Why Social-First Marketing Isn’t a Trend. It’s the New Go-To Strategy.

A recent Ad Age feature explored how companies like Unilever, Clorox, and Amazon are restructuring their marketing operations around social. The goal isn’t just to participate in culture but to build entire brand strategies from it. This shift is no longer about chasing viral moments. It is about reorganizing the entire marketing model based on the intelligence coming from platforms like TikTok, Reddit, and Instagram.

At Joybyte, we’ve seen this shift firsthand. The move toward social-first marketing continues as brands see measurable improvements with strategies built around digital culture, trends, and conversations. Social is no longer just a channel. It is the starting point for everything else, including TV, retail, paid media, and brand storytelling.

From Experimentation to Infrastructure

Unilever’s CEO, Fernando Fernandez, made a bold move earlier this year. He committed to increasing social media’s share of the company’s $10.2 billion marketing budget from 30 percent to 50 percent and scaling influencer collaborations twentyfold. His goal? One influencer for every municipality in Brazil and every ZIP code in India.

That’s not just marketing. That’s infrastructure.

The same Ad Age article cited research from Sprout Social’s 2025 Impact of Social Media Marketing Report, which found that 80% of marketing leaders are shifting budget from display ads and SEO to influencer and organic social content.

Social-First Marketing Puts Strategy First

At Joybyte, we think about “social-first” as more than just starting with social content. It means designing your entire marketing approach with social media at the core. That includes working with content creators, but it also means using cultural signals, trends, and digital conversations to shape strategy from the ground up.

Brands like Seventh Generation and TreSemmé, both under the Unilever umbrella, are building campaigns directly from those insights. The “Freaky Clean” campaign started with a TikTok trend and turned into a full-scale, high-performing social initiative. 65% of the campaign’s paid media came directly from boosted creator content, and the engagement rate doubled typical CPG averages.

This is the kind of work that doesn’t just drive views. It delivers measurable business results.

Brands Make Creators Strategic Partners

Amazon is taking a similar approach. As Ad Age reported, the company is investing in serialized creator-led content like “Boy Room” and “Celebrity Substitute,” then supporting that content with paid media because the performance often surpasses traditional social ads.

From our perspective, this reflects a broader shift in how brands view creators. They are no longer just spokespeople for campaigns. They are collaborators who help shape content strategy, interpret cultural trends, and deliver value across the entire marketing funnel.

The CMO Mandates Marketing Adaptation

CMOs no longer need to be convinced that social is important. But many still feel under-equipped to scale these efforts or prove ROI. The biggest questions we hear are:

• How do we scale influencer marketing without losing authenticity?
• How can we measure real business impact?
• How do we integrate social seamlessly with other channels?

These are common challenges many brands face. In our experience, micro-influencer programs that are consistent, data-informed, and aligned with the customer journey tend to be more effective at addressing them.

Micro-Influencers Are Unsung Marketing Heroes

Big-name influencers might earn the spotlight, but it’s micro-influencers who drive real, repeatable results. They connect deeply with niche audiences and are trusted voices in their communities.

Rather than relying on a fixed roster of influencers, we’ve found that developing custom strategies with carefully selected creators often leads to stronger brand alignment. This approach tends to support more consistent engagement and authentic growth over time.

It’s Time to Rebuild Marketing Around Social Media

TreSemmé offers a clear example of how this approach can deliver results. The brand saw a 22% year-over-year increase in engagement and a 5.5% rise in styling product sales after launching socially driven campaigns like “Give Gloss” and “Get TF Out of Bed.” These campaigns weren’t just supported by influencers. They were developed in close collaboration with them from the start.

Looking ahead, the brands that succeed will not necessarily be those with the largest media budgets. They will be the ones built to keep pace with culture and adapt quickly.

If you’re ready to make that shift, Joybyte’s micro-influencer marketing programs and social media strategies are designed to help you build for long-term growth. Let’s move beyond one-off campaigns and create a system that scales with your brand—contact us to get started.