Hello from London! I’m across the pond covering the Adobe Max Creativity Conference, hearing all about tools & trends & thoughts & new things. Even staying the weekend for a little much needed R&R… that I’ll inevitably interrupt to go hoop when I should be reading in a cafe.

Also, some fun news, New Yorkers—I’m speaking at Teachable Connect! It’s a joint effort from my pals at Creator Economy NYC and Teachable to build a new conference serving creators and entrepreneurs, teaching pretty much everything about… well, I already said creators, didn’t I. You can grab tickets for $100 off here—use the code CREATOR100OFF for the discount!

Alright, social things—we’re talking about a tactical community management play today that I truly think could generate some grrrrreat results for ya.

—Jack Appleby

Why brands should reply to every comment on Influencer Spon Con

I checked off a dream last week when I was asked to speak at Meta—pretty damn cool moment. I was on a panel with a few other marketer/creator hybrids, sharing our thoughts on how brands could better partner with influencers.

That’s when a fellow panelist dropped a suggestion that inspired this entire newsletter.

When asked for an easy-to-implement move that every brand should incorporate into their influencer deals, Fashion creator & DJ Luda Love casually mentioned “brands should remember to comment on our branded content and reply to every comment.”

My eyes went wide when I realized how infrequently it happens—not just in my own life as a creator, but when I worked brand side.

How. Are. We. Not. Doing. That.

Let’s talk through the process, how it should work, why it’s a good idea, and an extra credit method.

The brand brief-to-influencer content workflow

We all know the typical process for an influencer brand partnership. The brand tosses a creator a brief, the creator makes some content, and both parties smile (and hopefully broker a second deal) when the content’s live! Easy peasy.

Meanwhile, that sponcon’s earning all sorts of comments.

• “I’ve been thinking about trying this—worth it?”

• “what’s your favorite flavor?

• “Omg I’ve been wondering about these things”

And what do most brands do?

Absolutely nothing.

No replies. No interaction. No presence. Once the content is live, the final interaction is usually just pulling some basic data on performance.

Like Luda pointed out, it’s a massive missed opportunity.

Comments Are Soft Leads. Treat Them That Way.

Every comment under an influencer’s content is a warm lead. Someone who stopped scrolling, thought about your brand, and took the time to type. That’s interest. That’s intent. And your brand should reply to every single comment on the influencer content that’s even sort of about your brand.

Hell, I’d argue comments on an influencer’s brand content are more important than comments on your brand’s owned content. Most people replying to your @brand either already own your products or have customer service questions—but the comments on the creator’s post are potential new customers!

Show Up Where the Conversation Is

When a brand replies to comments under an influencer’s post, it does a few things:

1. Builds trust. People are more likely to buy from brands that talk back. A simple “Let us know what you think when it arrives!” makes a follower feel seen.

2. Drives conversions. If someone asks a question and gets a thoughtful answer, that can be the difference between bouncing and buying. Especially when the comment was already about your product.

3. Boosts performance. More comments = more engagement = better algorithmic favor. When brands reply, they double the comment count. That helps the influencer, the post, and the campaign.

4. Signals presence. Being active in comments makes your brand feel alive. It shows that you care about your community—even when you’re borrowing someone else’s audience.

You already have community managers—give them a list of influencer posts, have them set aside an hour, and let them work the thread like a brand-side bartender. Quick responses. A little flair. Showing those folks you appreciate the love.

How to integrate Influencer Content Community Management into your brand deals

• Talk through the thinking with your Creators. Let them know your brand’s going to publicly support them & be active in their comments, and that you’d like them to participate in the banter.

• Build it into your workflow. Any time an influencer post goes live, your community team should get a ping (or better yet, know ahead of time when the content’s supposed to post). Their job? Show up in the comments. Every single one.

• Train your team to engage well. No canned responses. Be human. Be on-brand. Be helpful.

• Track conversions from comments. Start measuring how often engagement in the comments leads to clicks or conversions. I promise—it’s happening more than you think.

Bonus Round: having public-facing employees also participate.

You’ve probably heard that B2B Influencer Marketing’s hitting a huge growth spurt. My LinkedIn’s become one of my primary income streams, with brands wanting to tie their marketer-friendly products into my daily thought leadership content.

Because my content’s about marketing, and my partnerships are usually marketing-related products, it’s totally natural for the marketers who work for the brand to comment and engage with the content! And it’s a win for everyone!

Take this branded content I posted on Monday in partnership with TypeForm. If you look in the comments section, you’ll notice TypeForm’s Head Of Content and a partner at agency Cherry Lane both left thoughts on the post! One engaged with the premise, and the other publicly thanked me for working with them. Those replies help the content succeed the same way a brand replying would, and maybe even more so. And no, they didn’t pay for this newsletter placement, so enjoy the extra love, TypeFormers!

Now, caveat—I’m not telling you to send an all staff email telling your whole company to engage (which actually did happen at one of my old agencies). But, if your team has public-facing employees or if your team wants to be part of moment, it definitely can help.