As brands seek to differentiate themselves on social, Sprout Social’s 2023 Index reveals that consumers are twice as likely to say they are more memorable for personalized care from a brand than for content about trends or social issues. Became
Chicago, September 12, 2023 — Social media is no longer just a place for friends and family to gather virtually. Social media is central to building brand and consumer trust, and requires timely and authentic engagement from brands, according to new research. Released today is 2023 Sprout Social Index, Edition XIX: Breakthrough We found that the majority of consumers (51%) think the most memorable action a brand can take on social media is simply providing a response. Meanwhile, one in four consumers believes speaking out about social issues and causes makes a brand memorable, despite being seen as a differentiator in recent years. Masu. As consumers primarily follow brands on social media to stay up to date on products and services (68%), the 2023 Index reveals a shift in what consumers want from social media and how brands It reveals the need to prioritize personalized care and engagement.
sprout social, the industry’s leading provider of cloud-based social media management software, surveyed over 1,800 consumers and 900 marketers in the US and UK to find out what role social media plays in today’s business environment. We looked at how brands are evolving, what consumers expect from brands on social, and how they’re changing. The brand is planning for the future.
The study found that the majority of consumers (53%) are now using social media even more than during the pandemic-era surge, and marketers are responding to consumers’ desire for personalized connections. We’ve found that we’re leveraging AI to deliver better customer experiences at scale. In fact, 81% of marketers say AI has already had a positive impact on their work, with increased time for creativity (78%) and increased efficiency (73%). cites it as its biggest advantage. Marketers are also seeing the positive effects of AI taking over time-consuming tasks such as data analysis, giving them more time to meet demands for authenticity and have the personalized conversations consumers crave. Masu.
“Our research shows that consumer expectations continue to grow and change over the years. Today’s consumers want brands to trust and truly connect with them, not just jump on trends and social issues. and are demanding more responsive and personal attention than ever before,” said Sprout Social CMO Jamie Gilpin. “Social media is a channel for building trust, and consumers expect brands’ social presence to provide authentic communication and strong customer care. Our research shows that more sophisticated AI The introduction of tools powered by AI has also shown that marketers can do just that at scale. We support our social teams in creating experiences.”
This year’s index also shows that demands on social teams are higher than ever. Authenticity tops the list of things consumers aren’t fully satisfied with with brands on social media, with 70% expecting a personalized response when reaching out on social channels. More than three-quarters (76%) of consumers place equal value on brands that prioritize customer support and respond quickly to their needs, with 69% expecting a response within the same day after contacting them. To meet this demand for timely responses and streamline customer care on social, nearly half (47%) of marketers are using AI and automation tools to significantly address basic customer inquiries. We plan to handle it at scale and be able to focus on developing deeper, more personalized engagement. Together with our customers.
Other key findings from the 2023 Index include:
- Marketers have AI in their future plans, but not without concerns. More than 8 in 10 already recognize the positive impact of AI, and marketers are increasing their ability to analyze social data (68%), create content (66%), target social media ads and campaigns ( 65%) expect AI to play a role in building chatbots. Conversely, marketers cite job loss as their top concern when it comes to AI. Additionally, one-third of consumers are concerned about maintaining a balance between AI and humanity in social media interactions, and 42% of consumers are concerned about brands using AI in social media interactions. I feel it.
- Tomorrow’s social teams must make silos a thing of the past. The role of social has expanded far beyond marketing, impacting almost every corner of business. Currently, 76% of social marketers say their team’s insights inform other departments, and 65% say other teams inform their social efforts. I am answering. Despite this, 43% of social teams still feel isolated from other departments, especially in mid-market (48%) and large enterprises (44%) compared to small and medium-sized businesses (33%). This is noticeable in organizations such as
- The link between society and profits differs between practitioners and managers. Engagement metrics such as likes, shares, and comments are the most regularly tracked metrics among all respondents (78%). However, mid-level managers and practitioners track social media traffic (60%) and reach/impressions (58%) to their websites at a higher rate than executives (46% and 44%, respectively). I am. While this measurement marks a new level of social media maturity, quantifying the value of social media engagement in terms of revenue is important for marketers to understand against their business goals for 2024 and beyond. This will be the main way to demonstrate social impact.
- While most social teams today are made up of social networks, adaptability is key to continued success. The majority of social media teams today (64%) are organized around a specific social media platform or network, with one team member handling TikTok, another handling Instagram, etc. The other most common team structures are based around different audience functions (48%), such as community management and customer support, and distribution roles (44%), such as content creation, video production, and publishing.
Learn more about breakthroughs into the next era of social. Download the full 2023 Index report.
About Sprout Social
Sprout Social is a global leader in social media management and analytics software. Sprout’s intuitive platform brings powerful social data to more than 34,000 brands, enabling them to impact their businesses smarter and faster. Sprout has a full suite of social media management solutions, offering comprehensive publishing and engagement capabilities, customer care, advocacy, and AI-powered business intelligence. Sprout’s award-winning software works with all major social media networks and digital platforms. For more information about Sprout Social (NASDAQ: SPT), please visit sproutsocial.com.
About data
The survey was conducted online in the US and UK by Cint on behalf of Sprout Social. Participants included his 1,817 consumers who follow at least five of his brands on social media. In addition, I am involved in managing brand social media strategies (i.e., I am doing the work myself, or I am managing someone who is doing the work) for a variety of companies in the US and UK.903 A survey was conducted among full-time social marketers. Both surveys were conducted from June 12, 2023 to June 23, 2023. The relationships between the collected variables were analyzed using parametric statistics to confirm statistical significance.