Welcome again to Submit 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 inventive execution of each submit or marketing campaign, however the model affect, too.
This time, we’re deep-diving into the highest influencer advertising and marketing campaigns of the yr. Based on a Q1 2025 Sprout Pulse Survey, most entrepreneurs say influencer content material out-performs model content material when it comes to attain, engagement and conversion, and one other 65% are very assured of their crew’s capacity to exhibit the ROI of influencer efforts.
Once we scroll our feeds, it’s clear what number of manufacturers are betting on influencer advertising and marketing. It’s develop into the de facto promoting tactic on social—and even conventional advertising and marketing channels. However a lot of our favourite campaigns are led by micro-creators and the most recent web darlings, not the largest influencers. Shoppers crave relatability and normcore (with a wholesome dose of aspiration), and are dropping their urge for food for over-hyped merchandise, large hauls and polished content material.
Let’s dissect the marketing campaign inventive, efficiency metrics and points-of-view from the practitioners behind the model deal with, beginning with Staples and the “Staples Baddie.”
Staples x The Staples Baddie: Let staff create
“The Staples Baddie”—aka creator Oblivion (@blivxx), who goes by Kaeden day-to-day—is an actual worker of an East Coast Staples. She began posting in regards to the model’s capabilities on TikTok, movies which have amassed greater than 10 million views.
Oblivion demonstrates how prospects can create the whole lot from customized stamps to printed mugs—whereas saving a number of money and time. Commenters on her movies regularly say she has opened their eyes to a big selection of Staples merchandise they by no means knew existed. Based on Influencer Advertising by Sprout Social, Oblivion has an engagement fee of 23.4%—a powerful 23% greater than related creators.
To be clear, the content material she produces is employee-generated. However when Staples noticed her going viral, they have been fast to encourage her to maintain posting, commenting on her posts, sending her a customized care package deal and talking publicly about how a lot they love her content material. The model simply introduced their partnership, after her followers begged the model to make it official.
As Bob Sherwin, Staples’ CMO, advised the New York Instances, “[It’s] been unimaginable to observe Kaeden’s content material resonate so broadly…[The company has seen] measurable will increase in retailer site visitors and significant lifts in classes featured in viral posts, together with customized mugs and specialty print merchandise.”
The play: The Staples Baddie is a potent reminder that staff could be influencers, too. Workers creators have affect within the communities they’re part of on-line, and is usually a very important a part of your worker advocacy program.
Whereas manufacturers shouldn’t take a totally hands-off method to worker creator content material, they need to give their staff area to precise themselves naturally, like Staples did for Oblivion. When staff are given inventive freedom and permission to construct their private model, they bring about numerous experiences, personalities and experience to your model content material.
Midi Well being x @JustBeingMelani: Promote your greatest influencer content material
Midi Well being is a telehealth group that gives specialised care to ladies in midlife—a chapter the medical area hasn’t at all times handled with care or nuance. As a disruptor within the healthcare area, the model has taken a social-first, digital method to growing consciousness, which incorporates partnering with creators. Their most profitable partnership to this point is with Melani Sanders, recognized on-line as @JustBeingMelani.
The creator and influencer describes herself because the “founding father of the Do Not Care Membership™,” which inspires ladies in perimenopause, menopause and postmenopause to provide themselves extra grace. She even wrote a e-book of the identical title.
In her high submit for Midi Well being, Melani follows her customary submit format, itemizing off all the issues ladies within the Do Not Care Membership™ don’t care about. The sponsored model of the submit amassed over 150,000 engagements to this point, and is how we got here throughout the submit earlier this yr. The video outperformed the model’s high Instagram content material by tens of hundreds. Per Sprout Influencer Advertising, the submit engagement fee was 3.2% (greater than Melani’s common engagement fee of two.1%) and the earned media worth was practically $362,000.
This success comes at a time when over 1 / 4 of social customers actively hunt down wellness and self enchancment recommendation on social, per the Q3 2025 Sprout Pulse Survey.
The play: As our algorithms develop into extra area of interest, it’s vital to construct long-term influencer partnerships with those that have already got credibility in your viewers’s nook of the web. Supply influencers by researching matters they speak about—not simply traits like viewers measurement or location. And when an influencer submit performs effectively, put further paid spend behind it (with the influencer’s permission, in fact). Magic occurs when paid adverts really feel natural.
DoorDash x Rob Rausch: Faucet into web tradition and fandoms
Rob Rausch is a snake wrangler, actuality star and a budding influencer. After rising to fame on exhibits Love Island and Traitors, Rausch obtained affords for quite a lot of model offers. DoorDash was among the many first to snag a partnership, taking an unconventional method. Customers have commented in disbelief that the official DoorDash account is posting this content material. Evidently, the model prioritized incomes goodwill over pushing their service.
