Our newsletterVendor reportSprout Social, 2026
Consumers give brands their weakest marks on crisis response and originality on social
Performance measurement
| Brand activity | Fair/Poor (%) | Excellent/Good (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Keeping up with trends and cultural moments | 30% | 70% |
| Publishing entertaining content | 31% | 69% |
| Crafting content that matches their brand values | 36% | 64% |
| Interacting with audience comments, reactions and questions | 39% | 61% |
| Publishing truly original content | 43% | 56% |
| Responding to crises | 49% | 51% |
Consumer ratings of brand efforts across social media activities
Consumer ratings of brand efforts across social media activities- Reader Note:
- Based on Sprout's consumer survey of 2,305 respondents in the US, UK and Australia who have at least one social media account and follow at least five brands, fielded October 6 to 16, 2025. This stacked bar shows the share rating brands excellent or good versus fair or poor across activities. The lowest excellent or good ratings were responding to crises at 51% and publishing truly original content at 56%, compared with 70% for keeping up with trends and cultural moments and 69% for publishing entertaining content.
- Evidence:
- Self-reported behaviour
- Vendor interest:
- Moderate — This comes from a company with a commercial interest in this market, so it is not a neutral source.
- Sample:
- Online surveys of 2,305 consumers in the US, UK and Australia with at least one social media account and following at least five brands, plus 1,200 marketing leaders in the US, UK and Australia responsible for social media.
Reader Note:
Evidence:
Vendor interest:
Sample:Good for
A rough sense of size and direction, and deciding what to look at first.
Not for
- Exact numbers, or saying that one thing caused another.
- This comes from a company with a commercial interest in this market, so it is not a neutral source.
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