Legacy Brands, Modern Feeds: Inside the Social Strategy of Cinnabon & Carvel

Isha: Hannah, thanks for making time! First off, could you share a bit about your role at Cinnabon and Carvel, and how you ended up working in social media?

Hannah: Absolutely! I’m the Social Media Manager for both Cinnabon and Carvel. That means I handle social strategy—everything from campaign planning to partnerships. If there’s a social tie-in to an activation (like collabs or giveaways), I ensure we’ve dotted all the i’s and crossed the t’s, legally and creatively. I also have a Social Media Specialist on my team who focuses on day-to-day content calendars and community management.

I actually found my way into social media through food photography. I was constantly taking photos of the food and posting them on Instagram just for fun. Eventually, I connected with the marketing team at a local restaurant group—they needed help running social for one of their brands, which quickly turned into managing several. Within a couple of months, I was juggling the group’s entire portfolio. It was a crash course in social media, but my love of food photography made it all click.

Isha: Wow, that’s a jump—from local restaurants to running social for major national brands. How different is it, doing social for a local brand vs. a national one?

Hannah: In my experience, very different! With local restaurants or locally focused businesses, you rely heavily on smaller, hyper-engaged communities—like local food bloggers or city-centric Instagram accounts. You want the people who live in that neighborhood to know what’s happening and share it.

For a national brand like Cinnabon or Carvel, you’re trying to engage fans across many different regions. The scale changes, and so do the tools, resources, and even the types of influencers you look for. You might still partner with food-focused creators, but they need a wider audience reach or specific market alignment.

Another difference is that local social can sometimes be slower to adopt new platform updates (like Reels or TikTok). Meanwhile, a national brand needs to jump on those changes much faster because the competitive landscape is bigger and moves quickly.

Isha: Let’s dive into your day-to-day. Social usually pulls in a lot of feedback from different teams—legal, brand, creative, etc. How do you manage everyone’s input but still move quickly enough for social’s pace?

Hannah: It’s a dance, that’s for sure! We try to get everyone aligned on the overall approach early on. That way, we’re not debating the fundamentals halfway through. Then we categorize our content into two buckets:

• Must-Review Content – Big announcements, new product launches, or brand campaigns—anything requiring legal or brand sign-off.

• Evergreen/Day-to-Day Content – Fun or timely posts that keep our feed active. We don’t ask for as many eyes on these; we rely on the social team’s discretion.

That system helps us stay agile. It also stops people from getting lost in the details. If something’s urgent or crucial, the right people weigh in. But the everyday “drumbeat” content can just get done. Social’s partly a numbers game—consistent posting matters—so sometimes “done” really is better than “perfect.”

Isha: Let’s talk user-generated content (UGC). Why is UGC so important for Cinnabon and Carvel, and how does it shape your marketing strategy?

Hannah: UGC is huge for both brands, but for slightly different reasons.

• Carvel: Our headquarters isn’t near an actual location, so we can’t just pop in to shoot content whenever we want. We depend on real fans to show the genuine product experience. UGC also tells us what customers truly love, or which items spark conversation (like a certain flavor or new sundae).
  
  

• Cinnabon: We already know people adore the classic roll, but we alsohave new or less known items (like topped bons, churros, and chillattas). UGC helps us see which innovations resonate. For example, if a limited-edition flavor gets tons of UGC, we realize, “People love talking about this—maybe we should expand on that idea.” Or maybe something sells okay but doesn’t spark many posts. That feedback can help shape future menu innovations.

Across both brands, seeing “real people” enjoy our treats is more engaging than a perfect, professional photo. It’s basically social proof: if your friend—or a bunch of strangers online—is raving about Cinnabon or Carvel, you think, “I want that too!”

Isha: Where does Kale fit into the picture when it comes to UGC?

Hannah: Kale helps us scale UGC at a faster pace. We can focus a challenge on a specific product—like Cinnabon’s churros—and prompt people to share their experience. That’s powerful if we’re trying to boost awareness of something beyond the classic cinnamon roll. Our longtime fans might not know we do churros or topped bons, so having real customers show it off can create that “FOMO” effect.

