Social Media As A Customer Service Tool: Trends And Best Practices via @sejournal, @rio_seo

Every tweet, direct message, and comment holds weight. Social media has long been a connectivity platform, where users engage with friends, colleagues, and family.

In recent years, it’s also evolved to become a feedback mechanism for businesses.

In many industries, customers are communicating with a business on social media. It’s a key customer service channel, one in which savvy businesses must consistently monitor to ensure they’re meeting customers’ expectations.

In many cases, it’s the first place customers turn for help.

For brands, this shift presents a massive opportunity but also a real challenge.

Customers expect rapid responses. Research shows that 41% of consumers expect a response from a business within 24 hours. Plus, they’re not afraid to call out a business publicly if they don’t respond or effectively meet their needs.

Today, social media is no longer exclusively about amassing the most followers and likes. It’s about building genuine relationships with customers through timely responses, authentic engagement, and proactive customer service.

The Hootsuite Social Media Consumer Trends 2024 report found that 53% of social media users say the most appealing thing a brand can do on social media channels is to quickly respond to direct questions and comments.

In this post, we’ll explore how social media can be used as a strategic lever for building lasting customer relationships and how your business can implement social-first strategies that elevate both service and reputation.

The Evolution Of Social Media Customer Service

When social media platforms like X (Twitter) and Facebook first launched, brands used them primarily as one-way communication channels.

They’d share promotions, advertise events, showcase new products, and announce pertinent updates.

However, over the last few years, this paradigm has completely flipped. Businesses are now using social media as a two-way communication channel, fostering deeper relationships with customers that turn into loyalty.

With feedback being front and center on social media, customers quickly realized they could get faster responses by mentioning a brand (@brand) rather than using traditional customer service channels, such as chatbots or phone calls.

In turn, businesses realized the importance of social media as a customer service channel, leveraging technology to reply to customer concerns at scale and ensuring timely follow-up.

Social media has become a natural extension of customer support. There are several factors that have contributed to the rise of social as a customer service tool, including:

The Rise Of Mobile

Mobile accounts for over 62% of market share worldwide, with desktop falling behind at 36%.

Mobile phones are the go-to for browsing, shopping, and messaging. With smartphones now the default device, consumers will engage with brands on the go.

Whether it’s sending a direct message to an airline about a canceled flight or mentioning a retail brand on X (Twitter) seeking information about shipping status, customers are more comfortable than ever with connecting with businesses across all social platforms.

Given the convenient nature of mobile devices and mobile apps, social engagement has become more seamless and accessible than ever before.

Generational Changes

Millennials and Gen Z are the dominant force in purchasing power. They’re also the two generations who have grown accustomed to digital-first experiences, including communication.

Both these generations grew up with mobile phones, the internet, and companies that deliver expedited experiences, like Amazon’s two-day shipping.

As such, they demand instant answers to their inquiries, just as they’d expect a friend to reply quickly to a text message.

Platform Maturity

Social media has evolved into a critical customer service tool, and the major platforms are stepping up to make communication easy.

For example, Facebook offers Messenger API integrations, and X (Twitter) supports customer service workflows.

On the other hand, Instagram allows for quick or automated replies, as well as live support features. TikTok is advancing its features to allow brands to address product questions or service complaints.

Customer service has followed the conversation, and those conversations have gone social.

Trends Shaping Social Media Customer Service

Customer expectations continue to rise, and as they do, they’re reaching out for support from businesses in divergent formats, including across social media platforms.

Enter social customer care, which has quickly become a crucial endeavor and a need for every business.

Social customer care is growing smarter and more seamless, powered by automation, fueled by data, and defined by customer expectations for immediacy and personalization.

Let’s break down the trends driving this shift in social media customer service.

AI-Powered Support Has Entered The Scene

Consumers are widely adapting to artificial intelligence, engaging with it for streamlining tasks, seeking information, and contacting support.

AI chatbots have also come a long way from being basic autoresponders with a few canned responses.

Natural language processing (NLP) has become much more advanced, enabling AI to detect sentiment and context at deep levels to:

• Distinguish between a frustrated customer and one who simply wants more information.
• Route escalated customers to live agents for human intervention.
• Recommend products or solutions relevant to the end user based on their past behavior.
• Tailor responses based on a person’s interests and previous prompts.
• Produce human-like responses, where customers feel like they’re being helped rather than rerouted to an unhelpful resource.

Be sure to pair AI chatbots with human agents (a.k.a. “agent assist”) to increase resolution speed, ensure human touch in feedback management, and maintain empathy when customers reach out for help.

Full CX Tech Stack Integration

Technology is getting smarter, and social media tools now integrate directly into customer relationship management systems, help desk software, marketing suites, and more.

This allows support teams to have quick access to order history, view past conversations, and personalize responses without asking for repeat information.

Sales, customer success, support, marketing, and customer experience no longer exist in siloes.

Together, they’re able to promote positive customer experiences across every touchpoint, whether a customer is seeking assistance during the awareness stage or needing help post-purchase through improved visibility.

Voice And Video Support Via Social

Customers have become accustomed to receiving quick and seamless support.

Voice and video support offer attractive alternatives to traditional customer service options.

As technology continues to evolve and align with consumer behavior trends, short-form content has opened the door for new and unique types of customer service interactions.

For example, brands responding to customer questions with personalized videos to help walk through concerns or offer visual guidance.

Alternatively, support agents are also leveraging voice messages to talk through customer support, sending customers a short voice message in Instagram DMs or WhatsApp.

This eliminates the need for customers to pick up the phone and talk to an agent in real time, while offering more personal support.

Livestreaming has emerged as a powerful way for brands to build trust and transparency.

Platforms like Facebook Live, Instagram Live, YouTube Live, TikTok Live, and Twitch make it easy to connect with audiences in real time.

Whether hosting Q&A sessions or holding virtual “office hours,” livestreams allow brands to engage directly with customers and address questions on the spot.

These diverse customer support formats help humanize support and can enable faster resolution through rich media.

Proactive Support Through Social Listening

Social listening has emerged as a powerful ally for spotting issues immediately, allowing businesses to be proactive and swift when addressing consumers.

