In a world where brand chatter moves faster than scheduled posts, Later Social's Services Team found a way to make every conversation count. Led by Social Media Manager Gabi Ramirez, the campaign didn't just schedule content — it listened, pivoted, and won. Acting like a modern agency, Later transformed passive data into an active strategy using real-time social listening, competitive benchmarking, and dynamic content workflows.
By tuning into untagged mentions and emerging themes like hydration and wellness, Gabi created campaigns that felt less like marketing and more like meaningful conversations. The strategy? Use Later’s all-in-one platform to streamline approvals, optimize analytics, and track brand health — then respond in real time with content that clicks.
This isn’t just content planning; it’s campaign-building rooted in what audiences actually care about. And that’s the power of social media listening done right.
In this article, we spotlight six standout campaigns that turned social media listening into real-world wins — proving that when brands listen first, they lead louder.
- Later: Listening Between the Lines to Power a Multi-Brand Strategy
- Chick-fil-A: Turning Saucy Complaints into Sweet Brand Loyalty with Social Listening
- Wakefield Council: Using Social Listening to Rebuild Public Trust (One Comment at a Time)
- Duolingo: “Death of Duo” and the Anatomy of a Viral Listening Lesson
- Spotify: How Social Listening Keeps the World’s Coolest Streaming Brand In Tune
- McDonald’s: When Social Listening Wasn’t Fast Enough for the BTS Army
- If You’re Not Listening, You’re Losing
- Frequently Asked Questions
Later: Listening Between the Lines to Power a Multi-Brand Strategy
Ever feel like you're posting into the void? Social media listening flips the script by helping you tune into what your audience actually cares about — even when they’re not talking to you directly.
Later’s Services Team took this a step further. Instead of just watching for brand mentions, they zoomed out — monitoring broader cultural conversations, tracking shifts in sentiment, and scanning competitor activity. The goal? Spot trends before they go viral and craft content that speaks directly to what people are already thinking.
This wasn’t just listening — it was decoding the mood of the internet and using it to stay one step ahead.
Context & Case Study: Later’s Listening-First Approach in Action
Managing multiple clients across multiple industries means wearing all the hats — strategist, creator, community manager, analyst (and occasionally, hand model). That’s Gabi Ramirez’s world as a Social Media Manager at Later. Her challenge? Deliver insight-led social strategies at scale — without burning out or burning through six different platforms.
With Later’s social listening tools, Gabi found her rhythm. Here's how:
- Future Insights helped her track conversations beyond brand mentions — spotting rising topics like hydration, wellness, and seasonal trends before they peaked. That allowed her to align client content with what people were already talking about — not what brands hoped they’d be interested in.
- With Brand Health monitoring, she kept a pulse on audience sentiment week to week — identifying when interest was waning or when frustration was brewing. It was like having an early-warning system for brand perception.
- And with Competitive Benchmarking, she wasn’t just keeping up — she was looking for opportunities to stand out. By comparing performance against competitors, she found content gaps and differentiation strategies that made her clients shine.
Speaking about its use, Gabi says:
All of this fed into her real-world execution. In Later’s Calendar View, Gabi planned up to 6 weeks of content — integrating UGC, influencer deliverables, trend-driven campaigns, and brand content into one cohesive schedule. Need to pivot mid-week? No problem. The calendar made adjusting on the fly seamless.
When it came time for stakeholder approvals, Later’s external approval workflow cut out the back-and-forth. Clients didn’t need an account — just a single link to view and comment on scheduled content, side-by-side with visuals and copy.
Results & Analysis
- 100% of client content scheduled through Later
- 2–6 weeks of content planned at a time across brands
- 50+ content pieces scheduled monthly
- Listening-led insights powering smarter creative decisions
- Competitive benchmarks guiding differentiation strategies
By embedding listening into every phase of content planning, Gabi created strategies that didn’t just keep up — they anticipated.
Key Takeaway
Trends don’t always mention your brand by name — but your content should still speak their language. Monitor what your audience cares about, not just what they tag you in.
