Why social-first brands are doubling down—and how your brand can keep up
As we all know, social media is no longer the “fun” channel. It’s the frontline for brand strategy, customer experience, and measurable business growth. In Deloitte Digital’s 2025 State of Social Research, and across ListenFirst’s platform data, three patterns emerge that separate thriving brands from the rest: investment deliberately in community building, getting smarter about content formats and collaborators, and finally bridging the gap between engagement and conversion.
Community: Stop Broadcasting, Start Building
Today’s consumers don’t want a billboard. They want a back-and-forth. Deloitte reports that 73% of consumers expect a response from brands on social—yet many brands still ghost or automate in ways that feel robotic. And while 51% of companies are now using GenAI for community responses, efficiency isn’t a replacement for authenticity.
That’s why social-first brands are investing in scalable ways to create personalized interactions, even across large audiences. Expect to see more brands adopting layered response models—AI for triage, human for nuance.
Content: Don’t Get Starstruck—Get Strategic
Influencers aren’t optional—they’re expected. But too many brands are chasing celebrity endorsements that cost more and deliver less. Deloitte’s report highlights that while 81% of brands still prioritize mega creators, the real ROI comes from micro and mid-tier creators, where 48% of social-first brands say they see their best returns.
Here’s the kicker: consumers follow nearly twice as many creators (13) as they do brands (7). That means if your brand voice only lives on your owned channels, you’re missing the broader conversation—and the conversions.
Format Matters
Choosing the right voice is only half the battle. Choosing the proper format is just as critical. ListenFirst’s analysis of the best-performing S&P 500 content reveals key insights:
| Rank | Brand | Platform | Format | Engagements | Response Rate* |
| 1 | Mastercard | Reel | 973,326 | 407.5% | |
| 2 | Smuckers | TikTok | Gallery | 3,274 | 182.5% |
| 3 | Henry Schein | Image | 10,969 | 57.0% | |
| 4 | The Walt Disney Co | Link | 4,244 | 36.6% | |
| 5 | Grindr | X | Text | 51,445 | 12.1% |
Luxury Fashion
Despite an average benchmark engagement of just 3,522, brands like Calvin Klein and Gucci surpassed 2M engagements using TikTok and Instagram video and gallery formats.
Top cultural collabs that performed:
| Brand | Partner | Engagement Rate | Format | Platform |
| Gucci | Jin (BTS) | 6.43% | Video | TikTok |
| Jacquemus | Central Cee | 5.65% | Video | TikTok |
| Calvin Klein | Cha Eun-woo | 5.01% | Gallery | |
| Dior | Unknown Creator | 4.77% | Reel |
Conversion: From Likes to Leads
According to Deloitte, most brands are meeting only 69% of their social media business objectives. That stat cuts to the heart of the conversion challenge: social is too often measured in vanity metrics, leaving its true business impact unaccounted for.
This isn’t a strategy gap. It’s a measurement failure.
Social-first brands are tying platform performance to tangible business outcomes—traffic, purchases, app installs, RSVPs, and more. ListenFirst’s vertical data offers further insight:
- Instagram drove 91% of new followers in Pet, Home & Hardware
- TikTok and Instagram together made up 76.4% of all engagement
- Video accounted for 67% of all cross-platform engagement in early 2025
- YouTube led video views with 59.2%, ahead of TikTok and Facebook
- TikTok had the highest response rates for hardware brands—especially with evening posts
Conversion isn’t just about clicks—it’s about aligning content to funnel stages:
| Platform | Role in Funnel |
| Product discovery + trust | |
| TikTok | Cultural spark + action |
| YouTube | Product deep dive + loyalty |
| Retargeting + reminder | |
| X | Low value for most B2C brands |
Brands that map content strategy to these roles aren’t just getting seen—they’re converting.
Strategy Wins. Not Scale.
The brands thriving in 2025 aren’t just throwing more money at social. They’re doing fewer things—smarter. They’re choosing collaborators based on resonance, not reach. They’re shifting spend away from legacy platforms and toward formats that move people. And above all, they’re measuring success in outcomes, not optics.
Social isn’t a separate strategy anymore—it’s the connective tissue between brand, audience, and business growth.
Want to See Where You Stack Up?
Whether you’re optimizing creator strategy, testing content formats, or finally tying engagement to conversion—ListenFirst can help:
- 📊 Benchmark your brand against top performers in your category
- 🌟 Identify quick wins across platforms and content types
- 🚀 Track full-funnel performance, from first impression to final click
Let’s turn your social investment into real-world results.
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