Social media support has evolved from tracking @mentions. Now, social listening tools empower brands to scan for brand mentions, product feedback, competitor and industry keywords, and more – even if the business isn’t tagged.

Smart brands tracking myriad feedback across social media platforms are able to then:

• Jump into conversations before they escalate further.
• Address complaints swiftly.
• Identify opportunities for improvement in service or products.
• See competitor pain points.
• Introduce your business to a customer who’s evaluating vendors.

For example, a beauty brand may see numerous mentions about a leaky mascara tube on Instagram and Facebook.

Before it spirals any further and fuels negative brand perception, the brand could investigate the issue, fix it, and proactively respond to comments regarding the product defect and the steps they took to rectify it through the power of social listening.

Rise Of “Dark Social”

Not all social responses are public.

“Dark social” is becoming a preferred communication method through platforms like WhatsApp, Messenger, and Telegram, as conversations are private and not broadcast for all to see, as is typically the case with social media conversations. Although, preference is regional and demographic-specific.

The “dark” nature of this communication allows for more personalized one-on-one conversations, which can be especially valuable in international markets, industries with sensitive queries (like financial services and healthcare), or any other industry where confidentiality is needed.

Best Practices For Effective Social Media Customer Service

Just as with traditional customer service channels, social media customer care requires a nuanced approach to ensure satisfaction at every touch point.

A one-size-fits-all approach will no longer suffice. Smart businesses will evolve from reactionary to proactive support, irrespective of social media channels.

Feedback will be monitored across the diverse, fragmented social media landscape, where new content types are consistently introduced and new platforms emerge, eager to garner attention.

According to a recent study, engagements received on Facebook and Instagram continue to grow year-over-year, whilst engagements on X (Twitter) remain steady.

The study shows that customers are engaging across myriad social media channels.

Whether a customer mentions your brand on Twitter or your product on Facebook, equipping your customer service teams with the tools and technology to respond in near real time is a must.

A few best practices to implement into your social media customer service strategy include the following.

Respond Quickly

Consumers have grown accustomed to speedy responses. The Sprout Social Index™ shows nearly 75% of consumers expect a brand to reply within 24 hours or less.

Quick customer service is necessary, and customer expectations continue to grow.

While speed is critical, it can’t be at the cost of humanity. Aim for a first response to a customer within an hour or faster.

The use of pre-approved templates can be beneficial for common queries, but customization will be necessary for escalated issues where emotions can be heightened.

Be sure to acknowledge each issue with empathy and respond in your brand’s tone.

Customers are still not entirely eager to receive responses from AI. A Gartner study found that over half (64%) of customers would prefer that companies didn’t use AI in their customer service.

Escalate Smoothly

Sometimes, a tweet isn’t enough to squelch an issue.

When deeper issue resolution is needed, brands should keep public replies brief and take the conversation to a more private forum, such as DMs or email.

Brands must train agents to recognize when more personal support is warranted and needed, and how to make the transition to a private conversation more seamless to mitigate customer frustration.

Use Dedicated Support Handles

Customers may feel better served knowing they’re engaging with a member of the support team.

To help users distinguish your business from your support staff, it can be beneficial to have a separate dedicated support handle, such as @NikeService vs. @Nike.

A dedicated support handle can reduce confusion, make users feel heard, and ensure support requests aren’t lost in the void.

Help Your Agents Help You

Consider a customer who has reached out for support in the past via Facebook due to a high-ticket product defect.

Your brand rectified the issue by providing the customer with a new part and a partial refund. Now, consider the product experiences further issues in the future, and the customer reaches out again.

They may start to feel like just a number if the second support agent isn’t equipped with the customer’s full product history and was never made aware of the previous product issue.

This, in turn, creates a negative brand experience, which can lead to a bad review and the loss of a customer.

Smart brands give their social media customer service representatives the tools and resources to access customer history to avoid potential pitfalls like the scenario mentioned above.

Empowering your frontline employees not only helps your customers but also your business’s brand reputation.

Follow Up On Service

Customers want to feel seen and heard, irrespective of where they’re reaching out to you. Check in with your customers after their issues have been resolved.

Customer follow-up surveys are a great tool to employ post-service to assess how your customer service team is doing.

Whether a customer reached out to your business via Instagram DM or a chatbot on your website, it’s important to ensure customers know they matter to your business.

Measure What Matters

Customer support managers should track key performance indicators (KPIs) consistently to accurately assess employee performance and keep a pulse on customer satisfaction.

A few common KPIs businesses will want to measure are:

• First Response Time: How long it takes for an agent to reach out to a customer after they’ve reached out for support.
• Average Resolution Time: How long it takes to resolve an issue, beginning from the moment the customer reaches out to closing out the ticket.
• Customer Satisfaction: How happy a customer is with the level of support your business provides.
• Social Sentiment: What users say about your business across popular social media platforms (from your brand name to your products)
• Volume by platform: Which channels receive the most inquiries for support, to better prioritize where your customer support teams spend their time.
•  Issue Types: The types of issues you see most commonly, such as frequent issues with shipping or quality concerns.

By measuring what matters most, businesses can pinpoint critical issues before they become widespread.

For example, if customers continue to voice concerns over short battery life in a toothbrush on TikTok, the business can flag this for its product team, look further into whether it’s a smaller issue that impacted a batch of shipments, or assess if a bigger quality assurance issue is at play.

Make Social Support A CX Differentiator

Using social media as a customer service tool is non-negotiable.

The social media landscape is no longer just a forum for fun. It’s evolved to the point where customers are actively seeking support and voicing their concerns for the wider public to see.

It’s a service battlefield, where brands either win or lose customer loyalty.

Social media has to be a core support channel, not just a nice-to-periodically check.

When your social support mirrors your online support, brands will differentiate themselves from the businesses that aren’t responding with speed and empathy.

Moving forward, the first step you can take is to audit your social media support today.

Ask yourself: Is your business meeting response time expectations? Is your team equipped with the best tools to enable smooth support? And how will your business escalate issues when they arise?

The brands that will thrive in the long run are those building systems for service, not just likes, today.

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Featured Image: Accogliente Design/Shutterstock

15 Proven Tips To Get More Social Media Followers via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

The changes in SEO and search over the last year or so have meant that social media has become an even more important part of an online strategy.

