6 ways social media impacts consumer behavior

Whether consumers are laughing at their favorite brand’s infotainment content, buying products through live shopping or tuning into a try-on haul, social media is a daily staple in their lives. In The Sprout Social Index™, we found 54% of consumers say their social media usage has been higher over the last two years than the previous two years.

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

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

1. Consumers buy directly from social

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

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

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

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

How you can use this insight

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

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

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

2. Consumers expect two-way engagement with brands

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

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

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

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

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

How you can use this insight

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

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

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

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

3. Consumers turn to social media for customer service

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

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

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

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

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

How you can use this insight

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

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

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

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

4. Consumers demand authenticity in the age of AI

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

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

How you can use this insight

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

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

5. Consumers want more transparency and less performative activism

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

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

How you can use this insight

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

6. Consumers are heavily influenced by social media reviews

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

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

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

 

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

How you can use this insight

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

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

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

Social media and consumer behavior: An ongoing transformation

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

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

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

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

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Most users on X never see Community Notes correcting misinformation

When Elon Musk took over X, formerly known as Twitter, one of his first moves was to overhaul the company's content moderation policies. When it comes to misinformation, Musk depends on X's users to deal with the problem in the form of Community Notes, a program that allows approved users to add context to posts that contain inaccuracies or falsehoods.

Unfortunately, for Musk and company, this crowdsourced solution doesn't appear to be working. And the influx of misinformation since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, and Israel subsequently began bombing Gaza, has only made matters worse.

X punts content moderation to Community Notes

X's misinformation problem during the past few months has been so prominent that the EU threatened to take action against the company, launching an investigation that could result in X facing hefty fines.

Last month, X announced several overhauls to Community Notes in an attempt to placate EU officials. X CEO Linda Yaccarino published two dozen non-reply, non-retweet posts in October. Nine of those posts were about updates to the Community Notes program. That same month, X executive Joe Benarroch reached out to Mashable to provide a press release concerning the Community Notes updates, marking the first time Mashable heard from X since Elon Musk acquired the company last year.

X has made it clear in all of the above that it depends on Community Notes to fight misinformation. But, Community Notes is failing.

According to a report from NBC News last month, and a recent report Bloomberg last week, X often failed to show Community Notes fact-checks on viral posts spreading falsehoods in a timely manner. The amount of time it takes for a Community Note to appear on a post was a central piece to X's updates to the program. Yet, Bloomberg found that Community Notes take more than seven hours to show up on average, with some misinformation-spreading posts going days before appearing with a fact-check.

For the past two months, Mashable has also been monitoring Community Notes, tracking 50 viral posts that had an approved Community Note attached. Our goal, however, was to find out how many X users are seeing a Community Note after it is approved and the platform actually affixes the note to a post, making it publicly visible to X's entire user base.

Mashable found that X is failing to get Community Notes in front of its users — even after the fact-check has been approved by the community.

Misinformation receives way more views than fact-checks

On the night of Oct. 17, X user @MichalSabra posted a video claiming to depict a chant from pro-Palestine students protesting at UPenn consisting of the phrase "We want Jewish genocide."

However, users who watched the video could hear that this was false. The protesters were chanting "We charge you with genocide," an accusatory slogan. The ADL also confirmed this in its own debunk of the claim.

Tweet may have been deleted

When Mashable first started tracking the post, it had already received more than half a million views in 12 hours. Nearly 20 hours later, the first of two Community Notes that would later go on to be approved were submitted to be rated, meaning they were only visible to members of the Community Notes program — not the broader platform user base. 

On Oct. 19, two days after @MichalSabra posted the falsehood, Mashable received a notification from X saying that the Community Note had been approved on the post and had been seen 100,000 times.

As of Nov. 28, the @MichalSabra post has not been deleted. It has amassed 3.9 million views. The two Community Notes that have been approved to show on the post only have a total of 185,000 views. The Community Note has only been seen by 4.7 percent of the users who viewed the original falsehood.

@MichalSabra's post received two approved Community Notes. One note was shown across 22 other posts spreading the same falsehood. The note views still paled in comparison to the initial post. Credit: Mashable screenshot

In addition, according to X, these two Community Notes also appear on 22 other posts containing @MichalSabra's video and Community Notes include views from those posts in its cumulative metrics as well.

