Category: Statistics

Insightful numbers.

Social Media Becoming an Expected Source for Customer Service

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I’ve noticed lately that people expect (demand, really) customer service from brands on social media. Is your social media monitoring and management plan up to the challenge?

Research Shows Expectations

First, some data. Sprout Social’s latest “Index Report” finds a disconnect between consumer expectations of brands on social and how brands prioritize their channels. Consumers increasingly expect great customer service on social, according to the report, which surveyed over 1,000 consumers and 1,000 marketers for the study. Social media is the most-preferred channel for consumers to share feedback about a product or service (31%) and raise customer service issues or questions (33%), with nearly half (47%) saying strong customer service is the top trait that makes a brand best-in-class on social.

Wow.

First Hand Proof

Like many people, I’m still dealing with the fallout of canceled travel plans in 2020. I recently got a notice that credit for one airline was expiring. Since air travel is still iffy these days, I wanted to ask for an extension. Tried to email, no response. Tried to call, hours later, no resolution. Tweeted about the issue and, voila! expiration extended.

Wow again.

Customer Service on Social

You likely aren’t as large as the airline in my story, but their customer service response on Twitter is making me and other consumers look at social media as a platform for getting help from brands.

Moving away from social is as risky for brands as not having a customer service strategy on the platforms. The Sprout Social data also found that nine out of 10 consumers will buy from brands they follow on social, and 86% will choose that brand over a competitor, while 85% will buy from that brand more often. If you are not on social, all of these opportunities fall to 0%.

It’s time to look at how to provide customer service on your brands social channels. What can you offer? What response time can you provide? What resources will you apply to the effort? These and other questions need to be asked and answered.

Just as you have an online marketing strategy, define your online customer service strategy. Map out what you will do and commit to following the plan. Then, let your social audience know how they can engage with you for customer service. Often, setting the right expectations is the key to success.

How to Measure Success on Social Media

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The only way to know if your time and effort on social media is worthwhile is to set goals and measure success. That’s easy to understand, but deciding how to measure success on social media can be a struggle.

The effort is worthwhile. Metrics let you understand the impact of your efforts, allocate resources, track progress, and optimize for continued success.

Defining the right metrics starts with having a digital marketing strategy. There, you define your goals. The right metrics measure progress toward those goals.

There are three general types of metrics to consider.

Business-Level Metrics

Business-level metrics are measures that speak to the goals of your organization. Here you show how your digital efforts are contributing to the big-picture goals of your brand. Generally, business-level metrics are data that show financial returns: profit and savings.

Examples: Market share, revenue, brand equity, brand awareness, share of voice, customer lifetime value, and brand affinity

Performance Metrics

Performance metrics, also called key performance indicators (KPIs), measure performance against the goals in your digital strategy. This data provides direct measures against the defined goal(s). These metrics generally have set time frames.

Examples: Sales, reach, engagement, engaged users, clicks, traffic, quality traffic, audience growth, leads, mentions, earned impressions, and conversions

Optimization Metrics

Optimization metrics provide insights on how to improve your social media and other digital efforts. This data is collected to show what’s working and what’s not, so that you can fine-tune your online activities.

Examples: Clickthrough rate, cost per click, conversion rate, engagement rate, engagement per post, reach per post, retention rate, and growth rate

How Often to Post on Social Media

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Here’s the #1 question I answer: “How often should I post to social media?” There’s no one right answer, but I can offer insight.

First, you need to consider your goals and audience. Post zero times to places where you audience isn’t or that don’t support your goal. Quality content always beats quantity. If you don’t have anything great to post, don’t post.

Now that we have that out of the way, here are the current guidelines for the most commonly used platforms:

  • On Instagram, post between 3-7 times per week
  • On Facebook, post between 2-5 times a week
  • On Twitter, post between 1-5 times a day
  • On LinkedIn, post between 1-5 times a week

Every social media account is unique, so looking at your metrics is absolutely key to getting the right frequency.

Frequency on Instagram

It is generally recommended to post to your Instagram feed 2-3 times per week, and no more than once per day.

Key Instagram statistics:

  • The average user spends 30 minutes a day on Instagram
  • 81% of people use Instagram to research products and services
  • 63% of American users check Instagram at least once a day

Posting on Facebook

It is generally recommended to post once a day, no more than daily. Some studies have even found less engagement if you’re posting more than that.

Key Facebook statistics:

  • Facebook is the world’s third most-visited website
  • More than half of American users check Facebook several times per day
  • The average user spends 34 minutes per day on Facebook
  • 80% of people access the platform using mobile only

Tweeting Guidelines

It is generally recommended to post no more than 3-5 times per day. People on Twitter are looking for news and events.

Twitter statistics:

  • 42% of American users check Twitter at least once a day
  • Users spend about about 15 minutes per visit

Using LinkedIn

On LinkedIn, post once a day and generally on business days.

LinkedIn facts:

  • Companies that post weekly on LinkedIn see a 2x higher engagement rate
  • 12% of American users check LinkedIn several times a day