Brands need to consider their visibility across social media channels alongside other online channels to find new growth.

Building an audience on social media should be a priority for most brands to enable them to reach new audiences and to connect with their established audience.

Every social media platform has their own nuances and it’s important to spend time on the channel to get used to the ‘language’ of interacting. For example, how you would connect and communicate on LinkedIn is very different to TikTok.

However, there are fundamental rules that will help you to engage and gain more followers that work across all social media channels.

Let’s have a look at 15 ways that can help you to get more social media followers and maximise social for your brand.

1. Craft A Purpose-Driven Brand Identity

Your brand identity is the foundation of your social media presence. It should show in everything you post, from images to captions.

Create a clear and consistent personality that matches your values and connects with your audience. For example, the sustainable fashion brand Everlane focuses on transparency and ethics. Their social media posts highlights these values by showcasing factory workers and sharing details about their supply chain, which has built a loyal following.

For B2Bs however, the goal can be simple and concise, focusing on helping the user save time.

Airtable states in their LinkedIn profile that their platform “empowers people closest to the work to accelerate their most critical business processes.” This is backed up with every post being aligned to teaching the audience how to simplify their workflow, user group virtual meetings, and automation tips. This alignment is helping to build rapport for their 155k+ followers.

Your content should reflect your brand voice in a trustworthy way. Avoid sounding generic or overly sales-focused. Connect emotionally by sharing your mission and the reasons behind what you do.

2. Deliver Value Through Exceptional Content

To attract attention on social media, create high-quality content that educates, inspires, entertains, or solves problems.

Instead of just promoting your products, focus on providing real value.

Use a mix of formats to engage your audience, such as:

• Short videos (Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts).
• Carousels and infographics.
• User-generated content.
• Polls and quizzes.
• Blog posts and articles.
• Behind-the-scenes looks.
• Interviews with influencers.
• Live videos.

Diversifying your content keeps your feed exciting and meets various audience needs. To extend your reach, repurpose key content across different platforms.

For example, Canva shares relatable behind-the-scenes and quizzes on Instagram that spark lengthy discussions in the comments section, along with engaging visuals, while Notion keeps their Instagram page fresh with product memes and reels that subtly highlight their product.

Diversify your strategy by incorporating both static and video formats across platforms to identify what resonates most with your audience.

3. Be Consistent

To grow on social media, be consistent. Create a reliable posting schedule to keep your audience engaged.

We have a list of the best times to post on social media to get you started. However, we recommend using analytics to determine when your audience is most active.

Then, you can adjust your frequency based on your audience’s preferences.

A content calendar helps you stay organized and connect your social media with marketing plans. Plan to coordinate themes and avoid last-minute scrambles.

Automation tools can help with scheduling. Allow flexibility to keep your content authentic and engage with your audience in real time.

4. Engage Proactively With Your Community

Social media is a two-way street. You need to engage with your followers, not just post content.

Respond thoughtfully to comments and questions, even to say thank you. Asking for feedback is a great way to spark conversations.

Spend time each day interacting with others in your field. Like and comment on relevant posts, and share helpful content from various sources.

Participate in groups where your audience is active. Answering questions showcases your expertise and builds relationships.

For example, Wise has a strong online community. Their team replies to every follower with friendly comments, while also addressing product complaints making customers feel valued. This builds loyalty.

Also, provide excellent customer service on social media. Many people turn to these platforms to resolve issues. Respond quickly and show empathy.

5. Embrace Short-Form Video

Short-form video has exploded in popularity, which are 2.5 times more likely to get engagement. These snackable, 15-to 60-second clips are highly engaging and can help your content reach viewers far beyond your existing follower base.

Currently, the leading platforms for short-form video content are TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. You can read our comparison of these platforms here to help you identify where your key vertical will have the greatest impact.

Platform algorithms like Instagram and Facebook prioritize video content, meaning posting Reels can significantly boost your reach and discoverability. Instagram Head Adam Mosseri stated that Reels generates the most content views from accounts the user doesn’t follow.

So, what makes a compelling short video? Storytelling is key. You must immediately grab attention and communicate your message before the viewer scrolls away.

Focus on a single idea and use text overlays, voiceovers, and on-screen captions to enhance the story. Trending audio tracks and filters can help your Reels gain traction.

Potential short-form video ideas for your brand could include:

• Quick how-to tutorials.
• Product demos or styling tips.
• Behind-the-scenes glimpses.
• Employee/founder spotlights.
• User-generated content.
• Influencer takeovers.

For example, West Elm, a home decor retailer, often posts short videos on Instagram with styling tips and DIY ideas.

The content provides value and inspiration to their audience of design lovers while subtly showcasing West Elm products in action.

Authenticity and entertainment should be the focus over a hard sales pitch.

6. Optimize For Search & Discoverability

To boost your social media reach, follow social SEO best practices to leverage relevant keywords to your posts and profile. This will help people searching for topics related to your brand find you.

Include keywords in your captions, and hashtags on visual platforms like Instagram and TikTok. For longer content on sites like LinkedIn and Facebook, use keywords in your post text, hashtags and alt text for images.

Keywords should reflect your niche, products, brand name, or the problems you solve. Your social analytics can help reveal common search terms.

Hashtags also help with discovery. Find popular hashtags used by your audience and industry influencers. Use a mix of trending and niche-specific hashtags to connect with interested viewers.

To enhance your social SEO, consider these tips:

• Complete your profile with a clear bio including keywords that are relevant.
• Add relevant alt text to your images.
• Use location tags.
• Link to your social profiles from your website.
• Encourage user engagement through shares, likes, comments, and saves.
• Get mentions and backlinks from prominent accounts.

7. Encourage User-Generated Content (UGC)

User-generated content (UGC) is a great way to grow your social media presence. UGC includes posts, images, videos, and reviews created by your customers or fans, not your brand.

UGC serves as genuine social proof. When potential customers see others recommending your products, it builds trust. This type of content is often more persuasive than branded messages.

In fact, 56% of consumers are more likely to buy a product after seeing it featured in a positive and relatable way through UGC.

It also provides fresh content for your social media, saving you time and effort. It encourages customer participation and helps spread the word.

