PPR special edition: The best brands on social media in 2025 (so far)

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 don’t just examine the flawless creative execution of every post or campaign, but the business impact, too.

In this surprise midyear lineup, we’re sharing the best brands on social media in 2025 so far, according to members of Team Sprout. The ones that stopped us mid-scroll, that we shared with our friends, family and colleagues, and were so good and unexpected we couldn’t stop talking about them.

Some of these brands might look familiar, as they’re staples on the Insights blog. But others are local gems and niche treasures. Without further adieu, here are our choices for best brands, campaigns and moments of 2025, listed by industry.

Food & beverage brands making a splash in unexpected ways

When you picture food and beverage marketing, usually mouth-watering professional images come to mind. Maybe the occasional irreverent or sexually explicit brand voice. But our favorite, most memorable brands this year found their stride doing something unexpected.

McDonald’s gives us an earnest social media moment

McDonald’s has earned a reputation for their wittiness and online culture savvy on social media. But to mark the announcement of the long-awaited return of their Chicken Snack Wrap, the brand took an unfamiliar and unexpected approach. In a note shared on LinkedIn (and repurposed across other channels), the McDonald’s social media team pulled back the curtain.

In the post, the social team explained how community demands for the return of the Snack Wrap are what ultimately brought it back—from the fan accounts to the thousands of messages. The post wracked up thousands of engagements across channels, and led to countless conversations across traditional and emerging networks.

McDonald’s used community reactions from the announcement to fuel other parts of the launch, too—like their Facebook header image and intro.

Some speculate the return of the Snack Wrap was a response to competitors rolling out their own versions of the meal. Either way, when McDonald’s announced the return, competitors came out swinging. But their antics were overshadowed by the sincere internet moment McDonald’s created, suggesting the future belongs to those who listen, not those who @mention.

The play: Brands like McDonald’s are pioneering a new strategy on social: building in public. The approach works so well because it shows your community you’re listening to them and fosters brand transparency. According to the Q2 2025 Sprout Pulse Survey, consumers say the boldest brands on social are the most honest ones. How can you show your community you’re listening to them and applying their feedback? Take a cue from McDonald’s approach.

Oatly’s groundbreaking Spring/Summer 2025 Look Book

Oatly, self-dubbed the original oat milk brand, has long been a trendsetter. But this spring, they made it official when they rolled out their fashion week-inspired campaign. The Spring/Summer 2025 Oatly Look Book showcased their favorite recipes using their products in an artistic, chic and luxe way.

The campaign integrated their oat beverages and the top coffee, tea and non-alcoholic beverage trends online today—including ube matcha, salty banana split and cherry bakewell dirty soda. Every new “look” came complete with a full recipe.

This campaign was the latest effort from the Swedish brand to bring fresh creative direction to their social content. Oatly recently shared that one-third of its content is actually created by influencers. Like their influencer content, their Look Book demonstrates just how tapped in they are to online trends, while still staying true to their distinct brand voice and dreamy aesthetic.

Oatly’s keen eye for groundbreaking creativity has a purpose: Make plant-based milk en vogue again. After years in the spotlight, plant milks are being overshadowed by the whole milk movement. The Look Book campaign is part of a larger effort to dispel misinformation surrounding moderately processed foods, improve functionality of their products and, ultimately, tie back their brand to climate impact.

The play: When you scroll through Oatly’s profile, it feels fresh and original. They aren’t overly fixated on trends, but are clearly intentional about their brand image. When crafting your own creative direction, don’t copy and paste from other food blogs or influencers. Carve out a space that feels distinctly your own, and is rooted in your brand’s overall purpose.

Surreal Cereal: The unusual LinkedIn darling

Surreal Cereal, the high protein, low sugar cereal, uses LinkedIn to draw attention to its latest product launches, brand partnerships, out-of-home advertising campaigns and to comment on the oddities of office culture.

