Welcome again to Put up Efficiency Report—a collection the place we compile and analyze social media posts and campaigns inspiring us, and break down what makes them so genius. We don’t simply look at the flawless artistic execution of each put up or marketing campaign, however the model influence, too.
This time, we’re going to give attention to the good debate of 2026, AI content material. We’re residing within the age of infinite creation to match the infinite scroll we’re already used to. However as content material turns into simpler to provide at scale, analysis means that what audiences are prioritizing is human-generated content material. In truth, our This fall 2025 Pulse Survey discovered that this was the factor individuals needed to see most from manufacturers’ social media.
Right here, we’re going to take a look at a number of the manufacturers which might be doing it effectively, beginning with Nationwide Rail.
Nationwide Rail creator partnership tugs on the heartstrings
Trains and tea; title me a extra British, human-centered expertise, I’m completely satisfied to attend!
Nationwide Rail is the primary umbrella model that sits over all Britain’s railways. Usually, the model’s Instagram web page, which has 26k followers, options photos or movies of locations which you can attain via Britain’s railway community, from London to Edinburgh and York to Newcastle, encouraging customers to avoid wasting these locations as inspiration for later.
These posts are the spine of the model’s Instagram technique, however an actual human second introduced the practice model runaway success due to a collaboration with a well known British creator to have fun 200 years of British railways.
Nationwide Rail partnered with William Shears, who runs the “a_mug_of_life” account. The idea of William’s present is to share a cup of tea and a chat with a stranger, and this time he took that collection to the practice, sharing a brew with two passengers and listening to their life tales within the course of.
The posts featured John and James, who shared tales from their life, together with working for the railway, visiting grandchildren and childhood recollections. The posts tie all the pieces again to the distinctive expertise of practice journey and the ”conversations, likelihood encounters and the form of tales you solely hear when two strangers find yourself in the identical carriage.”
The miniseries clearly resonated. Nationwide Rail’s posts usually get a couple of dozen engagements per put up, however the two posts with these tales mixed for greater than 50,000 likes, to say nothing of the supportive feedback they obtained.
The play: Nationwide Rail has a novel place within the UK of interacting with a cross-section of the entire nation, with lots of of locations and causes for journey. Every a kind of passengers has a narrative to inform, and a motive for driving the practice.
Not each model could have as various a person base as a rail firm, however each certainly one of your clients has a narrative to inform, a motive why your model is part of their life. Hunt down those that are keen to inform that story, maybe through a partnership with a content material creator, and discover these resonant, human moments amongst the on a regular basis.
Airbnb goes large with Sabrina Carpenter
Neither Airbnb nor pop sensation want any introduction, however their partnership is worthy of word if we’re on the lookout for curated human moments that stand out. The holiday rental firm lately launched its Experiences, which permit locals to host vacationers to get to know the a part of the world they’re staying in a little bit higher by experiencing one thing distinctive to that a part of the world, from meals excursions to historic ruins and cocktail bars.
To advertise this launch, Airbnb partnered with a variety of celebrities together with, in fact, Sabrina Carpenter. Carpenter hosted one session herself, whereas a tour of her recreated set was additionally supplied on the finish of final yr.
The success of this social story depends on the factor of shock, with the singer making an unscheduled look on the Quick n’ Candy expertise for attendees that had been studying her dances and getting a makeover from her staff.
The emotion the following impromptu slumber social gathering induced resonated with social customers, driving vital engagement for Airbnb. The video that includes the occasion has been considered greater than one million instances on TikTok, and earned greater than 120k engagements.
The play: In the event you’ve acquired one thing to shout about, do it loudly, and seize individuals’s actual reactions.
Airbnb took an enormous swing to advertise their new product providing with an enormous title, nevertheless it was the reactions of the individuals—the shock, the screaming, the crying, the laughing, that made it significant. Seize these moments and construct connections.
LEGO builds a showcase to spotlight new units
Requiring minute consideration to element, time-consuming, typically irritating. All issues which might be the direct reverse of the targets of AI however may simply describe the method of constructing a LEGO set, and LEGO leaned into that status with certainly one of its extra profitable social posts of the previous few months.
Towards the tip of the yr, the model posted a teaser for its “Jan brick drops,” which featured half a dozen meticulously designed and constructed LEGO units together with the Parisian cityscape, cherry blossom panorama and a race automobile in partnership with Ford.
It was the element that captured individuals’s consideration right here, with customers commenting with delight on small issues they’d seen in regards to the units. Showcasing real-world examples of constructing, and consciously reveling within the time they’d take to assemble, can each be big benefits within the age of infinite scroll.
The play: Don’t be ashamed to showcase the gradual.
Whataburger retains it easy with the social media apology development
Human-generated content material doesn’t need to be difficult. In truth, its simplicity and lack of polish is satirically what could make it stand out within the age of hyper-professional trying AI content material.
Whataburger leaned into that because it joined the apology development and apologized for a number of the issues it has induced its clients. This development takes and accelerates the “Notes app apology” that was widespread within the days of character limits on social networks, in addition to the usual company apology template, and playfully reimagines it for a branded humblebrag.