To encourage more UGC, you can:

• Create a branded hashtag.
• Run a contest for sharing photos or videos of your products.
• Offer rewards for reviews or content.
• Share customer content on your social media and website.
• Partner with influencers.

For example, Airbnb’s #AirbnbExperiences hashtag collects a lot of UGC as users share their unique stays.

Airbnb reposts this content, which provides inspiration and social proof while reducing its content needs.

Always credit the original creator and get permission when reposting UGC. Showing appreciation encourages more contributions.

8. Collaborate With Aligned Partners

Partnering with influencers and brands that share your values can help you grow your audience. Collaborations allow you to reach their followers, who may be interested in your products or services.

To find suitable partners, look for those whose audience matches your target customers. For example, a natural skincare brand could collaborate with a wellness influencer.

You can structure collaborations in several ways:

• Provide products to influencers in exchange for social media coverage.
• Host joint social media giveaways.
• Run affiliate programs or discount codes.
• Create co-branded content, like a video series.
• Write sponsored posts for other brands.
• Organize takeovers, where partners post on your account.
• Build ongoing relationships with select influencers.

When collaborating, ensure you have a contract that outlines content expectations, timelines, payment, and results.

Review potential partners by checking their engagement, audience demographics, and brand fit.

9. Offer Exclusive Value To Followers

Offering exclusive perks to your social media followers helps encourage them to follow you and stay engaged. When users know they can get valuable content or offers, they’re likelier to hit the follow button.

Here are some follower-only perks you can consider:

• Early access to product launches.
• Special discount codes.
• Exclusive content (guides, templates, webinars).
• Giveaways or contests.
• Live Q&A sessions.
• Sneak peeks of upcoming products.
• VIP events.
• Private groups.

For example, on LinkedIn, Slack alerts its 2 million followers to new features or alerts them to upcoming webinars and quick key takeaways which creates excitement and makes online professionals feel valued. In this example, they introduce their new Agentforce 2.0, which gathered around 250 reposts.

Promote these offers in your bios and captions. Teaser content can also attract new followers. Just remember to deliver real value.

10. Incorporate Social Media Advertising

While organic strategies are essential for social media, paid ads can help you grow faster.

Social media algorithms make it harder to reach people without spending money, but paid ads ensure that your best content reaches the right audience.

Choose ad types that build brand awareness, like Facebook’s “Brand Awareness” and “Reach” campaigns, which often cost less per click.

Create lookalike audiences based on your best customers to target users with similar interests. You can also run a follower campaign by offering a coupon or free resource in exchange for subscriptions.

Retarget users who have engaged with your organic content, as they’re already familiar with your brand.

For example, Headspace used animated video ads on Instagram to showcase meditation benefits and reached a broader audience by targeting specific customer profiles.

Make sure your ad content is engaging and valuable. Focus on storytelling and boost your top organic posts for greater visibility.

11. Prioritize Social Listening

Listening to your audience is crucial. It helps you understand their feelings and address issues early. Monitor what people say about your brand and industry through mentions, comments, and keywords.

Respond thoughtfully to questions and feedback to build trust. Thank users for positive comments and address complaints quickly.

If you can’t resolve an issue immediately, let customers know you are listening and will investigate.

Follow relevant hashtags and join industry groups to engage with broader conversations in your field. Sharing helpful insights can establish your expertise and attract followers.

Use third-party tools to track mentions, monitor sentiment, and organize messages. They can help you find important messages that need quick replies and better understand your audience.

12. Seize Timely Trends & Events

Connecting social media to cultural events, holidays, and trends can boost your reach and engagement. Social media users enjoy engaging in timely conversations, so find authentic ways to participate.

We recommend updating content about a month before an event to capitalize on search interest. You can also include trending topics or memes if they fit your brand.

Timeliness is key, so a flexible content process is important.

Be cautious about blindly following trends. Joining trends that don’t align with your brand can seem forced. Consider whether the trend matches your audience’s interests. If it doesn’t, it’s best to skip it.

Spotify does it well by providing official playlists to events like the Grammys and Coachella which is highly aligned with its core audience. It creates personalized festival recaps for users based on their listening habits and uses humour in their references to popular shows and music.

13. Embrace New Platforms & Features

To stay ahead and connect with new audiences, explore new platforms, and try innovative features. Early adopters often gain a competitive advantage.

For example, brands that joined TikTok early benefited from its rapid growth and gained extra visibility. Being one of the first to use a new platform helps you establish yourself before the market gets crowded.

However, be thoughtful and selective. Only some new social media apps are worth your time. Check if the platform’s audience matches yours and if its style fits your brand. Observe user interactions and look for marketing opportunities.

Shopify quickly adopted TikTok Shop and launched a shoppable livestream campaign with small business owners. Although exact figures on its success are not publicly available, TikTok Shop has become a key player in retail social commerce, with the industry expected to generate $144 billion in sales by 2025.

By being first to move and embrace what was a new feature, Shopify reached a fresh audience and positioned themselves as an innovative brand.

14. Build Exclusive Communities

Gated social media communities, such as private Facebook groups, Slack workspaces, or Discord channels, help you build stronger relationships with loyal fans. Unlike busy public feeds, these groups allow for focused conversations.

When customers feel valued, they are more likely to remain loyal and promote your brand.

For example, you might create a private Slack group for top customers and offer exclusive product launches and events. And, with over 20% of global social media users citing Livestreaming as their primary reason for engaging online, it plays a crucial role in building community.

Livestreaming is particularly important for brands in the APAC region, where research by GMI shows that APAC social media shoppers are more inclined to endorse brands that provide live shopping experiences.

So, look to build a community that works best in your region, and invite your most engaged customers, email subscribers, or social media followers to join. To encourage sign-ups, offer promotions such as free trials or discounts.

Over time, your community can provide valuable insights, beta testers for new products, and generate word-of-mouth marketing.

15. Analyze & Refine Your Strategy

Tracking your social media performance is crucial for long-term growth. Use the analytics tools on each platform to check key metrics like:

• Follower growth rate.
• Reach and impressions.
• Post views.
• Engagement rate (likes, comments, shares).
• Click-through rate.
• Popular content topics.
• Audience demographics.

