Is receiving model love like celebrating Valentine’s Day in main college? Stick with me right here. On Valentine’s Day, my classmates and I might craft numerous pink and crimson heart-shaped notes for our friends. One-by-one, we’d drop off the Valentines, gently inserting them into shoe packing containers adorned with glitter, stickers and feathers. On the finish of the afternoon, it was a thrill to take inventory. What did your finest pal write? What did your crush write? What number of did you obtain? Did you get any sweet?
For entrepreneurs, model love results in the identical delighted emotions, however on a good deeper stage. It indicators the depth of connection they’ve reached with their viewers. The affirmation they want that their technique truly succeeded at constructing loyalty and evangelizing their mission.
Nicholas Charlier, Head of World Neighborhood and Training at Vivobarefoot, explains: “We’re a footwear firm, however we’re actually attempting to drive consciousness, engagement and reference to pure well being. The explanation we wish individuals to like our model is as a result of we wish them to like themselves, their well being and the atmosphere round them.”
When you’re nonetheless asking your self, “What’s model love (on social) received to do with it?”, the reply is all the things. Manufacturers who’re in a position to construct lasting, significant relationships with their audiences are those who will succeed on this new period of enterprise.
What’s model love?
Model love describes the optimistic sentiment customers really feel towards your model that conjures up them to have interaction together with your content material, purchase your services or products, choose you over a competitor and unfold the phrase about your organization. It extends throughout channels and touchpoints—which implies every stage within the buyer journey needs to be thought of a possibility to forge model love.
Model love has grow to be more and more essential in mild of heightened competitors throughout industries and platform oversaturation. Charlier expanded, “There’s a lot data on the web. There are various manufacturers competing for consideration. Shoppers wish to know if manufacturers and merchandise truly do what they are saying they are going to, and if they will belief the individuals behind the merchandise and advertising. It isn’t about short-term wins like viral campaigns, it’s about incomes and maintaining model belief, transparency and goodwill for the lengthy haul.”
The weather that drive model love
Similar to in loving relationships between individuals, manufacturers should deal with love like a verb. As Charlier put it, “Constructing model love is like cultivating love in any relationship. It takes honesty, open mindedness, and a willingness to study and alter. It’s your merchandise doing what you say they are going to, and listening to suggestions after they don’t. It’s creating alternatives for connection, each on-line and in actual life.”
Findings from The 2025 Sprout Social Index™ again up his evaluation. The report discovered that customers are most certainly to favor manufacturers on social which have a top quality services or products. Which is a hanging reminder for manufacturers that social can’t overcompensate for bigger enterprise points—and offering a top-tier buyer expertise needs to be a vital precedence.
The report additionally explains what customers say are an important traits of name content material: authenticity and relatability. Folks don’t actually care how lo- or hi-fi content material is, or for those who speak about your product. They care that you just present up for them as an alternative of speaking at them.
Actually, customers say corporations ought to make customized customer support their first social media precedence in 2025, in keeping with a This fall 2024 Sprout Pulse Survey. Charlier underscores how paying shut consideration to neighborhood suggestions helps create a thriving model. “We’re fortunate that our prospects inform us after we screw up. As a result of that provides us an opportunity to take accountability and repair the scenario. Listening to your neighborhood is what instills model love. Transparency in all the things you do is what creates connection.”
Methods to measure model love on social media and past
Measuring model love isn’t as intangible as it’d sound. In some circumstances, it’s so simple as repurposing present metrics. In others, it’s about organising new measurement parameters that profit groups throughout advertising, gross sales and customer support.
Charlier defined how Vivobarefoot measures model love, and shared insights into why every metric issues that may encourage your technique.
Consciousness
Whether or not or not consciousness is a conceit metric is debated within the social media panorama. It doesn’t seize intent or instantly tie to income. However that doesn’t imply it’s out of date, particularly when you must seize total consciousness in comparison with rivals. Or, in Vivobarefoot’s case, if you must educate beforehand problem-unaware customers.
“Earlier than studying about Vivobarefoot, many individuals consider that your toes should be in overly cushioned footwear that limit motion, and scale back foot power and mobility. This has unfavourable impacts on posture, ache and efficiency, but in addition how we work together with the bottom typically,” says Charlier.