Right here, Whataburger apologized for “11p.m. drives triggered by a single picture of melty cheese,” “complete calendars rearranged the second we introduced again a fan-favorite sandwich” and way more.
One benefit of this sort of posting is that it prompted the group to affix the dialog, sharing different issues for which individuals within the feedback jokingly felt that the model ought to apologize, which drove additional engagement and model consciousness.
Good human-generated content material begets additional human-generated content material and group engagement, and Whataburger’s put up right here is a good instance of that.
The play: Typically maintaining it easy is the easiest way. You don’t have to leap on each development however should you do, make it significant and distinctive to your model. Whataburger does that right here by catering to its merchandise and the experiences it is aware of its clients speak about, with a specificity that makes these clients really feel seen and appreciated. You’ll be able to keep updated with alternatives like this by integrating social intelligence into your content material analysis and planning course of.
Dublin Airport highlights on a regular basis tales
Highlighting the on a regular basis tales, with a seasonal twist. That was the technique for Dublin Airport because it featured an actual household welcoming their daughter and grandchildren again from Australia to have fun Christmas.
Opening with the story of the daughter having lived in Australia for 14 years, the eventual reunion and pleasure of the grandchildren visiting Eire for the primary time creates a human second for the viewers, evoking that acquainted feeling of going dwelling for the vacations.
There’s nothing fancy about this storytelling, even when it is a little more advanced than Whataburger’s efforts. All of the emotion comes from a narrative we’ve heard for the reason that daybreak of time. It’s nothing new, nevertheless it hits laborious, because the music swells and the household greets one another.
Dublin Airport acts because the facilitator right here fairly than the protagonist, showcasing the tales of those that go via its partitions and bringing households collectively for the vacations.
The play: Just like the Nationwide Rail instance, that is an instance of highlighting the best tales on the proper time. Seasonal messages typically resonate, and emotional tales like this one can have a multiplying influence on their success.
Your model doesn’t need to be the hero of the story, being the glue that binds individuals collectively will be equally highly effective.
Jetstar Australia revels within the absurd with its mendacity problem
Social media developments could be a little extra extravagant than a easy textual content apology put up, as confirmed by Jetstar Australia.
On the again finish of final yr, a mendacity problem went viral on TikTok and Instagram through which two individuals every needed to persuade the opposite they have been holding a sure object behind a divider, and every needed to ask the opposite questions to determine who was mendacity. In the meantime the viewers is aware of the entire time.
Jetstar Australia capitalized on this development with a profitable social video through which one worker claimed (honestly) that they have been holding a soccer ball behind the divider, whereas one other claimed they have been holding a pencil whereas actually (farcically) holding an entire complete airplane.
The quick skit concerned each workers guessing incorrectly in regards to the different’s truthfulness, and ends within the reveal of the plane to a lot amusement from each individuals.
Viewers reveled within the absurdism of the put up and matched the model’s vitality, providing their very own examples of issues that clearly didn’t match, together with providing up an entire airport as a pencil case and nebulae as paperclips.
This video was an enormous success story for the model, with upward of 8 million views and greater than half one million likes, in contrast with the four-figure views its posts usually get. In truth, it was so profitable that it’s now pinned to the highest of the model’s web page.
The play: In the event you’ve acquired it, flaunt it. There aren’t many corporations that may boast a global jet as a part of their advertising campaigns, however each firm has one thing distinctive to them. Incorporate that uniqueness into your social technique, and don’t be afraid to get a little bit foolish with it!
Embrace the human, unpolished content material
That concludes this month’s installment of the PPR. Keep tuned for subsequent month’s version, the place we’ll function the manufacturers going all in on microcommunities. Within the meantime, bear in mind these key takeaways:
Put up Efficiency Report Takeaways
- Humanize your model via creator-led storytelling: Nationwide Rail proved that you simply don’t want a large following to see huge outcomes, you simply want the best voice. By partnering with William Shears (@a_mug_of_life), they swapped extra polished vacation spot images for uncooked, “tea and a chat” moments with passengers. Actual tales from actual individuals beat corporate-speak each time. Discover creators who can translate your model story into human connection.
- Excessive-stakes surprises drive high-volume engagement: Airbnb didn’t announce its new “Experiences” with a press launch, it leveraged the star energy of Sabrina Carpenter to create an unscripted emotional second. Capturing the real reactions of followers throughout an impromptu slumber social gathering turned a product launch right into a viral occasion. When going large, give attention to capturing the response, and discover that emotional authenticity.
- Lean into developments and break the fourth wall: As we stated, you don’t need to observe each development that pops up on social media, and it could be inconceivable to take action. However should you’ve acquired a method to put a slight twist on one thing that’s at the moment going viral, or can method it in a novel, attention-grabbing means that’s distinctive to your model, then don’t hesitate, particularly if you are able to do so with a cheeky nod and a wink.
Talking of developments, an enormous one we’re seeing originally of 2026 is the rise of manufacturers producing episodic content material as a part of their social technique, which you’ll learn extra about right here.
And should you see a social put up or marketing campaign that deserves to be highlighted, tag us @sproutsocial and use #PostPerformanceReport to have your concept included in a future article.
