What do consumers want from social?

adam.bernstein

A study from the CMO Council of 1300 consumers and 132 senior marketers revealed a profound difference between what consumers want from brands in social media, and what marketers think they want. The study is 31 pages long and worth a read, but being the social people we are, we’ve done it for you.

The report comes to a startling conclusion, but also includes a great deal of interesting data:

The bottom line is that consumers want more—more experiences, more engagement, more rewards, and more reasons to connect with each other and brands through social media. And brands are missing the boat. They see the benefits of reaching out to customers through social channels, but they aren’t yet fully invested.

What’s in a like?
It’s something we’re always discussing internally, and it’s remarkable to see the difference in point of view between marketers and consumers over why people like brand Pages.

For marketers:

For consumers:

The other important question is what do fans expect once they’ve become one? It’s bares repeating that just acquiring fans should be seen as a means to an end, rather than an end in of itself.

That 60% of consumers say they like a Page to interact with other consumers underlines how a Facebook Page should be a community rather than just a Page:

Providing customer service
A lot of the research we’ve covered in the mashup in the past year has highlighted how brands think offering a response on social channels within 3 days is a reasonable timeframe. Judging by the response from consumers, they need to get a lot quicker, and be monitoring day-to-day for potential crises:

The infographic below showcases some of the other key stats which this report has highlighted. We’ll be doing all we can for our clients to narrow this ‘digital divide’.

The Digital Divide