Chick-fil-A: Turning Saucy Complaints into Sweet Brand Loyalty with Social Listening
Some brands launch campaigns with confetti and countdowns. Chick-fil-A launched one by…listening to angry tweets.
Their approach? Sentiment-driven listening, at scale — not just monitoring what people were saying, but how they were saying it. Chick-fil-A didn’t just count complaints; they read the emotional room and turned a potential PR disaster into a community win.
Using Sprinklr’s advanced social listening tools, they tracked negative sentiment in real time, spotted the growing #BringBackTheBBQ movement, and used that intel to steer the ship — straight back to the sauce their fans actually wanted.
This is what happens when listening isn’t a department — it’s a company-wide reflex.
Context & Case Study: How Chick-fil-A Used Listening to Relaunch a Fan Favorite
Back in 2016, Chick-fil-A made the bold decision to retire its beloved Original BBQ Sauce in favor of a new Smokehouse variety.
Fans were…not thrilled.
Within days, social media was flooded with backlash. The hashtag #BringBackTheBBQ gained traction, petitions popped up, and some fans even threatened to boycott the chain. But instead of ignoring the noise, Chick-fil-A leaned in — hard.
With Sprinklr’s listening dashboards, the brand quickly identified a spike in negative sentiment and mentions related to BBQ sauce. But this wasn’t just about tracking keywords — it was about understanding why people were upset and who was leading the charge.
Here’s what they did:
- Created custom tags and queues to track mentions, hashtags, and sentiment shifts related to the sauce change.
- Used real-time dashboards to monitor the volume and tone of conversations.
- Identified the top 250 most vocal fans and turned them into brand advocates with custom surprise & delight kits (we’re talking T-shirts, limited-edition sauce bottles, even BBQ-themed lunchboxes).
- Built a multi-platform “war room” in collaboration with Sprinklr and their creative agency Moxie, allowing team members to engage directly with fans across platforms — fast, personal, and consistent.
The data didn’t just inform what they did — it fueled how they did it: directly, authentically, and with a genuine “we heard you” energy.
Results & Analysis
- 188x increase in mentions on the day the Original BBQ sauce returned
- 5,000+ fan messages reviewed or responded to in the first three days
- Sentiment flip from 73% negative to 92% positive
- Community engagement across all touchpoints — from DMs to public shoutouts
- Organic UGC flood after surprise kits were delivered
By bringing the sauce back, Chick-fil-A didn’t just restore a menu item — they won back trust, loyalty, and serious brand love.
Key Takeaway
Negative sentiment isn’t a crisis — it’s feedback with a bullhorn. Don’t run from it. Listen closely, respond authentically, and show customers that their voices don’t just echo — they drive change.
Wakefield Council: Using Social Listening to Rebuild Public Trust (One Comment at a Time)
Here’s the thing: Public trust doesn’t vanish overnight — but it can definitely erode one ignored comment at a time.
Wakefield Council faced a classic challenge in the digital age — citizens weren’t feeling heard. Their fix? Social listening at the community level — using smart tools to tune in to conversations around key local issues, not just direct tags or replies.
Rather than pushing out updates into the void, Wakefield flipped their approach: Listen first, then engage. They didn’t just track what residents were saying — they mapped where trust was leaking and built a system that turned passive followers into engaged, informed citizens.
Spoiler alert: It worked.
Context & Case Study: Wakefield Council’s Shift from Broadcast to Dialogue
Before 2022, Wakefield Council’s social media game was…let’s say functional, not strategic. They managed everything natively, bounced between 93 different service accounts, and had no real way of analyzing sentiment, engagement, or feedback.
Basically, they were guessing what their community wanted — and it showed. Only 31% of residents felt their views were considered in Council decisions. Not ideal.
Enter Orlo.
With Orlo’s platform, the Council implemented a full-scale social audit across all accounts, then set up customized social listening streams tied directly to their six corporate priorities (think: health, environment, local economy, etc.). This let them listen around the issues, not just monitor comments on their own posts.
