent LinkedIn statistics show that 62% of B2B marketers generate leads through LinkedIn. Even better, it delivers 2x higher conversion rates and a 33% increase in purchase intent compared to other platforms.

Threads

In 2023, Meta launched Threads, which quickly became the fastest app to reach 100 million users. Since then, new features have been rolled out and users are starting to figure out how Threads fits into their daily scrolling habits.

Currently, most users turn to Threads to pass the time, though many also use it to stay updated on news and real-time events. While entertainment and education are key draws, users also enjoy seeing brands interact with one another, which has proven to be an effective strategy for brands on Threads looking to drive engagement.

Social entertainment networks

The rise of short-form video—along with the growing accessibility of video editing tools like CapCut and Canva—has ushered in what social media consultant Rachel Karten calls the “social entertainment era.”

Consumers now prefer entertaining content across all platforms, with 66% of social users finding “edutainment” to be the most engaging form of brand content—outperforming memes, serialized content and skits. While all platforms are beginning to favor more entertaining content, certain networks are built with entertainment at their core. Those include:

YouTube

More than three-quarters (78%) of all social users have a YouTube profile, and that number soars even higher for Gen Z and Millennials.

As consumer attention spans shorten, YouTube’s relatively long videos continue to appeal—even when it comes to brand posts. Over half (51%) of YouTube users favor brands’ long-form videos. The long-form nature of YouTube content also allows you to create short-form content for other video platforms like Instagram and TikTok, maximizing your reach and ROI.

TikTok

Younger consumers drove (and continue to drive) TikTok’s rapid growth. Though 68% of social users have a TikTok profile, that number skyrockets to 86% for Gen Z and 73% for Millennials.

For Gen Z especially, TikTok is more than a social network. It’s a search engine, a news source, a birthplace of culture and an online shopping mall. It’s the top channel for news and product discovery among the age cohort.

Community-driven social networks

Community-driven social networks offer dedicated spaces for groups with shared interests. Unlike broader social spaces, these networks prioritize group discussions, along with direct interactions within specific, interest-based communities. These networks include:

Reddit

Reddit is a text-based social network made up of over 100,000 communities, known as subreddits, each with its own unique rules and culture.

The network’s audience tends to be younger, with nearly 70% identifying as male. While Reddit is often associated with its major subreddits—like /r/IAmA or /r/personalfinance—it also hosts active communities on a wide range of topics, from fitness to beauty and beyond.

Discord

Discord is a voice, video and text chat app used by over 300 million people worldwide. What began as a spot for gamers to congregate is now home to communities for all sorts of interests—from readers and equestrians to botanists. If a topic has enough enthusiasts, there’s likely a Discord server dedicated to it.

While Discord may not be the best network for growing your audience, it offers significant potential for those willing to invest in building a long-term community. For brands with strong advocacy programs, a Discord server can facilitate meaningful connections and conversations among community members, making it an invaluable space for fostering engagement.

Vertical social networks

A variety of niche social media networks have emerged to serve the interests of highly specific communities. There’s Letterboxd for film enthusiasts, Strava for runners and Nextdoor for local neighborhoods—the list goes on.

If your target audience aligns with an existing vertical network, these platforms can provide unparalleled access to authentic opinions that can enhance your marketing strategy. For example, a construction company operating in a specific region might find greater value in focusing its efforts on Nextdoor rather than investing heavily in larger platforms.

A framework for choosing the right social media networks for your strategy

So which networks are the most important for your brand?

Grab a piece of paper and a pencil—or open your favorite note-taking app—and take some time to answer the following questions. Some answers may come to you easily, while others might require a bit of research. Remember, this isn’t a decision to rush. Use this opportunity to align all stakeholders on your social strategy, ensuring everyone is on the same page. That way, you can narrow your focus with confidence.

What are your top business priorities?

Social media is valuable for more than just marketing, so it’s important to consider marketing and overall organizational goals. If you limit your focus to just your greater marketing team, you might miss opportunities to make a bigger impact.

For example, let’s say you work with a B2B brand that’s primarily focused on conversions in its marketing efforts. If you pick priority networks based solely on that goal, you might spend all your time on networks that drive a lot of clicks. Your product team, on the other hand, might be focused on improving customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores.

If you don’t take the product team’s goals into account, you might end up ignoring networks that provide valuable customer feedback through support requests or community discussions. By paying attention to this feedback, you can work together with your team to increase social influence within your organization.

Social media can affect many areas of a business. That’s why it’s essential to understand priorities at different levels within the organization before choosing which networks to focus on.

Where is your audience currently spending their time online?

Remember, successful strategies strike a balance between business objectives and audience behaviors. Focusing too heavily on one at the expense of the other can lead to a strategy that misses the mark.

To determine where your audience is currently spending their time, you should combine consumer research—like the stats mentioned in this article—with your historical performance data. Use a social media management tool to identify which profiles are generating the highest impressions and engagement. If you’re using Sprout Social, you can find this information in the Profile Performance Report.

This report will provide you with a high-level aggregation of analytics so you can get a pulse on the performance of your social profiles. If certain profiles consistently outperform others, now is the time to dig into why.

Where are your competitors most active?

Your last step in the research process is conducting a competitive analysis. By taking a closer look at the social media strategies of your top competitors, you can uncover valuable insights that you might have missed when focusing solely on your efforts.

Social media is an incredible resource for competitive intel. Marketers often tap into social data to assess customer loyalty and pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of their competitors’ offerings. If you see your competitors thriving on a particular channel, it’s a strong signal that it’s worth exploring your presence there, too.

If you want to dive deeper into your analysis, consider using a social listening tool. With Sprout’s Social Listening capabilities, you can create Competitive Analysis Topics and break down the data by specific Themes. This way, you discover which messaging from your competitors resonates most with audiences and where they’re making the biggest impact.

Prioritize the right social media networks for your brand

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to which social media networks your brand should prioritize. The key is to combine consumer insights, data and your marketer’s intuition to make the best decisions.

Luckily, when it comes to consumer insights, we’ve got you covered. Our survey of over 4,500 consumers reveals what people really expect from brands on social media—and how those expectations vary across different platforms. Dive into the 2024 Social Media Content Strategy Report to discover which content types your team should focus on and where to direct your energy to create the most ROI.

Get the report

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