Social Media Engagement Grows, While Brand Interaction Lags

While consumer use of social media, and interaction with brands, is clearly growing, the response time/rate from brands to inquiries is surprisingly low. Businesses who utilize social media to increase brand awareness, and generate leads and sales, should take note: In a survey by The Social Habit, 42% of consumers complaining through social media expected a response within 60 minutes.

A survey by Sprout Social conducted last year shows the most responsive category through social media was business services–the average response time to consumer inquiries was 9.5 hours. While the hospitality and retail industry response time was 11.6 and 10.9 hours respectively. If the study by The Social Habit is any indication, business owners need to improve their engagement and responsiveness on social media.

Its seems logical that the most important messages to respond to would be any sort of complaint about a service or product. However, if you’re looking to generate more business, and take several days to respond to an inquiry, that may be a new customer/client lost.

“The Social Customer Infographic” by Sprout Social