Post Performance Report: Brands building a presence on unexpected platforms

We’re back with another installment of the Post Performance Report (PPR)—a series where we compile and analyze social media posts and campaigns inspiring us, and break down what makes them so genius. We unpack how your brand can use these examples to spark your own scroll-stopping creative ideas—while maximizing your budget and doing more with less.

We don’t just examine the flawless creative execution of every post or campaign, but the business impact, too. We help you envision how social can increase your brand’s awareness, foster community engagement and grow the bottom line.

This month, we’re spotlighting brands staking their claim in unexpected platforms. The 2025 Sprout Social Index™ found that marketers’ greatest fear is audiences moving to private, closed or otherwise alternative platforms. But network diversification isn’t a distant fear—it’s already happening. In response to bans, boycotts and shakeups, consumers are spending more time on experimental and often niche networks. The Q1 2025 Sprout Pulse Survey found that 36% of marketers say their audience is starting to spend more time on emerging platforms like Threads, Bluesky, Lemon8 and Mastodon.

These brands provide excellent examples of what it takes to thrive in uncertain landscapes, and can help inspire you to explore uncharted territories.

Netflix: Holding space on Bluesky, Snapchat & Threads

When it comes to Netflix’s social presence, we only have one question: “Where aren’t they?” The streaming giant is active on emerging and established platforms alike. According to The 2024 Content Strategy Report, 38% of consumers plan to use more platforms and want brands to show up on all of them.

While that’s a tall order, Netflix makes it work by repurposing content across similar platforms. For example, on Bluesky, they share static images promoting their latest releases.

Then, they reshare those same posts (or slightly modified versions) on Threads.

On video-centric platforms like Snapchat, they reshare content from platforms like Reels.

That doesn’t mean they cross-post their entire content calendar, or never create network-specific content. Instead, they consider the specific audiences and culture of each platform, and repurpose when it makes sense.

Across Bluesky, Snapchat and Threads, Netflix US has over 8 million followers. While a percentage are probably repeat followers, they might not see Netflix in their algorithm on every platform. Which means strategically repurposing content results in a better effort to engagement ratio.

In Q4 2024, Netflix reported a record number of subscribers, bringing their subscriber count up to 300 million worldwide. This impressive growth is supported by the hype the brand builds for their programming across so many different global social platforms, including with their new Moments feature that allows fans to share their favorite clips across networks.

The play: For enterprise brands, it can be overwhelming to keep up with such a large audience—appeasing a seemingly endless appetite for content. Strategically repurposing content can help you stay top-of-mind and breakthrough on algorithms, without overextending your bandwidth.

MECCA: Snapchatting to the top

MECCA is Australia and New Zealand’s top beauty retailer. With over 100 stores throughout the two countries, MECCA remains the top choice beauty destination—despite formidable global competition.

On Snapchat, the brand creates lenses their followers use to virtually try-on different products, like foundation and lipstick shades. Other lenses help customers build their own customized skincare routines.

MECCA was the first retailer in Australia to debut lenses powered by AR technology. The brand introduced the lenses to bring their product catalog to Gen Z audiences. Gen Z consumers say Snapchat is among the three platforms they use most often, per the Q2 2024 Sprout Pulse Survey.

When MECCA first launched their lenses, the brand reported a five-point increase in brand awareness (with an 11-point increase among 18-to-20-year-olds), a 10-point increase in action intent and a one-and-a-half times increase in playtime.

The play: MECCA first opened its doors in 1997. As the brand approaches three decades in business, its success has reached an all-time high. But the playbook that got the brand to this level, won’t be the same one they can rely on to chart the next chapter. MECCA has done an excellent job experimenting on new channels to increase awareness among younger consumers—a move other brands should emulate.

Louis Vuitton: Gamifying engagement on Discord

French luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton is in their gaming era. Since 1854, the brand and its famous monogram have been elevating the art of travel and influencing global fashion. Now Louis Vuitton has been established as the fashion maison to beat when it comes to online gaming.

The brand recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of the launch of their Discord server. Discord is an instant messaging, voice and video communication social platform popular in the online gaming community (though it’s growing in other niches, too). Louis Vuitton’s server is a community forum that offers various conversation threads—ranging from virtual reality, gaming, Web3, technology, and arts and culture—while also debuting exclusive brand content and partnerships.