Look for trends. Do certain content types get more engagement? Are specific days or times better for activity? What do your best posts share in common?

Use these insights to improve your strategy. Make data-based decisions, but also try new ideas. Social media is constantly changing, so adapt your approach as needed.

According to CMI, 55% of B2B content marketers find it a challenge to drive conversions through content. So, ensure your content team is equipped with the tools needed to create, optimize, and track content on social media.

Consider investing in paid tools to compare your performance with competitors. Learning from successful leaders can inspire new ideas and help you set achievable growth goals.

It’s Time To Build A Strong Social Media Presence

Focus on authentic branding, quality content, community engagement, and data-driven improvements to build a successful social media presence.

To grow an engaged audience, use short-form videos, partner with suitable influencers, and offer exclusive benefits.

As you develop your social media, remember to:

1. Stay true to your brand values.
2. Provide real value, not just promotions.
3. Listen to your community to build trust.
4. Measure and adjust your tactics based on data.
5. Explore new platforms and features.

Be patient and consistent. Building loyalty takes time, but these relationships will support your brand’s success. Keep refining your strategy to maximize your social media impact.

More Resources:

Featured Image: metamorworks/Shutterstock

Social Commerce: How Marketers Can Drive Sales Through Emerging Platforms via @sejournal, @rio_seo

Social commerce for marketers has become a strategic growth lever, evolving from a customer retention and engagement channel to a source of revenue generation.

Social media sales defy traditional ecommerce with the entire shopping journey taking place in just a few clicks and in one platform, making online shopping more simple than ever.

Social media users simply see a product they want to purchase, make a few clicks, and the item is ready to be shipped.

The purchase experience has certainly been redefined with the rise of social commerce, and more consumers are eager than ever to make a purchase through a social media platform.

In fact, over half (53%) of Gen Z say they’ve clicked “buy” buttons on social networks. One-third (30%) of shoppers find new products or brands on social media, further highlighting the social commerce opportunity for businesses.

Simply put, if your retail business has a presence on social media and isn’t tapping into the potential of generating sales directly from these platforms, you are missing out.

For marketers, now is the time to take advantage of social commerce and use it to your benefit. It serves as not only an opportunity to connect with your target audience, but also boost your business’s bottom line.

By creating engaging and personalized shopping experiences, businesses benefit from yet another channel to grow their sales and improve customer experiences.

In this post, we’ll explore how marketers can capitalize on this evolving trend and explore innovative approaches that go beyond the traditional playbook.

Let’s first dig into how social media usage went from seeking likes to craving purchases.

The Evolution Of Social Commerce

When social media first hit the scene in the early 2000s, it was primarily used to keep in touch with friends and family. Users could share photos, personal sentiment, and interact with other user’s content.

Over time, social media has grown to be so much more than a medium for connection but rather an outlet for making purchases.

There are several factors that have contributed to the social commerce transformation. To start, making online purchases is now more seamless than ever.

Credit card information can be seamlessly stored on sites, payment integration is simple, and consumers are more comfortable and trusting with making online purchases.

Social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook have native checkout solutions, allowing customers to quickly and with minimal effort buy products without even having to visit the retailer’s website.

A study found that nearly 80% of American customers say fast, simple interactions and transactions are the most important customer experience element and shape their impression of the business.

U.S. consumers are increasingly embracing social media as a shopping channel, with nearly half (47%) having made a purchase through these platforms and another 39% expressing willingness to do so again.

YouTube leads the pack in terms of the most trusted social network to find and buy products in the U.S., with 61% of consumers stating they found this channel trustworthy for social commerce. Facebook and Instagram came in a close second and third place at 51% and 45%, respectively.

The same study found TikTok to be in a distant last place at 35%, which comes as no surprise given the recent apprehension and possible removal of the platform from U.S. app stores in the near future.

The Role Of AI In Social Commerce

Artificial intelligence (AI) has also played a key role in increasing social commerce by tailoring personalization.

AI is powerful enough to sift through vast amounts of data, deciphering exactly what types of products and solutions consumers are most interested in.

In turn, social media feeds highlight products that align closely with consumer needs and preferences. This level of personalization plays a critical role in shaping consumer behavior and encouraging engagement.

Thanks to AI, customers feel more seen and heard, promoting trust with businesses and social media platforms alike.

When customers feel truly heard and seen, they are more likely to take meaningful action.

Consider this surprising statistic: almost all consumers (92%) interested in product personalization are willing to share personal data to allow a business to tailor and personalize a product.

With privacy being a key concern for many consumers, their willingness to share personal information in exchange for personalized product recommendations holds immense weight.

How To Maximize Social Commerce Marketing Efforts

Whether you’re just getting started with social commerce or have been onboard the train for a while, the opportunity for optimization is always there. However, they require diverse strategies.

For those just getting started with social commerce, the following framework can help you get your efforts started on the right foot.

The Social Commerce Framework For Beginners

There are various best practices for ensuring you kickstart your campaign off right. To start, I recommend using the following framework:

Research Your Audience

As with any marketing effort, it’s essential to truly understand your audience. Consider answering the following questions:

• Which platforms do they spend most of their time on?
• What types of content formats resonate with them most?
• What products are they most interested in?
• What time of day are they on social media?
• What is the average order value from social commerce?

Answering these questions will help you to determine which platforms to allocate efforts towards, what products might be worth putting money behind for promotion and retargeting, when to post, and what types of content formats to invest in (written, graphics, video, etc.).

Social media platforms and other technology can provide these insights, shedding light on consumer preferences to better inform your strategy.

Test The Waters

Before investing too much time and energy into social commerce, it can be beneficial to start small. Try one shoppable post on the platform where your audience spends most of their time.

By showcasing your products directly in your posts, you can see how your audience reacts to and engages with this sort of content while reducing the burden of effort on your team, as this requires a lower lift.

Partner With Influencers

If your budget allows, working with influencers can help elevate your brand presence and build trust with a new audience.

Influencers have an established audience of loyal followers who many trust with product recommendations.

In turn, this untapped audience may feel compelled to give your product a shot with the influencer’s stamp of approval.

Additionally, many influencers only trust products they believe in further amplifying your brand’s relevance and reputation.