Surreal Cereal uses LinkedIn in the most unusual, standout way we’ve ever seen. They write meandering 35-slide carousels that dare the viewer to stop reading. Yet, they weave in the product somehow, on one of the very last slides.

The surprising nature of both Surreal Cereal’s content and their platform of choice is more calculated than it seems. According to The 2024 Content Strategy Report, almost half of Gen X and Millennials use LinkedIn—yet, there’s only one incredibly memorable cereal brand on the platform.

The play: If you’re getting lost in the algorithm, try cultivating community on new networks. The key to replicating a strategy like Surreal Cereal’s is maintaining your brand voice and aligning with your audience’s interests. That doesn’t mean strictly following platform norms. In fact, it can mean just the opposite.

Red Lobster: Plotting a TikTok turnaround

Red Lobster is charting toward a comeback for the ages. The seafood casual chain landed in hot water after a bankruptcy at the end of last year. But now the brand is skyrocketing thanks to visionary leadership and expert use of social.

For example, when the brand unveiled their new seafood boils, they received millions of views. But the true pearl of Red Lobster’s strategy is their new, incredibly charming CEO, Damola Adamolekun. Adamolekun became internet famous when he introduced himself, alongside all of the new offerings and old favorites that are coming back in a social video. Let’s just say he’s the internet’s favorite CEO—partly because he’s been such a central figure in the restaurant chain’s rebrand.

He regularly appears in social media videos, press interviews and more. While getting your execs in front of the camera isn’t always within your control, it is literally making all of the difference for Red Lobster (a case study that you can use to demonstrate efficacy). It’s worth noting that the approach Adamolekun and the entire Red Lobster team has taken is very much rooted in customer feedback.

What’s equally interesting is the content style Red Lobster is introducing. While they formerly stuck to lo-fi content, this new era is defined by something in between—neither TV quality or lo-fi content popularized on social. This middle ground is incredibly polished, while still feeling social first, and has resulted in the best performing content Red Lobster has ever published.

The play: While there isn’t a clear-cut path out of bankruptcy for any brand, it’s safe to say Red Lobster took the path less traveled by. Going all-in on social—from collecting customer feedback to introducing their new CEO—took faith in its power. There are times when the old guard doesn’t recognize what social can offer. Help them see things differently by using examples like Red Lobster’s comeback.

Electronics & technology companies who let humans shine

When you Google “how do tech companies use social media?,” the first result tells social marketers to post about products, services and research developments.

Technically yes, that’s true, they should do that. But it’s just as (if not more) important to showcase how these advancements help humans—putting people at the center of the story.

Humanizing a brand on social is key to fostering trust. Here are brands putting the person back in personal technology.

Currys: Going all-in on employee-led original content

Currys is the leading omnichannel retailer of technology products and services in the UK and Ireland. The first Currys store opened in 1884 as a bicycle-building business. Like personal technology, the brand has grown and evolved greatly in the past 140+ years.

Currys is a case study in how to bring an established brand into the social media sphere by appealing to audience interests, humanizing the brand and establishing trust with new generations. They go all-in on employee-led content and do it well, entertaining their audience at every turn.

The formula goes far beyond just showcasing their products and employees. Currys uses a specific flavor of humor and trending formats (when they make sense for their brand) to illustrate their grasp of online culture. But the truly legendary part of their formula is their employees—from their delivery and comedic timing, to how much fun they seem to be having making the content.

The brand boasts 462 million followers on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, the top platforms for Gen Z. Their exceptional online presence may be translating to increased brand awareness and revenue by prompting more people to visit their stores.

The play: Understanding your audience—their interests, sense of humor and niches—is the most important part of creating a social strategy. Take a cue from Currys and embed your content with nods to cultural touchstones that resonate with your audience. Note: This method isn’t reserved for Gen Z. You can use humor and inside jokes to reach Millennials, Gen X and Boomers.