Disappearing Community Notes

X user @elikowaz published a post on Nov. 18 depicting an "I heart Hamas" that allegedly was printed and posted by the University of British Columbia's Social Justice Centre on the college's campus.

Within hours of the post, the UBC Social Justice Centre denied the allegations. Hillel BC later shared that a third-party associated with the Jewish college campus organization was in fact responsible for the stickers.

When Mashable first started monitoring this post on Nov. 20, it had more than 600,000 views. The approved Community Note containing the fact-check had just over 25,000 views.

As of Nov. 28, @elikowaz's post remains, now with one million views. However, Mashable noticed that even after the Community Note was approved, the original post containing the misinformation continued to amass more views than the fact-check. 

In one week, @elikowaz's post with the Community Note attached gained around 400,000 more views. This means that if Community Notes worked as intended, the fact-check would have around 425,000 views — or just under half of the views on the post it is attached to. 

Instead, the Community Note only has 143,000 views.

The Community Note received far fewer views than @elikowaz's post. Credit: Mashable screenshot

What happened? It appears the Community Note did not always appear affixed to the post even after the note was approved. Mashable noticed this same issue with other posts it was monitoring. Sometimes, a note would lose its approval and be relegated back to rating status, meaning only Community Notes program members could see the post. Other times, the note would disappear altogether and no longer be viewable on a post even by members of the Community Notes program.

X's own Community Notes metrics raise questions

X has boasted about the number of views that Community Notes have received on the platform multiple times. On Oct. 14, X stated that Community Notes were "generating north of 85 million impressions in the last week" after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack. Ten days later, in a press release sent to Mashable, X said that Community Notes "were seen well over 100 million times" over the past two weeks. Then on Nov. 14, X published a blog post claiming "notes have been viewed well over a hundred million times" in the "first month of the conflict."

By X's own metrics, unless traffic to the platform and the number of posts being made are also falling, it appears views on Community Notes are on a downward trend.

Furthermore, based on the virality of many of the posts spreading misinformation Mashable looked at, 100 million views on the totality of Community Notes is an extremely small number.

For example, on Nov. 9, X user @Partisangirl posted a video claiming it showed Israeli helicopters opening fire on its own citizens at the Supernova music festival on Oct. 7. The claim was debunked as the video showed Israeli helicopters attacking Hamas at a separate location.

However, @Partisangirl's post with the false claim garnered a whopping 30 million views as of Nov. 29. That's one single 20-day-old X post with roughly 30 percent of the views that the entirety of Community Notes garnered in one month.

One @Partisangirl post sent 30 million views to a false claim. Credit: Mashable Screenshot

A Community Note was eventually placed on @Partisangirl's post. The note only has around 244,200 views or roughly 0.8 percent of the the views that the original post received. The misinformation was viewed 123 times more than the fact-check. 

The Community Note on @Partisangirl's massively viral post receive just over 244,000 views. Credit: Mashable Screenshot

Community Notes not being seen by most users

While the post from @Partisangirl is one of the more extreme examples, Mashable found that in most cases we viewed, there was a large disparity between the number of views on a post and the number of views on the Community Note attached to the same post.

One Oct. 19 post from regular disinformation spreader X user @DrLoupis attributed a false statement to Turkey president Erdoğan saying the country would intervene in Gaza. The @DrLoupis post containing the fake quote was viewed nine million times as of Nov. 29. Two separate Community Notes were submitted just a few hours after @DrLoupis published the post and were later approved. These two notes combined only have around 740,000 views.

Only 111,000 views for this Community Note on a post with 6.3 million views. Credit: Mashable screenshot

In another @DrLoupis post published on Nov. 26, the user falsely depicts a photo of a child in Gaza as an Israeli boy. In three days, this false post racked up 6.3 million views. The approved Community Note wouldn't be submitted until nearly 27 hours later. Compared to the 6.3 million views the post has, the attached Community Note only has just over 111,000 views. The misinformation has 57 times more views than the fact-check.

Another major disinformation spreader on X, @dom_lucre, published a post on Oct. 23 claiming U.S. troops were attacked in Syria with an image depicting an explosion. The attachment was actually an edited picture depicting a 2018 Israeli airstrike in Gaza. X user @dom_lucre's misinformation received nearly 800,000 views or around 10 times more views than the Community Note fact-check, which only received 82,400 views.

