What people expect from brands on social
Plus: 2025 social stats, street marketing, and an interview with Lily Vanilli
Hey everyone,
Hope your month’s been awesome and your creative juices are flowing! This edition is packed with fresh campaigns and insights:
What consumers expect from brands in 2025, and how to tweak your social media content to boost engagement and sales
Clever street marketing campaigns and beachy video content that caught my eye
And an interview with the queen of baked goods, Lily Jones (aka Lily Vanilli), about her new ice cream launch, creativity, TikTok videos and more. Scroll down for all the sweet details!
As always, if you need a senior marketer to help shape your summer campaigns, give your marketing a mid-year tune-up or speak at your event, just give me a shout :)
Cheers,
Kim
Fresh marketing stuff
What do people really want from brands on social in 2025?
Spoiler: it’s not just Met Gala memes and “Get Ready with Me” videos (though those might help some accounts). Social is now where people shop, scout for deals and stay in the loop with their favourite brands. Emplifi’s latest Social Pulse report spills the tea on what 1,000 US users expect from brands and how to actually get their attention.
Above all, people want brands to be genuine, responsive and present. It’s not just about slick campaigns, it’s how you show up in the comments, handle feedback and make customer support easy.
Here are some insights and actionable tips to guide your next move.
🛍 60% of consumers made a purchase on social due to a discount or promotion
Tip: Use limited-time offers or exclusive promo codes in your posts or stories to drive quick action. Make it feel like a “social-only” perk to reward followers and boost conversions.
👋 46% of consumers leave brands after two bad experiences
Tip: Audit your customer journey regularly, from DMs to delivery. One small friction point (like a missed message or clunky checkout) could cost you repeat business. Smooth experiences keep people coming back.
⏱ 32% of consumers expect a DM reply within one hour
Tip: Set up auto-replies for DMs and use chatbots or quick-reply templates to keep response times fast, especially during peak hours or launches. Speed = trust.
I took a closer look at the stats behind what actually drives purchases on social media, and here’s what stood out from the report:
60% bought because a discount or promo was offered
51% were already in the market for the product
35% were drawn in by how the post looked
28% felt connected because the post featured people like them
25% responded to humour in the content
21% were swayed because the content felt timely and relevant
Interesting, right? Design, relatability and timing matter just as much as a good deal.
It’s time to review your last few posts. Are you making the most of what really drives purchases? If you’d like a second pair of eyes (from a senior marketer), drop me a message for an audit.
Buzzy campaigns
Stop and smell the armpits… Billie’s NYC campaign
Billie rolled out a cheeky, interactive out-of-home campaign in New York City to promote its new Coco Villa All Day Deodorant. The brand installed scratch-and-sniff posters (designed to resemble armpits) at super high-traffic locations. Passersby were invited to scratch the posters to release the tropical scent of the deodorant. This activation not only brought the product experience directly to the streets but also aligned with Billie’s mission to challenge beauty norms and make personal care fun and approachable. It’s such a fab street marketing campaign: playful, unexpected and on-brand! Watch the video here.
A new daily beauty uniform by Merit
Beauty brand Merit totally wiped its IG feed to launch its new tinted mineral sunscreen, The Uniform. They nailed it by celebrating iconic “uniforms” that people truly own, like Steve Jobs’ black tee and denim, or Sade’s iconic gold earrings and braided ponytail. What I love about it: The campaign sets up the product perfectly before it even drops, making SPF feel like an everyday beauty essential, i.e. part of your daily uniform. It’s clever storytelling that feels simple but elevated, exactly what Merit’s all about. Check it out.
Burberry at the beach
Had to share this video from Burberry, which always makes me smile! They’ve been shaking up their vibe lately, swapping the usual glam model shots for something way fresher and more real. Think everyday people in chill, casual spots. It’s like luxury got a fun, down-to-earth glow-up and, honestly, I’m loving it. A bit of Martin Parr by the seaside vibes :)
My latest news
Entrepreneur in Residence at LCF
If you follow me on IG or LinkedIn, you might have already seen the news. I’m so excited to share that I’ve joined London College of Fashion (LCF/UAL) as an Entrepreneur in Residence! One of the things I’m most passionate about is supporting and mentoring the next generation of entrepreneurs, helping them demystify marketing, build confidence in their ideas and learn how to promote their brands (and themselves) in a fast-paced and evolving industry, so this is a dream gig.
If you're looking for a marketing expert to host a class or workshop or someone to join a panel for your entrepreneur programme, get in touch!New stuff on social
Instagram just launched a new feature called “Blend” for Reels. It lets you and a friend (or your group chat) create a shared feed of recommended Reels to scroll through together.
Instagram is testing a feature called Unlockable Reels, which are Reels that only people with a secret code can view. This means you could share exclusive content just for your VIP customers/community: secret sales, early product drops, loyalty rewards or behind-the-scenes peeks, all unlocked with a code. It’s not fully rolled out yet, keep an eye out!
