Social Media Interaction, Not Just Presence, Important for Brands

Having a social media presence on multiple platforms may not be enough for brands anymore. Social media has turned the expectation of customer service into an instant need for many users. And when brands do not meet that instant need, statistics show that customer satisfaction begins to drop.

Research from Econsultancy shows that 42% of companies agree that customer service is one of the top four most important skills for brands and their real-time social engagement. Brands can certainly gain favor with the younger generation, as 49.5 percent of users aged 18-24 have had dealings with brands on social media. But those aged 55 or older are definitely not out of the picture, as 27.4 percent of said older users have had dealings with brands.

Digital marketers have seen an increase in many areas thanks to social media:

• Customer Engagement (31%)
• Customer Loyalty (30%)
• Traffic to Website (25%)
• Sales Turnover due to active use of Social Media (21%)

Econsultancy’s survey also asked users on Twitter what their motivation was for following brands:

• Information on personal interests, hobbies, etc. (42%)
• Quick and easy way to be aware of what brand/company is doing (42%)
• Advance notice of new products of future releases (41%)
• Exclusive content (36%)
• To receive alerts about company/association/organization developments (36%)
• Discounts and promotions (33%)
• In showing support of brand to friends and family (32%)
• To receive “free stuff” or giveaways (31%)
• Because they shopped the brand regularly (28%)
• Family or friend recommendation (15%)
• Because affiliation with brand or product is trendy or “cool” (11%)

And how quickly do users expect a response from brands on social media? Depends on what the user’s issue is. If the customer has a question, 53 percent expected a response from brands on Twitter within one hour. But if customers have a complaint, 72 percent said they expected a response within an hour. If companies do not respond to the complaint within that hour timeframe, 38 percent of those surveyed said their feelings toward the brand turned more negative. So much so, in fact, that 60 percent said they would take action against the brand for better customer service.

Sources:

• “What social customer service is really worth: stats.” 2014. Econsultancy.com
• “Social Customer Service Statics.” 2014. SentimentMetrics.com
• “5 Examples of Great Social Media Customer Service.” 2014. SocialMediaToday.com