Verified users are big misinformation spreaders

Every account mentioned in this piece so far – @MichalSabra, @elikowaz, @Partisangirl, @DrLoupis, and @dom_lucre – is a subscriber of X's paid verification service X Premium, formerly known as Twitter Blue. 

Mashable did not set out to target these users.  The posts we tracked were among some of the most viral posted on the platform. Some were discovered through X's search feature. Others were found via X's official @HelpfulNotes account, which shares posts that receive a Community Note. However, X gives X Premium subscribers and algorithmic boost, which in turns helps their posts permeate throughout the platform.

For example, X user @jacksonhinklle has become one of the most influential figures on the platform since Oct. 7, gaining millions of followers in just a few weeks. He's also an X Premium subscriber and regular disseminator of disinformation. 

@jacksonhinklle's misinformation received more than 10 times the amount of views than the fact-check. Credit: Mashable post

On Nov. 8, @jacksonhinklle posted that Israeli sniper Barib Yariel was killed by Hamas. The post received 6.4 million views. However, Barib Yariel does not exist. Four seperate Community Notes were approved on the post, with the first being submitted 10 hours after @jacksonhinklle's post. All four Community Notes combined received around 639,300 views or less than 10 percent of the views @jacksonhinklle's post received.

Many X Premium subscribers, including a number of the individuals mentioned in this report, are monetized on the platform. This means that Musk's company pays these individuals based on the number of other subscribers who view ads placed on their posts. However, on Oct. 30, Musk announced that the policy was changing and posts that received a Community Note were no longer eligible for the ad revenue share program. However, as Newsguard discovered in an analysis conducted weeks after Musk's announcement, advertisements for major brands like Microsoft, Pizza Hut, and Airbnb were still appearing on posts containing misinformation about Israel and Palestine. 

While this investigation mainly focused on misinformation regarding Israel and Gaza, Mashable did monitor other posts and found the same problems across posts about various issues and topics. For example, verified X user @LaurenWitzkeDE posted a video of a "lab grown drumstick" moving around and twitching on a table. @LaurenWitzkeDE claimed this was an example of "Bill Gates' lab-grown mystery meat." However, the video did not depict a real piece of chicken and was actually an art piece created by an artist on TikTok. The original @LaurenWitzkeDE post received 1.6 million views. The Community Note with the fact-check only garnered just over 203,000 views. 

Mashable monitored 50 posts over the past two months, we excluded a few from our investigation after the Community Note was removed or disappeared from the post. Only three posts we tracked had Community Notes with around half as many views as the post containing the falsehood – two of which contained the same manipulated media. 

Many times, misinformation on X spreads without any Community Note. Or in another common scenario, a Community Note is approved, but then later removed from the post. Of the posts that do receive a Community Note, and that note remains affixed to the post, the falsehood in the post is often viewed around 5 to 10 times more than the fact-check. And sometimes, as noted in the examples mentioned, that disparity is even larger.

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How to help your son navigate the manosphere

Gary Barker believes parents are inadvertently ceding too much ground to digital culture influencers who may not have their sons' best interests at heart. As the president and CEO of the nonprofit think tank Equimundo, which promotes gender equality, Barker spends much of his time thinking about this problem.

Some of what young boys encounter online can be purely engaging, fun, and confidence-building. And then there's the "manosphere," which loosely describes the online ecosystem of influencer content built around traditional masculine norms of self-sufficiency, dominance, toughness, and stoicism.

Some of the content in the manosphere can be harmless and enjoyable, appealing to boys and men by offering well-intended health or well-being tips. But the harmful, serious content that surfaces is frequently tied to racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, antisemitism, and in some cases, violent rhetoric.

If you think your son would reject such ideas out of hand, consider that the gateway to the more dangerous aspects of the manosphere is often absurd or irreverent content designed for maximum laughs rather than indoctrination. Other content in this space, like specious advice about money, dating, or politics, makes boys feel like they have knowledge about how the world really works — and teaches them how to take advantage of that insight.

SEE ALSO: 5 social-emotional skills for parents

In other words, the manosphere represents a unique parenting challenge: helping boys develop critical thinking skills about digital content they find entertaining and fulfilling without alienating them by passing strong judgment of their media consumption choices. Striking this balance is particularly tricky for parents of preadolescent boys between the ages of 8 and 12, who often yearn for independence but aren't quite old enough to understand the implications of certain decisions.