Time for this month’s big interview! Let’s catch up with Lily Jones, the “queen of baked goods” and the brains (and hands) behind Lily Vanilli.
I had been following Lily on IG for a while, always thinking: When I get married, that’s the cake I want. Well, I finally bit the bullet and ordered one of her dreamy cakes for my town hall wedding lunch… a month before lockdown hit. Perfect timing, right? I tagged Lily, we started chatting on IG, and before I knew it, we met outside her bakery to share a bottle of wine and a great chat.
Since then, I’ve had the chance to work with her on all sorts of marketing projects and launches, from afternoon teas to cake decorating classes, and we’ve become friends. Lily’s a total creative powerhouse, a self-taught baker, and she’s always cooking up exciting new collabs with local businesses and iconic brands and creatives.
Honestly, she’s such an inspiration, so I was excited to chat with her about marketing and her brand-new launch: Chilly Vanilli!
Hey Lily! Tell us about yourself.
I’m a self-taught baker and I started selling cakes in 2008. I’ve always had a creative, eclectic approach and have had tonnes of phases over the years. I have an afternoon tea at the Four Seasons Tower Bridge in London, and a bakery on London’s Columbia Road. We make lots of birthday cakes and wedding cakes to order.
You’ve built one of London’s most iconic cake brands. What’s been your biggest creative breakthrough so far?
Probably the two stand-out moments that noticeably shifted things were my zombie themed cake book and the lifelike bleeding heart cake in it, which went viral years ago and kind of made me the go-to girl for weird cake commissions back in the day. From Elton John’s white tie and tiara ball to a sculpture for the V&A, I was in this fun space making weird and wonderful cakes.
Then in 2018 I started making 80’s themes cakes with lots of piping, and during the pandemic really perfected my piping skills. That blew up into a huge trend over the following years. A lot of people think that’s always been our aesthetic, as it’s what we’ve been most recognisable for lately.
With so many new bakers launching brands and amateur bakers sharing content on social, how do you stay creatively ahead and keep your ideas fresh?
I absolutely love seeing new bakers and cake makers emerging. It’s hard to imagine but when I started it was pre-Instagram and I just didn’t know anyone who baked. It was like this eccentric, weird, grannyish hobby I had, and there just weren’t many great bakeries in the UK at all at the time. I could never have predicted how much baking blew up to become this incredible creative outlet for my generation and beyond. It’s still mind-blowing, but I love it. Also, there are sooo many fabulous bakeries now, which is a wonderful thing, and I love seeing what other cake makers are doing. I always think if you’re doing your own thing and you’re good, there’s always space, no matter how busy it is.
Your new afternoon tea at the Four Seasons is so glam and original. What’s your inspiration?
I’ve always felt afternoon tea needed reinventing – it’s such a fun concept and there’s so much scope for creativity, but it always felt stuck in this pantomime of the past. I wanted to update the menu to suit a modern palette, and create something that my friends and I would actually go to (and go back to), rather than just a tourist spot or for special occasions. At the Four Seasons we’ve created a menu of delicious, chic, small snacks that go with booze as much as tea. We have a mini cocktail pairing which is very, very cute. We’ve kept the element of decadence and glamour that defines afternoon tea. This is a place to get dressed up for and have fun at.
You’re about to launch ice cream, which is exciting! Tell us more :)
Chilly Vanilli! Launching next week at the bakery on Columbia Road. I haven’t been this excited about anything in a while. The serves are really cute and the ice cream is such a vibe. It’s just been really fun to work on.
Let’s talk marketing. Given video and visual storytelling are huge in food, what role does TikTok or IG Reels play in your strategy?
I like to use TikTok more for sharing educational videos, teaching people about piping or sharing baking hacks and BTS. Then IG is more the story of the bakery and, lately, a little more of me too. I feel really connected with people on Instagram – they seem to be people who know the bakery and are customers and friends.
We’ve collaborated a lot over the years, from digital marketing to launching new products/services. What’s it like working with me? :)
Omg you are the best!!!! Always brilliant and sharp with your ideas and, of course, you have so much insight into what works in marketing. Plus, I just feel like you really get the brand and it’s always been a pleasure to discuss it with you. Didn’t we have our first meeting with a bottle of wine 2m apart outside the bakery in lockdown???
Yup, we did! Ok, quick-fire question time. A social media trend you’re loving?
I love a carousel dump.
Most-used emoji in newsletters?
Probably the slice of cake.
Pinterest or Instagram?
IG
Weirdest/wildest cake request you’ve said yes to?
I wouldn’t know where to begin, but I’ve definitely done a lot of zombie-themed stuff, road kill and organs. Ohh I once made a life-sized replica of this girl’s boyfriend’s head. I delivered it myself. The receptionist at the office building recognised who it was from the cake!
Flavour that deserves more hype?
English summer currants (black, red, white) are just the best ever for pastry and cake.
💛💛💛
Discover Lily Vanilli’s cakes, afternoon tea and classes – and follow on IG and TikTok.
Lovely round-up and congrats again on the amazing new role xo