Key changes included:
- Building a data-informed persona model using demographic listening insights (gender, age, location)
- Using inbound message tagging and dashboard reporting to map recurring themes and sentiment shifts
- Aligning the comms and customer service teams to work from a single platform — transforming scattered replies into a cohesive voice
By integrating social listening into both their comms and customer service workflows, they moved from reactive firefighting to proactive strategy. And as the data rolled in, so did the results.
Results & Analysis
- 30% increase in trust score (March 2023 – June 2024)
- Shift in sentiment from “confusion and curiosity” to “gratitude and curiosity”
- 88% trust score after integrating customer service team into the platform
- Strategic alignment across departments using shared listening dashboards
- 26.4K TikTok views in July 2024 + steady engagement rates across LinkedIn and Facebook
With clearer listening came clearer messaging — and stronger community connection. Suddenly, it wasn’t about just “posting updates.” It was about responding to needs, addressing gaps, and showing up where it mattered.
Key Takeaway
If your audience doesn’t feel heard, they won’t stick around. Use social listening to understand their needs before they turn into complaints — and build trust by acting on what they’re already telling you.
Duolingo: “Death of Duo” and the Anatomy of a Viral Listening Lesson
What happens when a brand fakes the death of its mascot and the internet loses its collective mind? If you're Duolingo, you get a real-time masterclass in sentiment, virality, and meme culture.
EmbedSocial did an in-depth analysis of the “Death of Duo” phenomenon, showing exactly how social listening helps decode what worked (and what got weird). It was less about engineering the campaign from the start, and more about reverse-engineering its impact — like peeling back the layers of a very dramatic, very green onion.
And the findings? Gold for any brand planning a bold, unconventional campaign.
Context & Case Study: What Duolingo’s Viral Owl Taught Us About Listening at Scale
The campaign was simple in concept and chaotic in execution. Duolingo dropped cryptic posts hinting that Duo the owl — their slightly unhinged and beloved mascot — was gone. Fans spiraled. Memes exploded. Chaos ensued.
@duolingo Duo’s streak on earth has ended, but not his legacy. #RIPDuo #RIPEveryone
Using social listening tools, EmbedSocial reviewed 1,336 posts across platforms to analyze how the internet processed this dramatic digital event. The insights shed light on the mechanics of virality and the power of audience-driven storytelling.
Here’s what listening revealed:
- Content Format: Over 60% of posts were text-based. Memes (images) made up 30%, while video posts — though highly engaging — were under 10%.
- Lesson: Even in a visual-first world, people still turn to text to scream into the void (or mourn cartoon birds).
- Hashtag Use: Despite the buzz, 50% of posts lacked hashtags. Branded tags like #DeathOfDuo and #JusticeForDuo did trend, but many discussions flew under the radar.
- Missed opportunity: Without consistent hashtag use, tracking the full conversation was harder than it needed to be.
- Engagement Peaks: Listening tools showed spikes aligned with cryptic teaser drops and influencer reactions — especially meme pages and language influencers.
- Timing was everything.
- Top Contributors: A small group of hyper-engaged users (influencers, long-time app users, meme creators) drove the conversation.
- Amplifying these contributors could have taken the campaign from viral to volcanic.
- Keywords: Posts repeatedly used words like “murder,” “owl,” “justice,” and “language” — showing that people embraced the mystery and leaned into the drama.
And while sentiment leaned mostly positive, about 25% of users were confused, annoyed, or skeptical — proof that even the best memes can backfire if clarity isn’t part of the plan.
Results & Analysis
- 1,336 posts analyzed across platforms
- Sentiment: 620 positive, 360 neutral, 345 negative
- Top-performing platforms: Twitter/X, Reddit, Instagram, TikTok — each with distinct tone and engagement style
- Viral traction driven by humor, mystery, and fan speculation — not paid ads
Ultimately, Duolingo didn’t just drop a campaign — they dropped a mystery. And the internet ran with it.
Key Takeaway
Viral campaigns are like memes — once they’re out there, you don’t control the story. But with smart listening, you can shape your next move. Watch your sentiment, track your top contributors, and be ready to engage in real time.