The technique is led by Zaria Parvez, Head of Social. She advised the Wall Avenue Journal the social-first genius behind it: “[The] conventional promoting world will prioritize a hero video, after which the whole lot is further if it occurs. However the best way that our crew operates is these persons are recognized to be on social and what the followers are enthusiastic about is for those who give them one thing that they perceive by means of the Easter egg lens, nevertheless it’s additionally a brand new piece of content material. For Rob Rausch, it’s what’s he going to say now? Or a brand new shirtless pic. We at all times construct in six to seven ancillary items of content material. That, to me, is definitely extra vital than rights to a linear asset, for instance.”
The non-linear method has labored particularly effectively for this partnership. Based on Sprout Influencer Advertising, the highest video from the marketing campaign drove an 18% engagement fee on TikTok—a 50x engagement carry.
The play: Social has modified the best way we devour TV, and due to that, the reality-star-to-influencer pipeline is well-established. For manufacturers centered on constructing cultural relevancy, it’s vital to be a part of fandom conversations taking place on social. When partnering with these influencers, create web moments, not glorified commercials.
KFC x @TurnUpTwinsTV: Co-create your model id
The TurnUp Twins, Minnie and Mattie, are the unique model jingle creators—going viral for creating an unprompted Crumbl Cookie jingle again in 2024, a video with 80+ million views to this point on TikTok.
The sisters lent their infectious pleasure, concord and candy lyrics to a current KFC collaboration to reintroduce the rooster quick meals model’s Tornado Wrap. The video obtained over 15,000 engagements on TikTok and Instagram. Based on Sprout Influencer Advertising, the video additionally obtained a 4% engagement fee when posted to the model account—a considerably greater fee than the common engagement fee of comparable manufacturers (0.25%).
The TurnUp Twins’ video type has the identical taste of jingles within the early days of selling. The nostalgia performs effectively for KFC, because the Tornado Wrap was a 90s favourite.
The music has already develop into related to KFC. Within the feedback part on TikTok, customers wrote “Twist it! Twist it!” and pleaded for the tune to be changed into a industrial.
The play: Quick meals firms, like many, are all competing for consideration on the subject of releases. As a substitute of making flash-in-the-pan moments, use influencer advertising and marketing to have a good time main milestones and construct in your current model story.
Strava x native LA creators: Host IRL occasions
Throughout the 2026 LA Marathon, exercise monitoring app Strava hosted an unique invite-only panel. The intimate occasion began with a two-mile shakeout run adopted by breakfast, and was attended by athletes, creators and run membership founders.
The panel itself was led by native creators, together with Danielle Burnett, founding father of size-inclusive run membership Massive Women Who Run; Maya Leppard, creator of Dangerous at Operating, a digital membership for brand new runners; Mariah Dyson, a Nike athlete and founding father of female-focused GirlGangCrazy run membership; and Marvin Garcia, founding father of one in all L.A.’s largest run golf equipment, Good Vibes Observe Membership.
The occasion was the most recent in a collection of pop-ups and meet-ups the model calls “Kudos Collective,” a nod to the kudos function within the app that lets you cheer on different athletes. The model is aware of that group is a high cause individuals use their platform, which is why they prioritize community-centered occasions over flashy sponsorships and campaigns.
As Melanie Jarrett, Director of Partnerships at Strava, advised Shiny, “We particularly select to not instantly sponsor races [so we can continue to be] model and platform agnostic. A part of what makes [our meetups] such a scorching ticket is [many influential runners and run club founders] are literally by no means all in the identical room collectively, as a result of some [partner with] Hoka, and this one’s with Nike, and this one does Lululemon stuff—so there’s a sure magic the place you see [influential runners] acknowledge one another, meet for the primary time and share greatest practices round how they’re every rising their operating communities of their native cities.”
The play: Based on The State of Influencer Advertising Report, 80% of customers are extra prepared to purchase from manufacturers that associate with influencers past social media content material. Take a cue from Strava and construct your group occasion (or occasion collection) centered round significant connections, not simply likes and engagements.
Domesticate creator-led group
That concludes this installment of PPR. Keep tuned for our subsequent version, and within the meantime, keep in mind these key takeaways:
Submit Efficiency Report Takeaways
- Real creators typically outperform polished campaigns. As a substitute of over-directing, entrepreneurs ought to help influencers with out stripping away the character that makes them profitable.
- Credibility inside area of interest communities issues greater than attain. Entrepreneurs ought to prioritize matter alignment and viewers credibility over follower rely, and amplify top-performing creator content material with paid help to increase its attain.
- Cultural relevance comes from taking part within the dialog. Fairly than treating creator partnerships like conventional adverts, entrepreneurs ought to deal with producing content material that feels native to social platforms and expands the story throughout a number of posts, codecs and inside jokes.
- Influencer advertising and marketing works greatest when it extends past the feed. Manufacturers that contain influencers in real-world experiences, occasions or group initiatives can deepen viewers relationships and drive stronger loyalty.
Learn subsequent: Delve into our information that breaks down the highest traits defining the way forward for influencer advertising and marketing.
And for those who see a social submit or marketing campaign that deserves to be highlighted, tag @sproutsocial and use #PostPerformanceReport to have your thought included in a future article.
