Social First Brands Are Winning: How Target, Dove, Starbucks, And Vaseline Turn Social Into A Growth Engine

For years, social platforms were positioned as the bow on the box; nice to have, easy to overlook. 

A brand would build a big idea, produce the work, buy the media, and post a few assets once everything was finished. The assumption was that social existed to amplify creative work that had already been made elsewhere.

Now, the bow is the main event.

Social is no longer the end of campaigns. It is the place where culture forms, spreads, and influences what people purchase. The strongest brands are no longer adapting creative for social after the fact. They are building ideas from the ground up around how people use these platforms.

Target develops product stories and seasonal drops with social behavior in mind. Dove has kept a 20-year-old platform relevant by allowing the community to shape its evolution. Starbucks turns each seasonal moment into a cultural ritual that lives online as much as it does in stores. Vaseline uses creators and short-form content to reach consumers in places where traditional advertising struggles to break through.

These brands recognize the same truth. Social is not simply a media channel. It is a growth engine that guides creative development, strengthens community relationships, and drives measurable outcomes for awareness, loyalty, and sales.

Social Is No Longer a Distribution Channel

Most brands still see social as a place to publish content after a campaign is complete. 

The most successful brands understand that social has become the center of discovery, entertainment, validation, and recommendation. It is the environment where people decide:

• What is relevant?
• What (or whom) do they trust?
• What do they want to buy?

Modern consumers move seamlessly between entertainment and advertising. They discover a product on TikTok, read creator reviews, explore real experiences in comments, and share their own impressions with friends. Social influences the full journey, not just the top of the funnel. Because of this, the path to building influence is changing. The brands that win treat social behavior as the foundation of their strategy rather than a final touchpoint.

Why a Social First Approach Drives Growth

A social first approach works because it mirrors how people already behave. When brands design campaigns around participation, conversation, and community energy, their work naturally travels farther and resonates more deeply.

There are three major reasons this approach leads to growth.

Social accelerates discovery

People increasingly search for products, recommendations, and advice directly on social platforms. Creator reviews, duets, unboxings, and casual commentary carry more trust than polished advertising.

Social creates ongoing feedback loops

When ideas are built with shareability, reactions, and community involvement in mind, they generate natural momentum. Fans do not just watch or consume; they engage. They contribute, amplifying the work in ways traditional media cannot match.

Social moves people from awareness to action

Short-form content blends inspiration, education, and validation. A viewer can learn about a product, understand how it works, watch a trusted creator use it, and decide to purchase within minutes. This compresses the entire customer journey.

TL;DR Social-first thinking brings discovery, consideration, and conversion closer together, creating a compounding long-term impact.

Dove and the Power of a Living Brand Platform

Dove’s Real Beauty platform has endured for twenty years because the brand treats it as a living conversation rather than a static campaign. Instead of relying on a single message, Dove invites people to shape the narrative through their own stories, reactions, and experiences.

Creators with lived experience add depth and nuance. Organic user-generated content shows beauty in a way that feels genuine. Social listening helps the brand understand emerging issues and adjust its approach quickly. Participation prompts, such as stitches, filters, and personal storytelling formats, encourage people to respond in their own voices.

The result is a platform that never feels frozen in time. It grows as culture evolves, keeping the message relevant and emotionally resonant. 

For leaders, Dove demonstrates the value of building a long-term, values-driven platform that adapts through real community involvement.

Starbucks Turns Seasonal Moments Into Cultural Rituals

Starbucks has mastered turning seasonal offerings into cultural moments that thrive across social platforms. The Pumpkin Spice Latte is not just a drink. It is the beginning of fall for millions of fans. Red Cup Day has become a yearly tradition that sparks a wave of content, conversations, and anticipation.

Starbucks creates this effect by designing seasonal moments with social behavior in mind. Each drop is built to be photographed, reviewed, tasted on camera, and shared in a way that feels joyful. Fans know that the first sip of a seasonal drink is something to post. Baristas know that customers will ask about new menu items because they saw them online. Every element is crafted to invite participation.

These choices create predictable waves of excitement. People look forward to these moments every year, and the social conversation adds cultural energy that strengthens loyalty and drives seasonal sales.

Vaseline Grows Through Creator-Led Education

In many markets, traditional advertising no longer reaches audiences effectively. 

Awareness is low, trust is limited, and consumers often need more education about how to use certain products. Vaseline has approached this challenge by turning to creators who understand local needs and speak directly to their communities' concerns.

Creators explain routines, share personal experiences, and provide simple demonstrations. This content serves as education that would be difficult to communicate through traditional channels. Viewers respond with questions, comments, and genuine engagement, helping the brand understand what information matters most.

This approach has helped Vaseline grow in places where standard advertising was not delivering meaningful results. It also highlights an important trend. Local creators often act as cultural guides, translating product benefits in ways that are both relevant and trustworthy.

Target Designs Creative and Product Drops With Social at the Center

Target has redefined the relationship between retail and social by treating every campaign and product drop as an opportunity for community participation. Visual design, packaging, partnerships, and in-store experiences are developed with social behavior in mind.

This includes thinking about how people will film a product on a shelf, how creators will incorporate an item into a haul video, and how seasonal displays will appear in photos and short-form content. 

Target also uses social listening to identify product trends and community interests that can inform merchandising decisions.

The result is a cohesive experience where social energy fuels real-world engagement, and real-world engagement fuels social content. This connection strengthens the brand and increases conversion across channels.

The New Operating Model for Social First Brands

Building a social-first organization requires more than better content. It requires a shift in how teams work and collaborate.

Creative development begins with cultural insights from social platforms. Creators are brought in early to help shape ideas rather than being added after production. Campaigns are built to encourage participation, not just passive viewing. Measurement evolves to prioritize meaningful engagement, such as shares, comments, saves, and community sentiment.

Brands that adopt this model become more flexible, more relevant, and more connected to the audiences they serve.

The Impact: Awareness, Sales, and Long-Term Loyalty

Social-first thinking creates a loop in which creativity, participation, and cultural resonance feed into one another. It strengthens every part of the customer journey.

When social leads strategy, every part of the business benefits. Awareness grows through cultural conversation. Trust increases through creator partnerships. Sales rise through short-form education and discovery. Loyalty deepens as people feel part of a community rather than simply observers.

To make social first thinking a reality, marketing leaders can start by asking a simple question at the beginning of every brief. What behavior do we want people to express on social when they see this idea?

From there, the next steps include bringing creators into early conversations, building adaptable creative systems, investing in social intelligence, and shifting measurement toward interactions that reflect true community engagement.