What’s interesting, too, is when we host multiple challenges at once. We can see what gets the most participation and learn about consumer preferences fast, which is huge!
Plus, even though folks on Kale are getting compensated, the content rarely feels like a straight-up #ad. It’s more like, “Hey, I tried these topped rolls. Here’s my honest reaction!” That authenticity is great. These people are actual fans.

Isha: Any surprises with Kale or UGC in general?

Hannah: The biggest surprise for me is seeing the people behind the content. A lot of our UGC is traditionally focused on the product—just a shot of a cinnamon roll or an ice cream cake. But with Kale, we see the faces (and personalities) of who’s actually buying it. You’ll see couples sharing a CinnaPack or a mom handing BonBites to her kids.

It’s also eye-opening to see cultural differences. Cinnabon might feel like an “American mall treat,” but sometimes we’ll see a video entirely in Spanish or another language. We do have an international presence, but it’s still cool to witness how wide our audience is—just from one UGC campaign.

Isha: Let’s talk trends. How do you find them, decide whether to jump on them, and know when it’s too late?

Hannah: First and foremost, you have to live on social. Trends on TikTok and Twitter can explode overnight. I also talk about social with my friends and coworkers constantly. My “For You” page is curated to my own interests, but my boyfriend or colleagues might see something totally different. That cross-checking helps me catch early waves.
When deciding whether to jump on a trend, I think about:

• Brand Fit – Does this match Cinnabon or Carvel’s vibe? Are we forcing it just because it’s popular, or does it actually make sense for us?
  
  

• Audience – Even if it’s trending on TikTok, does Carvel’s slightly older demographic “get it”? For Cinnabon, we can be a bit more playful, but we still don’t want to alienate fans.
  
  

• Timeliness – Trends move from fresh to cringe fast. If we can do something early, it’s worth a shot. If we’re too late, we’d rather skip it than look out of touch.

• Risk vs. Reward – If it’s low risk, we might go for it. But sometimes it’s safer to do nothing than wedge your brand into a trend people don’t want you in.

We try to keep it flexible. There’s no guarantee something will “blow up,” but if we think our fans will enjoy it, we go for it.

Isha: Let’s talk KPIs. How does your team measure success on social?

Hannah: Our major go-to is engagement rate. It levels the playing field across different platforms and brand sizes. One brand might have hundreds of thousands of followers; another just tens of thousands. Engagement rate tells you how resonant a post is, regardless of raw like-count.

We also look at overall share of voice—how many people are mentioning us without being prompted—especially when we push a new campaign. Sometimes we’re testing new product lines or flavors, and we want to see if conversation spikes on its own. That’s less controllable, but super telling.

Isha: Any advice for brands trying to stay ahead on social media in 2025 and beyond?

Hannah: My biggest tip is to stay in the conversation—which means actively being on social. Listen to what the platforms themselves say. Meta, for example, will literally tell you the types of content they’re prioritizing on Instagram. TikTok has official statements on how their algorithm works. Social pros also share a lot on LinkedIn, so keep tabs on that.
 

Another big one is community. There’s a growing hunger for smaller, more authentic communities, especially as people get wary of data tracking or giant public feeds. Lean into building genuine relationships with your fans and be ready to pivot. Social changes too fast to lock in a 12-month plan and never iterate.

Finally, I don’t think video is going anywhere. If anything, we might see a separate platform for Reels, or new short-form platforms rise. But also watch for more “niche” or “back-to-basics” platforms popping up, because there’s a wave of people missing how social used to feel.

Isha: Love it. Last question: Which brand are you personally loving on social right now, and what makes them stand out?

Hannah: I’m a sucker for Vacation Inc. Their design, branding, and tone of voice are so consistent that even when they do brand partnerships, it feels seamless.
Also, Dunkin’ is always great to watch. Their mini content arcs keep things fresh!