Check out the The Power of Playful Marketing: How Duolingo Uses Quirky Content to Win on Social Media
Spotify: How Social Listening Keeps the World’s Coolest Streaming Brand In Tune
If Spotify had a superpower, it wouldn’t be their playlist algorithm. It’d be their ears.
From pop culture chaos to personal listening habits, Spotify is one of the best examples of a brand using social listening not just to track engagement, but to actively shape it. They don’t wait for feedback. They seek it, analyze it, and remix it into engagement gold.
Whether it’s TikTok trends, memes, or a perfectly timed tweet, Spotify’s always playing one step ahead — and it’s all thanks to their always-on listening strategy.
Context & Case Study: A Streaming Giant That Knows Its Audience (and Its Vibes)
Spotify’s rise from a niche music platform to the king of streaming wasn't just about licensing tracks. It was about understanding listeners — culturally, emotionally, and digitally.
Here’s how social listening fuels their strategy:
1. Proactive Engagement
Spotify doesn’t wait for tags — they listen to what users are already talking about. Their content teams track conversations around music, moods, and even memes, engaging with fans in the tone they speak: witty, weird, and deeply online.
Whether it’s regional Instagram accounts or viral TikToks, Spotify shows up where people are talking — and how they’re talking.
2. Trendspotting in Real Time
Remember the “Thanks 2016, it’s been weird” campaign? That wasn’t just good copy — it was social listening at work. Spotify pulled insights from platform conversations and used them to craft campaigns that felt eerily personal. Wrapped campaigns? Same deal. Built from listening, made for bragging.
3. Meme-Led Marketing
Spotify doesn’t just watch trends — they join in. Their use of memes to promote playlist diversity and mood-based listening turned them into a Gen Z favorite. When you see a funny Spotify post, odds are it started with a listening insight, not just a creative brief.
4. Influencer-Driven Virality
From early partnerships with music bloggers to the modern Wrapped wave of organic influencer shoutouts, Spotify uses listening to spot its loudest fans — then gives them the mic.
5. Customer Support with a Pulse
Have an issue? Tag Spotify. Their listening system routes queries to dedicated Twitter accounts like @SpotifyCares — a proactive way to solve problems fast, while showing others that the brand actually pays attention.
Hello! We're currently experiencing a technical issue that is impacting how some of our data is displayed. Our teams are actively working to resolve it. Let us know if we can help with anything else.
— SpotifyCares (@SpotifyCares) September 8, 2025
Results & Analysis
- 188M+ premium subscribers (2022)
- 8.4M Instagram followers & 6.2M Twitter followers
- “Wrapped” campaigns led to 21% app download spikes
- Influencer mentions with no paid spend — just smart listening
Spotify doesn’t market at its audience — it markets with them.
Key Takeaway
Social listening isn’t just about brand protection — it’s the engine behind brand connection. Be funny, be fast, be human — but above all, be listening.
McDonald’s: When Social Listening Wasn’t Fast Enough for the BTS Army
When you’re a global brand and you partner with BTS, you don’t just spark buzz — you light up the internet like it’s a comeback concert.
McDonald’s knew the BTS Meal would trend. What didn’t they anticipate? That it would break their listening tools.
Yes — for once, the social conversation moved faster than the platform could handle. The BTS Army didn’t just show up; they took over. And while McDonald’s had a strong launch plan, the true lesson here was about real-time responsiveness — and the limits of listening tech when passion reaches critical mass.
Context & Case Study: The BTS Meal That Outpaced McDonald’s Listening Tools
In May 2021, McDonald’s launched its biggest-ever Famous Orders collab — this time with K-pop legends BTS. It wasn’t just a meal. It was a moment.
Leading up to the launch, McDonald’s teased fans with cryptic social behaviors — liking old BTS tweets, adding superscript 7s to their handle, even pretending their community manager was a stan account.
And the BTS Army? They noticed. Quickly.
Once the meal launched, social media exploded.