A parent's first impulse might be to ban questionable content altogether, without discussion, but Barker cautions against doing that, because these online spaces can offer the sense of mastery over their own lives that boys at this age crave.

"Often parents step in with this restrictive approach...that is perceived as intrusive and [sends] boys further down the rabbit hole rather than helping them look up from the rabbit hole and engage in conversations," says Barker.

Figuring out how to parent a boy who's curious about or interested in various aspects of the manosphere is urgent, given the stakes. Equimundo's 2023 report on the State of American Men, which Barker co-authored, found that younger men "are socially disconnected, pessimistic about the future, and turning to online anger."

There are key strategies that parents can use to help their boys both navigate the manosphere and develop critical thinking skills that will become even more essential as they get older:

1. Respect your son's need for independence and competence.

As a parent, it can be hard to conceal alarm when your son encounters or starts exploring the manosphere.

Young men accused of committing mass shootings in the U.S., including in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, embraced aggressive or violent behavior online toward women and people of color. The Buffalo shooter allegedly spent much of his time exploring video and forum content on YouTube and Reddit devoted to using firearms and discussing racist conspiracy theories, according to a lawsuit against those companies filed on behalf of victims and survivors.

Even if the alleged gunman knew little of the manosphere, parents may feel the content boys find there can prime them for more extreme views and behavior.

Last year, the popular manosphere influencer Andrew Tate, who refers to himself as Cobra Tate, was arrested by Romanian police on charges of rape, human trafficking, and organized crime. He and his brother, who was also arrested, deny the allegations and have sued their accusers for defamation.

As Mashable's Chance Townsend reported prior to Tate's arrest, the "self-help guru offering advice to young men on how to make money and talk to women" had a massive following. He'd been dubbed, as a compliment, the "King of Toxic Masculinity."

Caroline Hayes, who conducts research on the manosphere as Equimundo's senior strategic initiatives officer, says that one common through line of the content is the narrative that feminism oppresses men and that the "system is rigged against" them. Boys often find certain influencers' rebellious posture on feminism, in particular, appealing.

Hayes says that the story told by many of these influencers is a timeless one repackaged for the digital and modern age: Boys and men are heroes facing an enemy cast as the "other," like women or immigrants, against the odds.

The "counterculture" edginess of that sentiment, and the way it provides a sense of belonging and validates boys' disaffection, can be intoxicating, Hayes adds.

That's why Barker urges parents to focus on recognizing their son's age-appropriate need for independence and competence. When this respect comes from a parent, it can reinforce a boy's belief that he can be trusted to think critically. If parents can't or won't do this, dangerous voices in the manosphere will.

But offering this validation doesn't mean letting a boy freely wander the manosphere without oversight, says Dr. Andrew P. Smiler, a psychologist who works with teen boys and men. Instead, parents should familiarize themselves with the sites and forums their sons are frequenting and ask what they like about the content, instead of banning it. Additionally, they should be able to monitor private messages online.

"They're not ready for full freedom yet," says Smiler, author of Dating and Sex: A Guide for the 21st Century Teen Boy.

In cases of extreme content, Smiler still recommends asking a boy what's appealing about it and trying to redirect healthy interest in a subject to a safer or more appropriate platform or resource.

2. Have open-ended conversations with your son.

The manosphere often engages boys and young men as equal partners in conversation, which is why it's crucial that parents approach their sons with openness and without judgment.

So if a boy shares a meme that he finds funny but is also offensive, a parent shouldn't dismiss it. Rather, they might first ask about the humor.

Smiler says that boys may not pick up on subtle messages or the cues and context that make a meme hurtful to others. In his own experience, Smiler has worked with male teens and adults who enjoy the style and visuals of the Japanese pop art forms manga and anime, but don't realize some of it is demeaning toward women because they watch animated shows with the sound or closed captions turned off.

If a boy's interest in something online isn't inherently tied to an objectionable message, Smiler recommends being curious about why they like it. When that conversation is well underway, a parent might pose open-ended questions about concerning aspects of the content. This can be put simply as, "Did you notice this other thing?"

