thesocialcat.comReviews of thesocialcat.com

Why Social Cat Might Not Be Worth the Risk for Startups As a newly launched small brand based in New Zealand, every dollar of our marketing budget counts, and protecting our initial reputation means everything to us. Like many fellow founders, I came across Social Cat through TikTok advertisements promising a streamlined way to connect with creators under various collaboration models. Naively optimistic and eager to grow, I fell for the pitch, tested it briefly, and quickly committed to a paid subscription. Now, after a two-month trial and nearly $200 USD spent on subscription fees alone, I am sharing our experience. Unfortunately, the entire journey resulted in only one piece of content, which unfortunately fell far below acceptable quality standards. If you are a fellow small business or an early-stage startup considering this platform, I would sincerely urge you to weigh the following systemic issues before subscribing. 1. Extremely Low Response Rates and Non-Binding Invitations The outreach process on the platform proved highly inefficient for us. We meticulously selected and invited 100 creators who perfectly fit our brand alignment and requirements. Out of those 100, only two responded positively. To make matters worse, one of those two suddenly changed their mind after initial agreement, demanding an entirely different collaboration model. On this platform, creators seem to back out or shift terms at will, and the system offers no way for brands to hold them to their initial interest. 2. Complete Lack of Accountability and Deliverable Delays Aside from our outbound invites, we also vetted inbound applicants and moved forward with three creators (two based overseas). We dispatched our inventory immediately to ensure a smooth partnership. The results were deeply discouraging: Creator A: Constantly delayed delivery for over multiple weeks. When the content was finally uploaded, it completely ignored our agreed-upon brief and guidelines. Creator B: Claimed the product never arrived and subsequently ghosted all of our follow-up messages. Creator C: Promised to post but is currently overdue by more than two weeks with zero deliverables submitted. 3. The Power Imbalance: High Risk for Brands, Zero Risk for Creators The core flaw of the platform lies in how it leaves small brands entirely vulnerable. The system appears to offer zero structural protection for paying businesses because: No Anonymous Feedback System: Brands cannot leave anonymous reviews or low ratings on a creator's profile to caution other businesses or flag unreliability. No Third-Party Arbitration: There is no active mediation or escrow-like verification from the platform to ensure creators actually fulfill their end of the bargain before a campaign is marked complete. The Fear of Retaliation: As a fragile, early-stage brand, we are forced to remain passive and overly accommodating. We cannot risk taking a firm stance with unreliable creators because they hold the power to post damaging, negative "reviews" under the guise of "authentic opinions"—which could instantly destroy a startup’s reputation before it even takes off. While I assume creators likely enjoy free access to the platform, it is the brands that bear the full financial burden of subscription fees and marketing costs—yet we are the ones forced to shoulder 100% of the operational risk. We write this not out of anger, but out of a genuine desire to share a cautionary tale. For small businesses operating on thin margins, the platform currently lacks the safeguards necessary to protect your investment, your time, and your brand's peace of mind.

3 of the influencers we collaborated with stopped responding the moment they received our product. That's $300 loss + $100 SocialCat monthly membership. We had contracts with all those influencers through SocialCat but that did nothing. Reached out to support, they just gave a copy/paste answer saying we should have contracts with influencers before sending a product (we did have contracts, the support person didn't even check. just a generic answer). Also advised us to replace the influencer with another one. Well what's the point of paying SocialCat $100 per month if they don't vet the influencers, do not come to help when a dispute happens and their contracts means nothing to the influencers.

The reputational risk of an international brand aligning even indirectly with The Social Cat, is beyond anything we have encountered previously. Brands should do their own research and reach their own conclusions. But from our own experience, initial pre-subscription email enquiries (2) failed to garner a single response, but we signed up anyway. We felt we'd give it three months. During the first 6 weeks we reached out to their business email three times, again, no response. Our campaign target was to engage with smaller creators, but (and we say this very unwillingly), they were simply too stupid to engage with. That's not the fault of the site per se, but what is the fault of the site is to allow these creators to delude themselves they are Warren Buffet. We directly messaged Creators, to be told that "nah I ain't reading anything", or words to that effect on over 75% of responses. The Creators who contacted us were no better. No one was willing to be interviewed. No one was willing to read, yet along sign our terms of business. In summary, the Social Cat could be an amazing business if it was run more professionally. We would have paid far more than the 300 bucks subscription, if only it worked or someone would engage with us.

It's not worth the risk. I completed a project back in November and never actually got paid. They force you to leave a review on the brand's profile but this is way before anything is settled, so seemingly everything is perfect. You are not able to edit your review later on or raise a complaint against the brand in question. It's been 4 months since then and I do not expect to get paid, just want to flag to others so that they don't end up in the same situation.

I was a creator on the platform but because I travel a lot there were times I couldn't get the product fast enough and there were brands on there that were very snippy about it and gave me bad reviews which ruined my chances of getting other partnerships. It's interesting because you are essentially doing the brand a favor by creating content for free. On the other hand, there were brands that were very understanding and worked with me and for that I'm appreciative. But those bad apples??.. will ruin the bunch, I tell you. So, I canceled my creator account with them. It was just too much as I'm in school and living abroad for a while. So, I didn't need the added stress for something I'm not even getting paid for. I think some delusional brands think you want to keep their $0-40 product when you have to claim the total value of it on your taxes and pay for it anyway... eventually. For example, I was going to have to pay $40+ dollars to ship a product to me while I was out of the country so it didn't make financial sense BUT since I agreed to do it I was going to try my damnedest to get it done, but instead, the brand gave me a bad review, then archived our partnership in the app so I couldn't give them a review as well. Shame on the platform for allowing that sneaky behavior because she was permitted to badmouth me, but was permitted to block me because she didn't want me to give my honest opinion of my experience. I even gave her the tracking information and she said she couldn't read it because it was in Spanish (just use Google translate, girl) Anyway, beware because some brands will try to treat you like an employee and try to ruin your reputation on the platform pretty quickly. I suggest if you are someone that works a little slower (like me because I have ADHD and am balancing a lot), try to see if the brand is understanding of that kind of thing first and won't hold you to a super hard deadline. Some are grateful for the free exposure, others try to treat you like an employee that owes them something. It's hit or miss.

IN THE STRONGEST OF WORDS Do not use Social Cat. 1) The influencers do not create content that's anywhere worthy of more than $5. 2) The influencers are unresponsive and unprofessional. 3) You cannot cancel the trial easily; it took 5 days. 4) I tried to email customer service to unsubscribe, but they are completely unresponsive. DO NOT use Social Cat, it is a total scam.

Social Cat has serious accountability and user safety issues. Escalated harassment concerns were dismissed outright, even when they involved clear violations of the platform’s own terms. Despite strict rules prohibiting off-platform communication, the platform refuses to investigate or take action when those rules are broken in ways that compromise user safety. Additionally, Social Cat allows creators to leave public reviews before a collaboration has even occurred, which fundamentally undermines the credibility and fairness of its review system and exposes brands to reputational harm without due process. Customer support demonstrated a lack of empathy, responsibility, and concern for ethical standards. I no longer feel safe or supported using this platform and would highly discourage others—especially brands and professionals—from signing up on this platform.

The owner created a fake account and abused me - I have saved all the screen shots bad insinuated I purchased my followers. The owner bullied me it was such a horrific experience…