To celebrate their recent one-year milestone on the platform, Louis Vuitton launched an immersive digital game called Enigma. The game challenged their 8,000-member strong Discord community to find their beloved mascot Vivianne by solving a series of riddles over a five-day period. Digital experiences like Enigma further underscore the brand’s investment in building online communities, especially with NFT owners.

Even as some luxury brands show signs of a downturn, powerhouse Louis Vuitton continues to thrive and drive revenue for parent company LVMH. The brand is especially popular with Millennials and Gen Z, a signal of how well Louis Vuitton builds cultural resonance on digital channels.

The play: Today’s social media ecosystem is made up of many networks with unique algorithms, content formats and audiences. Consumers use all of them to meet their needs for connection and consumption. Even platforms like Discord that probably aren’t on most brands’ radar.

You don’t always have to follow industry norms when determining which channels you should invest in. Take inspiration from Louis Vuitton, and tap into network white space, following the lead of influencers and creators breaking through on new channels.

Google: Tying up loose Threads regarding product updates

As the most popular search engine in the world, a leader in cloud technology, and the company at the helm of AI and other software development, saying Google has a plethora of offerings would be an understatement.

The brand uses Threads to keep its customers and nearly 5 billion users worldwide up to date on product developments. Their posts highlight key changes and link out to full articles where their followers can read the details.

With nearly 3 million followers on the app, Google maximizes the opportunity to connect with Threads’ growing audience—never missing a chance to meet their audience across touchpoints.

The play: When testing out your Threads strategy, don’t overthink it. The platform invites lower-lift content, like text-based posts, links to articles and static images. That means you can invest in Threads without divesting from other networks already core to your strategy

CTV News: Breaking news on Bluesky

CTV News is part of Canada’s largest privately owned television network, and is among the top sources Canadians turn to for breaking news. The network has recently taken their journalism to Bluesky, where they report on current events in real-time.

CTV News has different Bluesky accounts for each Canadian region they report on (though they haven’t posted from every account yet).

Almost all of their posts follow the same formula: a one-to two-sentence recap of a story paired with the link to the full article. The content is cross-posted on other networks like X and Facebook.

When Bluesky experienced rapid growth at the end of 2024 (reaching more than 25 million users), CTV seized the opportunity to reach audiences—while maintaining their communities on other platforms. Networks like CTV need to show up throughout their audience’s content ecosystem to maintain relevance.

The play: More than half of brands (52%) say they already post on Bluesky, and another 30% plan to start, according to the Q1 2025 Sprout Pulse Survey. Another 57% said their posting strategy on the platform will focus on repurposing content from other networks. Take a cue from CTV and other brands leading the charge on Bluesky by cross-posting text-based posts and articles.

Creator Spotlight: Feed Me satiates audiences on Substack

While very few brands have tried publishing their own Substack content yet, the long-form content platform has become an oasis for influencers and creators and their loyal followings.

Like the Feed Me newsletter, authored by journalist, writer and creator Emily Sundberg. The newsletter centers around tech and finance news, lifestyle content, media gossip and restaurant intel, among other topics. Feed Me first launched in 2020, and now boasts more than 50,000 subscribers.

Sundberg and the newsletter have garnered potent internet buzz, a sign of the emerging legitimacy of Substack creators (and creators in general) as authors, journalists and curators of culture.

In 2024, Sundberg worked on 10 different brand collaborations—all of which led to highly engaged posts, per her self-reported data—including this post she authored for Free People.

The play: Collaborating with established creators on emerging platforms can be an effective way to engage audiences. By leveraging the influence of their personal brand, you can tap into existing communities and conversations, particularly on platforms like Substack where creators have cultivated a dedicated following. This approach allows you to bypass the challenges of building an audience from scratch. Substack’s long-form content also gives brands more room to tell their story and spotlight experts.

Note: Marketers should remember that creators understand the nuances of these platforms better than they do, and they need creative freedom to craft posts that perform.

Mastering the shift to emerging platforms

That wraps up this month’s installment of PPR. Stay tuned for next month, where we’ll be focusing on our favorite influencer marketing campaigns of the year so far. In the meantime, remember these key takeaways:

And if you see a social post or campaign that deserves to be highlighted, tag us @sproutsocial and use #PostPerformanceReport to have your idea included in a future article.