Still, preteens haven't mastered the ability to take someone else's perspective. So if, for example, a boy is struggling to understand why a meme implied something cruel about a woman, Barker recommends asking him to reflect on what it would feel like if his mom, sister, or another female figure in his life were the subject of that content.

Ideally, a parent will approach this conversation as if a boy has a moral compass to help shape his views rather than filling in the blanks for him, Barker says. But he also admits accomplishing that isn't easy, and that parents should generally have ongoing conversations like this with their son.

Parents of Black boys and boys of color can face even more complex discussions, because their sons may encounter both manosophere content online as well as racial discrimination aimed at them or others.

Dr. Erlanger A. Turner, a psychologist and associate professor of psychology at Pepperdine University, says it's particularly important for these parents to respond to children who've witnessed or experienced racism online by inviting their perspective and opinion first.

"Sometimes they know more about it than we think they know," Turner says, adding that it can improve a child's self-esteem to let them express themselves before you weigh in with advice.

Additionally, Turner says that some of the values promoted by the manosphere, like being tough, present a distinct challenge for parents of Black boys. Stoicism can be protective for Black boys who feel they can't afford to be seen as weak. At the same time, if they appear too tough, they risk being perceived as aggressive, which may prompt unwelcome or dangerous scrutiny of their behavior.

Turner says that as Black boys consider how the manosphere might benefit them, given the narrow tightrope they're forced to walk, their parents should create space for them to share those thoughts and even engage in healthy disagreement.

3. Really listen to your son.

Listening to your son is key, Turner says. But this requires focused attention. Consider body language as well. Avoid striking a pose that says: "I'm going to tell you what I think as soon as you're finished."

Sometimes this means calmly entertaining the junior version of mansplaining, which is actually quite important. Smiler says that for boys who buy into standard cultural expectations of what it means to be a boy or man, there is a focus on claiming knowledge and the ability to lead. Boys want to show that they know how the world works. Sometimes, they also want to show off as the person who knows better, Smiler adds.

Really engaging can lead to recognizing a boy's strengths, which is key to further developing confidence and critical thinking skills.

When parents really hear what their son is saying, they're in a better position to acknowledge how he's thought about a moral or ethical issue. They might be able to recognize qualities like empathy, kindness, and intelligence.

Around peers and friends, and particularly online, boys might receive recognition for different character traits than their parents emphasize.

"If I'm a boy and I'm trying to impress the other guys and get some status and self-esteem bumps from them, being nice is probably not the way to go," Smiler says. "Being kind of a jerk might be the way to go, because our image of masculinity is kind of a jerk right now."

If that dynamic is affecting your son, Smiler recommends finding peer groups that may be more accepting of the kind of boy he wants to be, or who you want him to become. This could mean skipping competitive traveling sports teams in favor of joining a recreational league. But making that decision requires yet more listening to your son, rather than making the choice for him.

Turner says that boys of color benefit from ongoing conversations about racial pride, even as parents have to balance that with preparing them for encountering bias or discrimination. He suggests attending cultural events or community activities that reinforce boys' pride in their racial identity, like a museum exhibition that features the accomplishments of famous Black people. Conversations about these experiences, in which a parent eagerly listens, help promote independent and critical thinking.

When parents can consistently provide experiences that encourage and affirm a boy's independence, character, and critical thinking skills, they've prepared him in important ways to explore the manosphere.

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Instagram automation: Strategy and tools to do it right

Automation is a close friend of any social media marketing strategy—Instagram included. This is because automation can help take care of mundane tasks, like scheduling, compiling reports and even responding to common questions asked in DMs.

However, there still needs to be a human element to your Instagram strategy. Instagram automation can alleviate some of the repetitive tasks while allowing your social mean more time to develop creative campaigns. To help you find the right balance, we’ve put together a guide discussing what Instagram automation is, what can be automated and several tools to help you get started.

Let’s dig in.

What is Instagram automation?

Instagram automation refers to the use of third-party software to manage your account, carry out tasks and/or interact with users without a human present.

Simply put, Instagram automation tools can be put into two buckets:

1. Services that effectively “take control” of your front-facing interactions with users such as likes and comments
2. Tools that automate Instagram behind the scenes, taking care of tasks such as publishing, reporting and analytics

But does Instagram automation make your business look lazy? We say no—but only if you do it right. As with any other tool or strategy, there are pros and cons to weigh in how your team will implement automation.