Be Authentic

Consumers can sniff out disingenuous or self-serving content. In today’s era, where customers are highly intuitive and crave authenticity, it’s crucial to create content that resonates with them.

Focus on creating compelling stories and narratives that align with common pain points they may be experiencing.

Show how your product helps people in real life through videos and pictures that are unaltered and unfiltered.

Encourage influencers you work with to post their genuine thoughts and feedback rather than sticking to a strict script.

Keep A Pulse On Performance

Tracking and understanding how your social commerce efforts are performing is integral to learning and growing your revenue through this channel.

Data-driven insights help guide your marketing strategy, ensuring each of your efforts contributes to the business’s bottom line and enhances the customer experience.

Regularly monitor your product post-related engagement (shares, comments, likes, clicks) and conversions. Be sure to have a proper attribution model in place to be able to tie social commerce to sales.

Maximizing Social Commerce Impact

For those who have already invested in taking advantage of social commerce for their businesses, there are several strategies to consider that can help level up your efforts.

Expand Your Platform Presence

Perhaps you’ve already gotten started with social commerce on one platform but haven’t yet dipped your toe into the other platforms available to you.

While each platform requires its own distinct approach, it can be beneficial to expand your portfolio and leverage other commerce opportunities available to you.

Before making the leap to a new platform, make sure it’s worth your investment. This can be accomplished by assessing your target audience and having an understanding of which platforms they tend to be on.

Research the platform and its target audience first to ensure it’s the right fit to maximize your efforts.

Take Advantage Of Personalization

Consumers have come to expect personalized content as it’s become embedded in every aspect of their lives – from being shown what shows to watch on Netflix or what to buy on Amazon based on previous consumption patterns.

Social commerce should mirror this pattern, delivering hyper-targeted ads and product recommendations based on consumers’ browsing and purchasing habits.

If your business already isn’t investing in AI-powered tools to assist with your personalization efforts, now is the time to integrate this advanced technology into your tech stack.

Make It Mobile-Friendly

Every aspect of your customer experience must be mobile-friendly, as consumers spend a large portion of their day on their phones.

Similarweb’s data indicates that mobile devices account for over half (57.8%) of the traffic market share in the U.S., highlighting the preference for mobile browsing in online engagement.

Knowing potential customers are likely coming to your website via their mobile device, it’s crucial to ensure your content is optimized for mobile devices and your mobile checkout is a seamless process.

Host Live Shopping Events

Showcase the value of your products through live shopping events. Go live on your social media channels to interact with your customers directly.

Show how your product works, monitor your comments, and respond to customer questions.

For example, a beauty brand might show what a new bronzer looks like on multiple different skin tones, enabling live show viewers to see how the product would match their unique skin tone.

Expand Your Retention Efforts

While attracting new customers is always a must, you should also prioritize previous customers who are already familiar with your business.

Many retail businesses offer customer loyalty programs, sharing exclusive offers and promotions with repeat customers. Building an engaged community of loyal customers can:

• Boost average order values.
• Encourage word-of-mouth marketing.
• Increase organic reviews and engagement on social posts.
• Create a highly motivated community of like-minded customers.
• Drive repeat sales.
• Turn a one-time customer into a brand advocate.

Encourage User-Generated Content

User-generated content (UGC) is perhaps the easiest way to share authentic and unbiased feedback about your company.

When customers organically share their experiences with your business, consumers are more likely to trust what they have to say.

A Rio SEO study found that 41% of consumers said online reviews and personal recommendations are equally trustworthy.

Encourage customers to share user-generated content after they make a purchase.

To help boost UGC efforts, run a contest on your social media channels asking your followers to share their experience with your business for the chance to win a free product or some other type of reward for their time.

Embracing The Future Of Marketing Products With Social Commerce

The future of shopping is looking to be more social, as more consumers continue to crave the simplicity social media shopping brings.

The ease of seeing a product on a post, clicking the product desired, and checking out an all-in-one platform has revolutionized the shopping experience.

It’s also brought about yet another avenue for marketers to leverage to drive sales and highlights why retail businesses should be taking advantage of the wealth of features available to them.

Whether you’re just getting started with social commerce or you’re a seasoned professional, the key lies in understanding your target audience and what motivates them to take action.

As social commerce continues to grow and expand, marketers must stay agile and arm their teams with strategies for success.

By embracing social commerce, businesses can stay attuned with the ways customers prefer to engage and shop, and also uncover new routes to drive more digital conversions.

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Featured Image: THICHA SATAPITANON/Shutterstock

Social Media Marketing beyond the Algorithm

Chasing social media virality is tempting. It’s easy to think one post will rack up millions of views and skyrocket your brand overnight. But what happens next? The algorithm moves on, engagement drops, and attention evaporates.

Instead of chasing fleeting internet fame, focus on real engagement and community. This leads to stronger brand loyalty, deeper connections, and content that works long after the hype fades.

I’m a longtime B2B and B2C content creator and social media strategist. Here’s what I’ve learned about audience-building on social platforms — the five keys to lasting success.

Transparency

Sabai, a sustainable furniture brand, shares behind-the-scenes content such as sourcing materials and customer feedback.

People love a good story — including the process behind your work. Whether it’s product development, brainstorming, or a day-in-the-life, behind-the-scenes content makes your brand feel human and relatable. Even if you’re camera-shy, showing up helps people connect with you and your business.

Sabai, a sustainable furniture brand, frequently shares behind-the-scenes content, from sourcing materials to customer feedback on new designs. Sabai’s Instagram posts bring its audience into the origin story and creative process.

Next time you create something, document the process. Share the highs, the struggles, and the small wins — it makes people feel part of the journey.

Consistency

Recess, a sparkling water company, has a distinct social media presence and content that aligns with its vibe.

Virality comes and goes, but showing up consistently keeps people coming back. A recognizable brand voice, aesthetic, and posting rhythm make your content identifiable.

Recess, a sparkling water brand, has a distinct social media presence — pastel colors, unique aesthetics, and informal copy. Whether it’s a meme, product shot, or wellness tip, the content aligns with the brand’s vibe.

Stick to a few key colors, tones, and content themes. Don’t overcomplicate. Using Canva, build a simple template using your brand colors and a clean font, then refine as you grow.