Vivobarefoot educates their neighborhood via social content material, well being professionals-turned-creators, occasions and extra to platform the scientific proof behind the minimalist footwear motion. That consciousness turns into evangelism when individuals truly attempt the merchandise for themselves (extra on that beneath).
Charlier sums it up like this: “We have now an incredible neighborhood who’re very enthusiastic about our mission. That model love has helped drive the expansion of our enterprise via consciousness efforts.”
Engagement
The Index discovered that total engagement is the highest method advertising leaders will measure social success in 2025. Engagement metrics like feedback, shares and reactions inform a compelling story about your content material’s resonance, and may help you perceive how your viewers engages together with your merchandise offline, too.
Charlier defined how essential it’s for Vivobarefoot to know how their footwear impacts their prospects’ day by day lives. “We wish to measure how individuals are participating with our product, and their total satisfaction with it. Are they aligned with our mission? Are they working towards that wholesome mission themselves? We will reply these questions by seeing how a lot our neighborhood is participating with on-line content material—via social or our on-line programs—frequently.”
Sentiment
But, engagement alone doesn’t illustrate the total scope of neighborhood buy-in on your narrative. That’s the place sentiment is available in—the tone individuals use after they speak about your product. In line with Sprout Listening knowledge from December 28, 2024 to January 27, 2025, Vivobarefoot has a formidable 91% optimistic sentiment rating on X. That’s largely to do with how properly their model storytelling resonates with audiences, and the way their prospects really feel after they truly attempt on their footwear.
“We wish to encourage individuals and empower them to be their healthiest—for them to attach with our message and embody it themselves. Our model sentiment conveys how individuals really feel about their very own well being journeys, and the function Vivobarefoot performs in them.”
Evangelism and buyer loyalty
These previous advertising adages, “The perfect promoting is word-of-mouth” and “It’s simpler to maintain a buyer than purchase a brand new one,” ring true when measuring model love. It’s easy (and considerably cliché) however each model’s aim is to earn prospects for all times, and to encourage glad prospects to share about their expertise.
For Vivobarefoot, that begins when prospects attempt on their footwear. “When individuals begin carrying our merchandise, they immediately really feel the bottom. It’s in all probability the primary time in a very long time. Until we’re on the seashore, most of us are by no means barefoot as adults. It’s an eye-opening and revolutionary expertise. The merchandise do what they are saying they are going to and create a top quality expertise that leaves a memorable impression. This second (and all of the moments after) create an emotional connection to our merchandise, which results in model evangelism,” Charlier expounds.
When you’ll be able to translate an emotional connection into model advocacy, that’s a telling signal that your model love technique is working. “Are prospects going past shopping for your merchandise and doing extra? Are they sharing your content material? Are they attending occasions? Are they shopping for a number of merchandise? Are they leaving evaluations?” asks Charlier.
Person-generated content material
Whereas viewers engagement is welcome and appreciated, user-generated content material (UGC) is next-level model love. When followers create their very own content material about your model, it helps you achieve publicity to new audiences and engenders their belief. Measuring the quantity of UGC that comes pouring in, plus how usually that content material is engaged with, is a useful barometer of name affinity.
“As a footwear firm, we make merchandise for lots of various events—coaching within the gymnasium, climbing mountains, strolling the canine and exploring town. We even have children’ footwear. UGC helps showcase how our designs work for each event in a method that feels genuine to every particular person and their way of life. Then, we are able to take a more in-depth have a look at how many individuals are creating content material on our behalf, what their engagement price is and the way the dialog about our model is taking form,” says Charlier.
(Model) love is definitely throughout
Similar to the enjoyment of exchanging Valentines, constructing model love is about creating moments that make your viewers really feel seen, valued and linked. Whether or not it’s via genuine content material, considerate engagement or merchandise that ship on guarantees, these acts of care and consistency spark lasting connections.
When your viewers begins to share their love on your model—via likes, feedback, evaluations or UGC—it’s like opening a field overflowing with glitter-covered affirmations. The extra love you give to your viewers, the extra your model’s relationships (and enterprise) will flourish in return.
Charlier sums it up like this: “There are two sides to constructing model love. There’s the rational facet targeted on high quality and value. Then there’s the emotional facet. The a part of the expertise that’s influenced by the emotions individuals affiliate together with your model and mission. That is the candy spot.”
On the lookout for extra on what it takes to create a memorable model expertise? Learn The 2025 Sprout Social Index.™
