Is receiving model love like celebrating Valentine’s Day in major college? Stick with me right here. On Valentine’s Day, my classmates and I’d craft numerous pink and purple heart-shaped notes for our friends. One-by-one, we’d drop off the Valentines, gently putting them into shoe packing containers embellished with glitter, stickers and feathers. On the finish of the afternoon, it was a thrill to take inventory. What did your finest buddy 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 fair deeper degree. It alerts the depth of connection they’ve reached with their viewers. The affirmation they want that their technique really succeeded at constructing loyalty and evangelizing their mission.
Nicholas Charlier, Head of International 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 rationale 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 every little thing. 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 constructive sentiment customers really feel towards your model that conjures up them to interact together with your content material, purchase your services or products, decide 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 must be thought-about a chance to forge model love.
Model love has turn into more and more necessary in gentle of heightened competitors throughout industries and platform oversaturation. Charlier expanded, “There’s a lot data on the web. There are lots of manufacturers competing for consideration. Customers wish to know if manufacturers and merchandise really do what they are saying they’ll, and if they will belief the individuals behind the merchandise and advertising and marketing. It isn’t about short-term wins like viral campaigns, it’s about incomes and retaining model belief, transparency and goodwill for the lengthy haul.”
The weather that drive model love
Identical to in loving relationships between individuals, manufacturers must 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’ll, and listening to suggestions once 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 definitely to favor manufacturers on social which have a top quality services or products. Which is a placing reminder for manufacturers that social can’t overcompensate for bigger enterprise points—and offering a top-tier buyer expertise must be a essential precedence.
The report additionally explains what customers say are crucial traits of name content material: authenticity and relatability. Individuals don’t actually care how lo- or hi-fi content material is, or when you discuss your product. They care that you just present up for them as a substitute of speaking at them.
In actual fact, customers say firms ought to make personalised customer support their first social media precedence in 2025, in keeping with a This autumn 2024 Sprout Pulse Survey. Charlier underscores how paying shut consideration to neighborhood suggestions helps create a thriving model. “We’re fortunate that our clients inform us once we screw up. As a result of that provides us an opportunity to take accountability and repair the state of affairs. Listening to your neighborhood is what instills model love. Transparency in every little thing 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 instances, it’s so simple as repurposing current metrics. In others, it’s about establishing new measurement parameters that profit groups throughout advertising and marketing, 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 an arrogance 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 it is advisable seize general consciousness in comparison with rivals. Or, in Vivobarefoot’s case, if it is advisable educate beforehand problem-unaware customers.
“Earlier than studying about Vivobarefoot, many individuals imagine that your toes must be in overly cushioned footwear that limit motion, and scale back foot power and mobility. This has adverse impacts on posture, ache and efficiency, but additionally how we work together with the bottom usually,” says Charlier.
Vivobarefoot educates their neighborhood by way of 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 really attempt the merchandise for themselves (extra on that beneath).
Charlier sums it up like this: “We’ve got a tremendous neighborhood who’re very captivated with our mission. That model love has helped drive the expansion of our enterprise by way of consciousness efforts.”
Engagement
The Index discovered that general engagement is the highest method advertising and marketing 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 also help you perceive how your viewers engages together with your merchandise offline, too.
Charlier defined how necessary it’s for Vivobarefoot to grasp how their footwear impacts their clients’ each day lives. “We wish to measure how persons are partaking with our product, and their general satisfaction with it. Are they aligned with our mission? Are they practising that wholesome mission themselves? We will reply these questions by seeing how a lot our neighborhood is partaking with on-line content material—by way of social or our on-line programs—regularly.”
Sentiment
But, engagement alone doesn’t illustrate the complete scope of neighborhood buy-in to your narrative. That’s the place sentiment is available in—the tone individuals use once they discuss your product. In response to Sprout Listening information from December 28, 2024 to January 27, 2025, Vivobarefoot has a formidable 91% constructive sentiment rating on X. That’s largely to do with how nicely their model storytelling resonates with audiences, and the way their clients really feel once they really 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 outdated advertising and marketing adages, “The very best 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 objective is to earn clients for all times, and to encourage comfortable clients to share about their expertise.
For Vivobarefoot, that begins when clients 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. Except 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’ll 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 ends up in model evangelism,” Charlier expounds.
When you may translate an emotional connection into model advocacy, that’s a telling signal that your model love technique is working. “Are clients 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 critiques?” 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 acquire publicity to new audiences and engenders their belief. Measuring the quantity of UGC that comes pouring in, plus how typically 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 fitness center, mountain climbing mountains, strolling the canine and exploring town. We even have youngsters’ 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 will take a more in-depth have a look at how many individuals are creating content material on our behalf, what their engagement charge is and the way the dialog about our model is taking form,” says Charlier.
(Model) love is definitely throughout
Identical 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 by way of 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 to your model—by way of likes, feedback, critiques 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 centered on high quality and value. Then there’s the emotional facet. The a part of the expertise that’s influenced by the sentiments 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.™