Engagement

Telfar, an apparel accessories provider, makes community part of its identity with posts of customer photos and feedback.

Social media isn’t just talking at people — it’s conversing with them. Engaging with your audience helps turn casual followers into loyal fans.

Telfar, an apparel accessories brand, makes community part of its identity. The staff posts on Instagram customer photos and crowdsourced feedback on product drops, which feel like cultural events. Telfar keeps fans excited and invested beyond buying the product.

Spend a few minutes after each post engaging with your audience via comments and direct messages. Ask questions, listen to feedback, and make them feel heard.

Valuable Content

Omsom, an Asian food merchant, blends education with entertainment.

The best brands don’t just sell — they educate, entertain, and inspire. Valuable content makes people want to stick around, whether it’s a tutorial, an informational post, or a fun take on industry trends.

Omsom, an Asian food brand, blends education with entertainment. The content team breaks down food myths, highlights underrepresented ingredients, and deploys playful yet informative posts. They also share cooking hacks and step-by-step guides, helping the audience get more out of the products while proving that brands can be informative and fun.

Create content that informs your audience about your goods and industry.

The Long-term

Golde, a nutritional wellness brand, makes evergreen content, such as customer recipes, a key part of its strategy.

Virality is short-lived, but evergreen content — the kind that stays relevant for months or years — will always drive engagement. Examples include FAQs, personal stories, and how-to guides.

Golde, a nutritional wellness brand, makes evergreen content a key part of its strategy. Golde’s Instagram account includes concise, shareable posts highlighting customer recipes and appreciation. The brand offers timeless wellness tips and practical ways to incorporate them into daily routines, making the content valuable long after it’s posted.

Focus on content that’s useful a year from now.

Beyond Vanity Metrics: How Brands Are Measuring Social Media Impact via @sejournal, @rio_seo

Social media marketing metrics look vastly different today than they did even a few years ago.

Numbers used to define social success – the more likes, shares, and followers, the better. Yet, numbers are now falling behind in significance when examining success.

Connection is key.

If you’re not primarily focused on engaging with your target audience in a meaningful way, you risk falling behind.

Measuring social media impact must go beyond vanity metrics and will be a key determinant for expanding your social reach and follower loyalty.

It will deepen your understanding of where and how your audience engages with you most.

Engagement metrics reveal real impact. It leads you forward to improve facets of your social media marketing that deserve the most attention: how your followers perceive your business.

These metrics enable you to go beyond surface-level indicators and help you align with what social media algorithms now value most, such as adhering to privacy regulations and ethical data collection.

Savvy social marketers looking to gain an edge and adapt to the latest algorithm updates must stay on top of what to track.

This article will explore how forward-thinking brands and marketers alike are redefining success on myriad social media platforms.

We’ll examine why we’re moving beyond traditional metrics, best practices for metric measurement, and the tools and technology shaping the future of social media marketing.

The Problem With Vanity Metrics

Measuring social media success used to rely mostly on the numbers, tied to the amount of likes a post received or the number of people following an account.

The more the merrier, and it was easy to track, given more meant better. This number-based approach is referred to as “vanity metrics,” or how consumers interact with your brand at a surface level.

While vanity metrics can highlight how many people are interested in your business, they aren’t granular enough to truly measure why customers find your content interesting (or if they don’t).

Yet, vanity metrics offer some semblance of success, even if it’s an instant hit of dopamine. Who hasn’t gotten excited by seeing their follower numbers steadily grow or gaining over 1,000 likes on a post?

However, vanity metrics aren’t the sole measure of success and rarely tell the full story of how a brand is actually performing on social media.

Follows, impressions, and likes are only a small fraction of how engaging your social media efforts actually are.

Another pertinent issue with vanity metrics is how they tie to broader business goals. Sure, vanity metrics may measure how quickly your platform is growing, but they simply don’t capture how that translates into qualified leads, sales, and more.

Consider the following: A brand may have thousands of followers, but what if it isn’t capturing (or caring about) how many of those followers turn into paying customers?

This missed opportunity makes it hard to justify social media spend and the effort allocated towards this marketing effort.

For example, a post may receive 2,000 likes, which might lead a brand to think the post is a great success. However, without understanding who liked it or what drove the spike in likes, it’s impossible to pinpoint the true value of the post.

The simple truth is numbers fail to tell the whole story. Context is key and can only be gained when social media marketers move beyond vanity metrics.

In the future, shifting beyond likes will be crucial to having a full, comprehensive view of performance.

Key Metrics That Matter

As a social media marketer, it’s crucial to keep up with ever-evolving best practices to stay visible in the sea of social posts and ahead of the curve.

In fact, the average social media user spends about 143 minutes a day scrolling through their social platforms, leaving ample opportunity for brands to make an impression.

As social platform algorithms change, so too does how these platforms evaluate performance.

For example, media algorithms now favor and surface content that receives high engagement rather than displaying posts chronologically.

Right now, success on social platforms will look different, extending beyond traditional metrics of interest. Building quality connections with followers will win.

It’s no longer a popularity contest but building an authentic and genuine social presence with your customers, becoming a business customers can trust.

The new era of social media marketing metrics has arrived, and now is the time to up your metric tracking game.

Here are the metrics social media marketers should be tracking.

Engagement Metrics

Social media marketers are diving deeper, focusing on getting their audience to take meaningful action.

To do so, they must examine the depth of that engagement, digging deeper than likes alone.

Comments: A Free Form Of Feedback

There is much to be gained in feedback, including comments on social media. Comments can convey genuine emotion, both positive and negative.

Irrespective, both types of feedback highlight how captivating your content is. They can help your business gain a glimpse into what’s working and what isn’t, allowing you to mine for common themes within the context of your comments.

Tip: Focus on who is leaving thoughtful comments or questions, responding to those individuals whenever possible.

Sentiment: How Your Content Makes Your Customers Feel

How a customer feels about your business can often be understood through the context of a comment.

It’s likely emotion promoted the customer to comment in the first place, but knowing how to decipher the comment and the customer’s emotions helps brands take meaningful action. It can also highlight what’s working and what isn’t.

For example, perhaps videos capture your customers’ attention the most, and you may want to shift your content strategy to create more video-type content in the future.