Here are some pros and cons to help you decide if you want to start automating certain tasks on Instagram.

Pros:

• Save time on smaller, tedious tasks. Growing an Instagram presence organically definitely requires a combination of time and strategizing. Instagram automation tools can pick up some of the slack trimming, down time spent on tedious tasks.
• Grow your follower count faster. Automation undoubtedly helps you boost your follower count. Simply spending time on the platform and interacting with accounts in any way, shape or form will set you up for more engagement by default.
• Uncover important insights about your audience. There’s no doubt that automation tools help you learn more about your target audience. From breaking down what hashtags people use to suggesting accounts to follow, bots encourage you to take a deeper dive into your audience’s preferences.

Cons:

• Instagram isn’t a fan of automation “hacks.” Instagram has a history of taking action against  tools that they consider spammy. The platform wants its users to engage authentically and organically, so Instagram put together limits and penalties for tactics they see as potentially gaming their algorithm. More on this in the next section.
• Poor automation looks spammy. People can spot a bot at a glance. Automating likes and comments is a recipe for a potential social media crisis. Brand accounts should emphasize human interactions and avoid anything that looks spammy.
• Potentially miss out on important customer interactions. The more you automate on Instagram, the fewer opportunities you have to interact with followers and customers. You can’t provide personalized service with purely automated interactions. Instead, only automate aspects of your Instagram account that encourage you to spend more time with your followers.

Is Instagram automation allowed?

As we’ve discussed, there are pros and cons, but those are subjective. Let’s talk about legalities—or at least, what abides by Instagram’s Community Guidelines—so your account doesn’t get penalized.

The short answer is yes, Instagram automation is allowed. The long answer is that certain types of automation cheapen the experience and make your business look bad online. And some types of automation can even get your account banned.

First, let’s talk about the good kinds of automation—the kinds of automation that can assist your social team and improve your strategy.

What can be automated on Instagram?

If you’re interested in using automation to your advantage, here are a few tasks on Instagram that you can get some robot help with.

• Likes: Set up a bot with a group of hashtags so the bot can like posts you say are relevant to your brand.
• Comments: Similarly, a bot can also leave social media comments—on your posts and others. Sprout Social’s Saved Replies and Asset Library are a perfect example of this.
• Follows and unfollows: Follow and unfollow relevant and irrelevant accounts, respectively. This can help you grow your own follower count.
• Direct messages: Send and respond to DMs with the help of a bot. You can even set bots up to send messages to people who comment on your posts with a trigger word.
• Scheduling and publishing: Scheduling Instagram posts is a form of automation—an essential form that every social media team needs.
• Reporting: Automation tools can also help you monitor your Instagram analytics with insights and reports showcasing your performance.

Things you need to be wary of are engaging too much too quickly—faster than a human typically could—or Instagram could put a limit on your account. Buying likes and followers is also frowned upon. And you’ll want to avoid working with bots and tools that don’t have access to Instagram’s API as they’re not considered legitimate Instagram partners.

9 Instagram automation tools to streamline your work

Want to get started with basic—and allowed—Instagram automation? These nine tools can help give you a head start.

1. Sprout Social

Sprout Social is an all-in-one social media management tool that helps with a number of automation aspects and making Instagram management as seamless as possible for your team. Sprout can assist with a number of tasks, like publishing, response management, productivity tools and analytics. Through automation and other Sprout features, your team can effectively plan, post and manage your Instagram campaigns.

Instagram automations available:

• Scheduling and publishing
• Auto-responders and suggested replies in DMs
• Hashtag discovery
• Sourcing UGC

2. SocialPilot

SocialPilot is an Instagram automation and analytics tool that helps brands streamline their Instagram strategies. Access features that help you publish content, engage with your audience, view analytics and more. This software allows you to schedule up to 500 posts at once, whether on Instagram or another platform. And the option to save evergreen content and responses for frequent reuse helps social teams respond faster.

Instagram automations available:

• Scheduling and publishing
• AI caption generation
• Reporting
• Watermarking

3. Kicksta

Kicksta is an AI-based tool dedicated to helping Instagram users grow their followers. Its AI tool focuses on leaving authentic comments and engagement on other Instagram accounts in order to help you grow your following—without buying followers. You provide the guidelines for who to engage with based on a list of competitors, brands and influencers with similar audiences, then Kicksta does the hard work.