Canva: Influencers and creators bring the hype to product roll-outs

Canva’s design platform offers templates and tools for creating graphics across marketing channels. The Australian brand is especially beloved by marketers, like the ones who created this list.

Apart from their product capabilities, Canva understands how to speak about their technology in a way that conveys value to their day-to-day users. They do a great job of sharing feature updates without getting caught in the technical jargon spiral. Their creator-led content demonstrates how real people use their tools everyday to make stunning visual content, get organized, and go beyond what they thought was possible with their graphic design or coding abilities.

Rolling out feature updates in a way that feels uniquely human has helped Canva earn a reputation for useful, reliable innovation their community actually asks for. From their OpenAI integration to spreadsheet and coding expansion, Canva users trust that new platform features meet their business needs.

The play: Whether you sell clothing or technology, are B2B or B2C, your consumers are people. Resist the temptation to stuff your social posts and campaigns full of jargon. Instead, focus on the day-to-day needs of your customers.

Cisco: The faces of #TechTok

Cisco is a software, network and cybersecurity solutions provider. The company proves even highly technical brands can find their niche on TikTok when they share product education content that’s fun, relatable and approachable, and puts people at the forefront.

Like this video, where the Cisco team tackles corporate cliches and colloquialisms like full-stack development, back-end development and fixing server bugs—in the most literal ways possible.

Or this video exemplifying the way it feels to complete a Cisco certification.

The Cisco team also conducts on-site interviews with different members across the company to get their takes on the future of cybersecurity.

Through their people-first content approach, Cisco has amassed nearly 148,000 followers and more than 1 million likes on TikTok.

The play: There’s a place on social for brands of all industries, even on networks typically dominated by B2C companies. To succeed, brands need to bring an element of human-led storytelling to their content.

Microsoft: Sailing around the world with Oliver Widger and Copilot

When Oliver Widger and his cat Phoenix set sail for Hawaii from Oregon, the duo quickly won over millions of people on social. Fans and followers were on the edge of their seats as they made their way across the Pacific Ocean, growing more endeared with each new video.

Social users weren’t the only ones who noticed. Microsoft took advantage of Widger’s audience calling for him to “get paid,” and were the first to secure a brand deal with him. In Widger’s video about Copilot, Microsoft’s AI companion, he used the software to create an AI-generated image of a “rugged man arriving in Hawaii surrounded by chicks”— chickens, that is.

On TikTok, the heartwarming, joyful video received 1.2 million views, 162,000 likes and almost 5,000 comments from users enthusiastically praising the partnership.

The success of the feel-good moment speaks to audiences’ appetite for optimistic, happy content. The Q2 2025 Sprout Pulse Survey found that 60% of consumers say social media has had a positive impact on their mental health in the last six months, and that rises to around 70% for both Millennials and Gen Z.

Not only was this partnership fun, it was also strategic. Microsoft has been positioning Copilot as a technology that makes people’s lives better and leaves them feeling more supported. By aligning their brand with a creator like Widger, they did just that.

The play: Some might wonder what the long-term payoff is of working with a viral creator. With the rapid-fire trend cycle, could it be a flash in the pan success? While that’s always a risk, the reason Microsoft and Widger’s partnership worked so well is because it had a singular goal: increase awareness of Copilot. As Widger said in the video, the goal was to get 10,000 people to download the app. While we don’t know for sure if that goal was achieved, many people commented that this was the first time they’ve heard of Copilot or interacted with sponsored content, for that matter. When partnering with macroinfluencers, tying your campaign to top of funnel goals leads to the most meaningful outputs.

Government organizations having fun on social

Government organizations have a critical responsibility to meet the needs of their constituents, which includes showing up on social. Despite the seriousness of their work, their social media content doesn’t always have to be. When it’s appropriate, humor is the best way for government organizations to extend the reach of important messages.

Here are a few of our favorite government agencies rewriting the rules on social.