Tip: Businesses should accurately track sentiment analysis to enhance their customer experience.

Conversion Metrics

Understanding what makes customers take action will always be a top metric to track. This won’t be any different this year, and social media marketers should continue to monitor conversion metrics.

Click-Through Rates: Encourage Action

Click-through rates (or CTR) enable you to see how compelling your content truly is. Do people feel motivated to take the next step and read more, learn more, or buy from you?

Tip: Track which posts are gaining the most traction in terms of clicks to determine what’s working well and what to replicate in the future.

Sales: Ensure Your Social Efforts Pay Off

In the social media realm, it’s important to keep a pulse on the type of messaging that is driving your audience to take the next step – whether that’s landing on a product page or signing up for a monthly newsletter.

Tip: It’s equally as important to attribute sales to your social media channels to get the most out of your marketing efforts.

Customer Retention Metrics

Social media isn’t just a tool for building a brand reputation and attracting new customers. It should also play a key role in retaining existing ones.

In fact, 88% of business leaders agree social media data is a must for improving customer retention and experiences.

Loyal customers want to come back to consume your content on your social media channels, and the right messaging can help develop deeper relationships.

Repeat Purchases: Keep The Revenue Rolling In

Demonstrating social media value is critical to encourage your customers to keep coming back for more.

Messaging might also differ between how you communicate with a prospect rather than a repeat customer.

Having revenue attribution in place is a must on social media to help you better personalize communication between these different audience segments.

Tip: Set up proper attribution to be able to tie repeat sales back to social media.

Loyalty: Becoming More Than A One-Time Purchase

Loyalty programs have long been a tried-and-true marketing tactic to entice repeat customer engagement. It also helps demonstrate value to your loyal customers by offering exclusive deals and promotions.

Tip: Ensure your loyalty signups are trackable through customized UTM links to be able to attribute new member sign-ups to your social efforts.

Tools And Technologies Empowering Brands

Social media marketing is getting smarter, leaning on emerging technologies to help enhance analytics, workflows, and performance.

This year, marketers can expect social platforms to grow more intelligent, increasingly relying on advanced technology, like artificial intelligence (AI), to fuel their platforms.

In turn, marketers can expect to see smarter insights, powering a clearer view of the metrics that measure success.

Here’s a closer look at how forward-thinking brands are leveraging technology to reshape their social strategies to improve experiences and marketing success.

AI

Undoubtedly, AI is transforming the way nearly every business operates.

Social media isn’t any different, enabling brands to measure success and even predict future performance with a precision never realized before.

AI-driven analytics are becoming deeply woven into the fabric of social media performance measurement.

In fact, predictive models can predetermine the success of a campaign before it even gets kicked off.

With the help of AI, brands can avoid costly campaigns that will likely lead to lackluster outcomes by analyzing historical data and previous campaign data.

This deep level of insight allows social media marketers to make informed decisions that lead to more desirable outcomes.

AI has the capability to predict optimal post time, and which day of the week is best to post, taking factors like time zones and target audience location into consideration as well.

In turn, social media marketers can more effectively get their content in front of more eyes.

In the social realm, AI has been a great help for marketers, enabling brands to get their messages in front of their desired audience more easily than ever before.

The good news is AI already has significant buy-in from organization leaders. A study found that 97% of leaders agree AI and machine learning (ML) enable businesses to analyze social media data and insights more efficiently.

Social Listening Tools

Social listening can lead to higher customer satisfaction rates. The 2025 Sprout Social Index found that 73% of social users will buy from a competitor if a brand doesn’t respond on social.

Your customers are talking, and if your brand isn’t listening, you risk losing their trust, loyalty, and hard-earned dollars.

Enter social listening tools, an easy way for brands to see what potential customers and customers alike are saying about their business.

With social listening tools, brands can track specific keywords and set alerts any time someone mentions these keywords.

For example, a brand might want to track relevant hashtags related to their product or service or be alerted any time a competitor is mentioned.

Rapid alerts enable brands to move quickly, replying directly to customers any time they’re in need of customer support.

If a product has a major defect that’s widespread, customers may turn to social media to share their grievances with their followers.

How you respond to this feedback sets the stage for if they’ll give your business the opportunity to course-correct, or if they’ll take their business elsewhere.

The same can apply to a gap in service.

For example, a fast-casual Mexican food restaurant sought to find out how they could improve customer experiences. The restaurant leveraged a mix of AI and social media listening tools to identify where there was friction in the customer journey.

Customers frequently mentioned long wait times in their social media feedback, prompting the restaurant to take quick action to remedy this consistent complaint. The result? Better experiences and happier customers.

Integrated Dashboards

To successfully scale as a marketing entity, integrated dashboards are a must. The right technology allows marketers to view all their data in one centralized location.

From social media metrics to local search performance, technology should empower marketers to make better decisions with a clear view of their performance.

In theory, marketers should be able to have a clear picture of the entire customer journey, from the time a customer first searches for a business on Google to what page they land on to checking out.

A unified approach helps marketers measure how social media campaigns contribute to other organizational efforts such as lead generation, purchasing, and more.

Integrated dashboards also allow different teams to assess performance at a higher level.

Content marketers are able to see how their efforts coincide with social media marketers with a transparent view of social media metrics. It also allows teams to easily share their impact with C-level colleagues.

Next Steps For Social Media Marketers Ready To Make An Impact

As we’ve explored throughout this blog post, the days of measuring social media impact by simply looking at followers or like numbers are long gone.

This year, measuring social media impact will rely on looking at the right metrics and integrating the right technology.

Social media marketers will want to consistently showcase the results through integrated dashboards with their broader team to highlight the positive impact they’re making on the business.

By sharing how social media efforts tie to broader business goals, social media marketers can elevate their careers. It’s not all about the business, though; the real drivers of success are loyal and engaged customers.

Social media metrics do more than show what’s working and what isn’t. They show whether your potential and current customers care to consume your content.

Now that the new year has come, it’s time for brands to reassess their social media strategies. Are you relying on metrics that don’t show the full picture? Or are you adopting the strategies, tools, and technology that lead to better customer outcomes?

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Featured Image: ImageFlow/Shutterstock