“Sociable” is the latest commentary on important social media developments and trends from industry expert Andrew Hutchinson of Social Media Today.
Social media has become a key connective tool, with billions of people logging on every day to get the latest updates, check in with friends, share important messages, and more.
And that “more” includes shopping, and in particular, maintaining an awareness of the latest deals and offers from the brands that they love.
That’s according to the latest “Social Pulse” report from Emplifi, which incorporates responses from 1,000 U.S. social media users who’ve shared their perspective on what they expect from brands, what they use social media for, and how they can be reached.
You can download Emplifi’s full report here (with email sign-up), but in this post, we’ll take a look at some of the key notes.
First off, the report looks at the top reasons why people follow brands on social, which could be an important consideration for your presence:
As you can see, consumers primarily follow brands to ensure that they maintain awareness of the latest deals and promotions, and they’re less interested, overall, in product updates. Of course, there would be some variance by brand within this, but the emphasis here is that sales and offers should be a strategic priority in your posts.
That’s further reiterated in another section of the report, which takes a more in-depth look at what drives purchase activity:
So again, offers, UGC, and engagement are key factors that drive brand affinity and interaction online.
That last part is particularly important, with the report also looking at consumer expectations around DMs, and engaging with interested consumers:
As you can see, the expectation is that brands will be responsive online, and that they will actively, and promptly engage.
Indeed, another section of the report shows that 32% of consumers now expect a DM response within an hour, which is an expectation that’s been established by many brands meeting this kind of response time.
That won’t be possible for everyone, but the insights here show that brands need to set realistic consumer expectations, and respond to queries within the times that they set out. Otherwise, people will move on, and your brand reputation could be impacted as a result.
The report also looks at posting frequency, and what works best for different audiences:
Most consumers, the data suggests, want to see brands post several times a week, though multiple times per day is likely too much for most, while once a week is even worse.
So activity is important, but within reason, and you don’t want to push it too far, or you risk losing your audience.
There are more insights in the full report, which could give you some additional considerations for your social media marketing approach. Again, individual results may vary, but the data here indicates some key, relevant trends that could define your strategy.
You can download Emplifi’s full “Social Pulse” report here.