Instagram automations available:

• Comments
• Likes

4. Nitreo

Nitreo is another Instagram automation tool focused on helping brands get more followers on Instagram. Nitreo’s tool also engages with real accounts, helping you to keep up Instagram engagement and remain an authentic online presence without ending up with thousands of bot (or bought) followers.

Instagram automations available:

• Comments
• Likes
• Story views
• Profile visits

5. Tailwind

Tailwind is an Instagram automation tool that focuses more on scheduling and publishing—but takes a unique approach. This tool is only available for Instagram and Pinterest, ensuring its services are catered to specific needs in the market.

Instagram automations available:

• Post idea generation
• Copy generation
• Graphic and design generation
• Hashtag discovery
• Publishing and scheduling

6. NapoleonCat

NapoleonCat is a social media management tool focused on helping brands engage with and support their online customers. Get this tool’s help with moderating and responding to comments and messages, scheduling out your content in advance and generating useful analytics reports.

Instagram automations available:

• Scheduling and publishing
• Comment moderation
• Auto-responses for both comments and DMs
• Reporting

7. Inflact

Inflact provides an entire suite of tools that can be used for Instagram automation. From interacting with other accounts to publishing content, Inflact offers an intuitive dashboard for accessing all of its useful features.

Instagram automations available:

• Send bulk DMs
• Follow and unfollow
• Likes
• Hashtag discovery
• Scheduling and publishing

8. Iconosquare

Iconosquare is another option for social media managers looking for a range of features dedicated to Instagram automation. Use this tool for scheduling, monitoring analytics, social listening and more.

Instagram automations available:

• Scheduling and publishing
• Reporting
• Unread comment/mention discovery

9. OnlySocial

OnlySocial is another useful option for Instagram automation and management. One of its top features in regards to automations is the ability to create Instagram messenger chatbots so that followers can message you and easily get helped by a customer service or sales chatbot.

Instagram automations available:

• Scheduling and publishing
• RSS feed auto-publishing
• Instagram messaging chatbot
• Reporting

Are you using Instagram automation the right way?

There’s plenty to automate on Instagram, granted you let a human take the reins.

If you’re looking to speed up your Instagram growth via automation, your head is in the right place. After all, marketers should always look to add tools to their toolbox in order to engage with more customers.

To learn more about how Sprout Social can help with your Instagram automation journey, request a free demo.

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User-generated content (UGC): what it is and why it matters for your brand

You’re scrolling through Instagram, and suddenly you see it—a photo of a friend sporting the latest sneakers, captioned with pure excitement. That, right there, is user-generated content (UGC), the authentic snapshot of everyday brand love that’s become the heartbeat of social media marketing. Because let’s face it, we all trust a friend’s recommendation over a polished ad.

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

What is user-generated content?

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

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

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

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

Types of UGC

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

Customer reviews and testimonials

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

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

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Trello by Atlassian (@trelloapp)

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

Photos

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

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

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

Videos

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

@benefitcosmetics

Comment in emojis your aesthetic: pumpkin or strawberry? 💬🎃🧡🍓💌🧺⁠ ⁠ 👩‍🎨: @colleen.makeupp ⁠ ⁠ #benefitcosmetics #strawberrymakeup #pumpkinspice

♬ Pretty (Sped Up) – MEYY

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

Blogs

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

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

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

Comments

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

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

Why user-generated content is good for your brand

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

Provides a consistent source of inspiration

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

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

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

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

Builds social proof and drives purchase intent

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

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

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

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

Generates brand awareness

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

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

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

Creates authenticity

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

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

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

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

Builds brand loyalty

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

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

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

3 real user-generated content examples

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

1. Nutrisense

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

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

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

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

 

2. Taylor Swift

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

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

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Taylor Nation (@taylornation)

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

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

3. Wahl Professional

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

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

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

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

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

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

5 tips to help you add UGC to your content strategy

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

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

1. Find and repost UGC on relevant social platforms

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

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

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

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

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

2. Always ask permission and credit creators

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

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

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

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

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

3. Use employee advocacy to amplify UGC

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

4. Monitor the impact of UGC with a dedicated tool

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

5. Check music copyright

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

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

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

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

Add the power of UGC to your workflow

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

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

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

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

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