LA Metro: Transportation for the people (on social)

LA Metro uses social to educate citizens about the nation’s second-largest transit network, right there in LA. While car culture and freeways dominate the LA headlines, the LA Metro System sees one million boardings every week. LA Metro uses social to counter the pervasive narrative that “nobody” rides transit in LA.

In 2024, the authority’s campaign, “Transportation for the People,” won a Shorty Award and played a key role in helping ridership reach prepandemic levels. The campaign featured regular updates on stops under construction, ASMR-style videos of cleaning buses and trains (based on rider feedback that they are “dirty”), and the friendly faces who were regulars on the buses and trains. And when the media who shamed LA for proclaiming the 2028 Olympics would be car-free, the organization clapped back by sharing maps of the already extensive networks of railways.

This year, LA Metro is building on their success by partnering with influencers and creators to expand awareness around their efforts, like new stations opening up, free days and public events hosted in their stations.

The play: Social media can change public sentiment. It’s one of the most vital tools for reaching constituents with information and disproving misinformation. Take a cue from LA Metro, and use social to change hearts and minds.

TSA: Using social to become friend, not foe

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is a US government agency dedicated to protecting all modes of transportation, including highways, railroads, mass transit systems and, most famously, airports.

Their role is an undeniably important one. But on social, they’re known for being a “princess of puns,” as their Instagram bio declares.

The play: TSA understands transportation compliance isn’t the most exciting topic. Many travelers find the airport screening process irksome. By bringing humor to the relationship between the agency and airline passengers, TSA can more effectively highlight rules and regulations. If your brand is part of a “serious” industry or deals with a high volume of consumer feedback, consider how you can address common complaints or questions with levity.

National Park Service: Let us edutaine you

The National Park Service (NPS) manages all natural, historic and recreational properties in the US. Meant to protect wildlife, monuments and the people who visit them, the agency has a big job.

On social, the NPS shares facts about animals to encourage people to keep a safe distance. They also feature park rangers, picture-perfect moments and general facts about nature. But they do it with a distinct flair that is undeniably entertaining.

We find ourselves resharing posts from the NPS with fellow friends and colleagues who work in communications and marketing. The agency finds ways of sharing information in the most unexpected ways, and they’re incredibly self-aware of the buzz their posts create online.

The play: NPS packages educational content in a humorous, entertaining way. Using the NPS as inspiration, use edutaining posts to create awareness and build an enduring community.

Retail brands creating culture

According to the Q2 2025 Sprout Pulse Survey, 76% of all consumers say social media—including ads, influencer posts and brand content—has influenced some percentage of their purchases over the past six months. This rises to 90% for Gen Z and 84% for Millennials.

While social is critical to all industries, retail brands see the most direct link between their online presence and the bottom line. The 2024 Social Media Content Strategy Report found that consumers are most likely to buy when they see a product or service in action, reinforcing social’s role as the modern shopping mall. Yet, platforms are reaching a point of max saturation, pushing retail social marketers to a point of creative fatigue.

Our favorite retail brands are blazing their own trail—carving out their own cultural moments and embedding themselves into trends in an unrepeatable way.

Nike: Breaking4 on the world stage

Nike is the brand athletes partner with when they dream big. From Michael Jordan to Serena Williams, the GOATs all wear the swoosh. Faith Kipyegon is no different. As the fastest woman in the world, Kipyegon recently attempted to break the four minute mile—a feat many believed was impossible.

Nike supported Kipyegon’s moonshoot by optimizing every aspect of her Breaking4 attempt—from shoe design to track conditions. The event, and all of its leadup, were captured and live-streamed by the brand on social.

While Kipyegon came just a few seconds shy of achieving her goal, conversation around the event resulted in $5.3 million in earned media value, 831 million potential impressions, 989,000 engagements and a 93% positive sentiment, according to Sprout Social Listening data. A huge win for Nike. The campaign didn’t just inspire their followers or customers, or even the running community—it inspired the world.