- The campaign generated 11+ million mentions
- On launch day alone, volume spiked so high that McDonald’s listening tools slowed down
- It took the brand an extra day just to calculate the full volume of mentions
And this wasn’t just Twitter noise. It was everywhere:
- #BTSMeal saw 2.6M uses across platforms
- TikTok views for the campaign hit 1.2 billion
- Engagement on McDonald’s posts during the BTS campaign exceeded all engagement from 2017–2020 combined
- The sauce even made it onto late-night TV and into The New York Times
McDonald’s executed a near-flawless rollout — behind-the-scenes content, exclusive merch, live streams, custom TikTok filters — all paired with the unique emotional fuel that only BTS can ignite.
@saifshawaf My niece is a HUGE BTS fan and she is Army so we had to go try the BTS Meal #fyp #mcdonalds #btsmeal #army #btsarmy
But even with all that prep, this campaign proved one thing: listening tools need to scale with hype. When fandoms go global, speed matters.
Results & Analysis
- McNugget sales spiked across multiple markets
- Record-breaking app downloads
- Twitter trending in the U.S. and globally
- Listening lag during peak engagement — required retroactive tagging
Still, despite the tech hiccup, McDonald’s nailed the most important thing: they showed up, they engaged, and they let fans lead the narrative.
Key Takeaway
Fandoms move fast. Make sure your listening tools — and your team — can keep up. Real-time engagement isn’t optional when you’re tapping into global fan energy.
If You’re Not Listening, You’re Losing
In a world where audiences are louder, faster, and more unpredictable than ever, social media listening isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s mission-critical. As these six case studies show, the brands (and even public institutions) winning online aren’t the ones shouting the loudest. They’re the ones listening the smartest.
Whether it’s detecting fan-driven hashtag movements, tracking sentiment in real time, or riding the wave of a viral meltdown, each example proves one thing: social insights fuel real impact.
So if you’re still stuck in post-and-pray mode, it’s time to upgrade. Tap into conversations, decode cultural cues, and let your audience write part of the playbook. Because the brands that know what their followers want — before they say it — are the ones that earn loyalty, relevance, and the almighty retweet.
Listen closely. Your next big idea is already trending.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between social media listening and social media monitoring?
While they may sound similar, monitoring tracks direct mentions and engagement, while listening focuses on the broader context — what people are saying about a brand, industry, or trend, even if they don’t tag you. The best campaigns use social listening tools that capture sentiment, competitor mentions, and emerging trends across platforms.
How can brands use social listening to improve influencer campaigns?
Listening tools help brands craft smarter creator briefs by identifying what target audiences are already discussing. This lets marketers write data-backed influencer briefs that align more closely with real conversations, not assumptions.
What metrics should I track after launching a listening-led campaign?
The success of a social listening campaign isn’t just about likes. Look at engagement rates, share of voice, sentiment shifts, and customer service response time. A full view of key social media metrics ensures you’re measuring meaningful outcomes.
How does real-time listening help during product launches or crises?
Real-time analysis lets you pivot your messaging on the fly — especially when sentiment turns unexpectedly. Tools that offer instant social media analysis help brands act in the moment, not after the damage is done.
How are brands using AI in social media listening today?
AI is helping brands move from basic monitoring to predictive analysis — surfacing emotional tone, trend forecasts, and high-risk mentions. Many are turning to AI-driven social media tools to scale insight gathering without scaling their teams.
Can Instagram be used effectively for social listening?
Absolutely — Instagram is a goldmine of UGC, visual sentiment, and brand perception. Using Instagram listening strategies, marketers can uncover how their brand is visually represented, what trends are catching fire, and how consumers feel through captions, hashtags, and comments.
Do brands use templates to guide listening campaigns?
Many teams start with social media templates to structure their listening dashboards, response frameworks, and reporting. This saves time while ensuring consistency across campaigns, especially in multi-brand environments.
What’s a good example of a product launch driven by social listening?
Sprite’s viral launch of their new flavor is a perfect case study. They used listening data to shape creative, target high-intent users, and even guide product naming. It’s a clear example of how viral trend insights from social listening can directly shape brand strategy.