The Breaking4 event and social buzz played an important role in helping Nike regain ground as the ultimate sports and performance brand. After slight performance dropoffs last year, the brand has pivoted their approach and is getting back to their roots: sports-first strategy and athlete-driven storytelling. Hosting Breaking4, a cultural event primed for the social era, illustrates that they’re on the right track.

The play: What is your brand’s why? Throwing money at an event or an awareness campaign can seem like the best play to recoup share of voice in crowded spaces. But it’s critical to consider how your efforts tie back to brand storytelling and your values. You must also consider if you’re telling that story in a way that resonates with your audience.

Jacquemus: Bringing surrealism to social

French label Jacquemus is as famous for its surrealist content on social media as it is for whimsical designs inspired by Parisian fashion. Their social presence is a core part of their brand identity, and plays a focal role in maintaining their relevance.

Jacquemus’ social content makes the user question what they just saw. It’s like an Easter egg hunt, wondering what weird thing you’re going to find next. Their style of video content scratches dopamine receptors in viewers’ brains. While other brands have famously succeeded at delivering surrealism, Jacquemus’ take feels fresh.

Jacquemus’ global growth—with newly established stores in Los Angeles—points to the success of their digital-first approach. The fashion label’s meteoric and sustained rise is in stark contrast to other luxury retailers, as the sector continues to see persistent struggles.

The play: Social shouldn’t be just another box to check in your marketing strategy. The brands who break through put social at the center of everything they do. What happens on social—including content, community engagement and trendspotting—should inform everything else.

Hospitality & transportation brands delivering top-tier customer engagement

The #1 thing brands should prioritize on social media in 2025 is interacting with audiences, according to the consumers we surveyed for our Q2 2025 Sprout Pulse Survey.

What does that look like in practice? While it can mean customer care and customer service, it also means “getting” your audience and building community around your brand. Consumers want to feel understood—from their sense of humor and inside jokes to their tastes and preferences to their needs across the journey.

If there’s one thing these hospitality and transportation brands know how to do, it’s make people feel welcome.

Hilton: Saving stays (and taking them to the next level)

In 2022, hotelier Hilton first launched the “Stay Saves” campaign on social. One of the most notable saves from the early days was helping a man who booked a tiny home for four people and two dogs get a free stay in a nearby Hilton.

The viral moment put the campaign on the map, but it wasn’t until 2024 that it became an award-winning one. Even now, Hilton continues to build on the campaign infrastructure and turn their campaign into a complete customer experience—one that starts in social DMs and bleeds into the real world.

This year, they launched the “Hilton Saved My Stay” three-part paid series which featured some of the best save stories they mined from social and hilarious reenactments. The original series even landed a mention in Adweek.

While the campaign’s execution is enough to earn a place on this list, the true victory is the way it ties back to business impact. The rise of boutique hotels and short-term rentals in the past decade has threatened to shift consumer sentiment around major hotel brands. But, as some consumers have found out the hard way, not booking with a brand like Hilton can result in unexpected (scary) surprises.

This campaign demonstrates the Hilton team’s strong grasp of social listening, and the magic that happens when you bring those insights to your content in fun ways.

The play: Tapping into social audience insights uncovers the sentiments, preferences and pain points shaping your audience’s point of view—helping you make both better content and smarter business decisions. Take a cue from Hilton and delve into social listening to bring verbatim voice of the customer feedback about your brand (or the competition) to your content.

JetBlue: Elevating surprise and delight

Airline JetBlue has a reputation for being an affordable option. And, in this economy, that isn’t a bad rap. But despite their low prices, the airline packs in major value—online and IRL.

Like when they surprised LinkedIn influencer Bryan MacDonald with a note for his birthday, which let him know that he’d be receiving free food, drinks, blankets, etc. in honor of his special day. Plus birthday best wishes from the entire crew. MacDonald posted about what this treatment meant to him, and even shared that he’d never fly with another airline again.

The attention JetBlue paid MacDonald might have had something to do with their own anniversary this year. To celebrate 25 years, the brand has been rolling out customer deals, and making a big deal out of birthdays.

On social, the airline also gives special shout outs to their customers, like when they featured a customer-drawn doodle from a recent flight or surprised customers with Celtics tickets.

The play: Small gestures mean a lot to customers. As community engagement continues to be what social users look for from brands, now is the time to develop a surprise-and-delight strategy if you haven’t already.

Amtrak: Rolling over other modes of travel

While a lot of brands are jumping on trends or piggybacking off of cultural moments (which has a time and place), Amtrak impresses by being as unique—and sometimes bizarre—as possible. Their brand personality comes through so vividly in their content, something fans of the train service adore. Like in this video, where they call upon monster truck racing promotional techniques.

The video prompted almost 50,000 shares across platforms and garnered comments from users absolutely losing it over the content. As one person said, “This is the internet the way God intended.”

Amtrak has a knack for entertaining their audiences on social, while still educating them about the benefits of rail travel. Whether it’s an Amtrak train ambiance meditation, a highlight of the views on their coastal journeys or clip art-derived inspiration.

Amtrak’s social strategy succeeds at helping them expand their audience. The monster truck-inspired video alone helped them pick up 50,000 new followers, pushing travelers to see that train travel in the US is something they should consider.

The play: The Amtrak team recognized that nostalgia around monster truck racing—a mode of entertainment that drew many different kinds of people together—would unite Millennials, Gen Z and even Gen Alpha. That’s a great example of how understanding internet culture isn’t the same as jumping on every trend. In your own content, consider what cultural insights you can draw upon to craft something legendary.

Nonprofit spotlight: The art of building original content

Social media saturation is making it harder for marketers to keep up with content production pressures and find imaginative ways to cut through the noise. Original content offers a solution to achieve reach and relevance. Per The Sprout Social Index™, nearly four in 10 consumers say the most memorable brands on social prioritize original content over jumping on trends.

Here are a few of our favorite nonprofits lighting the way for brands of all sizes.

Hamilton Humane: Saving lives, one animal at a time

Hamilton Humane is an animal shelter near Indianapolis, Indiana, that prides itself on being open admission and no-kill. Because they admit so many animals, the shelter is under even more pressure to find each animal a loving home. That’s where their social presence comes in.

That’s why they do such an incredible job telling each pet’s story to help them get adopted. In their posts, the shelter introduces the animals in detail. To say these photos and captions pull at the heartstrings is an understatement.

They also mix in some news, with adoption updates on the pets who found homes, and partner with local businesses to put on (and promote) events that tie back to their mission in a fun way.

The play: The best original content amplifies your brand’s mission or purpose. For nonprofit organizations like Hamilton Humane, this is a great opportunity to introduce the people and animals you serve.

The Crab Museum: Contextualizing crabs meme-by-meme

The Crab Museum in Margate, England, is Europe’s #1 crab museum (and the continent’s only crab museum, per our research). As their Instagram bio says, the museum is a “satisfyingly baffling tourist attraction.”

On social, the brand has gained a following by leaning into absurdity and meme culture. Their posts center around their passion for crabs and educating people about “crab facts,” mainly by crafting their own unique brand of memes. They also take on environmental and social causes using the same recognizable content format.

The Crab Museum has won awards for their online presence, been recognized for their social media efforts by major media publications like The New York Times and The Guardian, and saw 80,000 visitors in 2024.

The play: Creating your own original content and franchises, it can seem labor intensive. But leaning into memes and static posts makes it more accessible.

Look for inspiration across brands and industries through the rest of 2025

That wraps up our mid-year article. What a potent reminder of the inspiration social marketers can find across industries, organization types, company sizes and countries.

Stay tuned for our regularly scheduled edition of PPR where we’ll be focusing on the best sports marketing social content. In the meantime, remember these key takeaways: