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Benjamin Shapiro
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From advertising to software as a service to data, across all.
Scott Morris
Of our programs and clients, we've seen.
Benjamin Shapiro
A 55 to 65% open rate. Getting brands authentically integrated into content performs better than TV advertising. Typical life span of an article is about 24 to 36 hours. We're reaching out to the right person.
Scott Morris
With the right message and a clear call to action. Then it's just a matter of timing.
Benjamin Shapiro
Welcome to the Martech Podcast, a member of the I Hear Everything Podcast network. In this podcast, you'll hear the stories of world class marketers that use technology to drive business results and achieve career success. Here's a host of the Martech Podcast, Benjamin Shapiro.
As marketers, we rely on social media for three reasons. To share our brands with the world, to maintain a line of communications with our customers, and to understand the culture impacting our business. But finding the balance between social media as a marketing channel and understanding how consumers want to engage is an ongoing challenge. Ben I'm Ben Shapiro and joining me to discuss the difference between what marketers think and what consumers actually want from social media is Scott Morris. Scott is the Chief Marketing Officer at Sprout Social, which is a social media management and analytics platform. And his team recently surveyed a group of customers, social practitioners, and marketing leaders to uncover how consumer relationships are changing and how that's different than what social media platforms want. And today we're going to discuss those findings and how marketers can break through the noise. All right, Scott, welcome to the Martech Podcast.
Scott Morris
Thank you so much. It's great to be here.
Benjamin Shapiro
Very excited to have you here. Excited to talk about the gap between social marketing from the brand perspective and what consumers actually want. You did the research, you published the Sprout Social index survey for 2025. What were you trying to learn by conducting your research?
Scott Morris
So as you said earlier, the research actually goes out to consumers. It goes out to social practitioners, meaning people who work in social media every day, and then to marketing leaders. And really the goal was to uncover the latest trends in social culture and really try to predict brand implications for the future. And specifically, our goal is to determine what consumers want to see from brands on social media so that marketers can better understand what will resonate most with them. This year and it also helps reveal how relationships between social media and online culture are changing and provides insights into how brands can then leverage this when they're actually creating and executing their strategies in social.
Benjamin Shapiro
All right, so you're talking about how social media is changing. Where did we start prior to your research? What were some of the common table stakes? Things that we know about social media and then how has it evolved?
Scott Morris
I mean, things that we know about social media. We know that obviously the social trend has been growing for the last 15 years or so with more and more networks coming up all of the time. We also know that it's traditionally a place where people go to have conversations. Kind of started with more friendship, connections and things like that. But increasingly we know that it's actually a place where people go to connect with brands and to connect with businesses and to sort of also seek out lot of information, depending on what they might be looking for at the time. I think that the way that the research is telling us, like some of the most interesting findings in terms of how consumers are actually using social media, I think there's probably three big takeaways in the research itself. The first one really is around what people are using social media for today, which is that, interestingly, it's the number one source that people are using consumers are using to keep up with trends and online culture. And that might not be really surprising, but I think what surprised me was that it actually is, number one, over friends and family, over tv, over streaming, and over all other digital sources. So we really have seen this demonstrate sort of how paramount social media has become in terms of not only how we stay connected to each other, but how we stay connected to what's going on in the world.
Benjamin Shapiro
It's replaced the water cooler, essentially.
Scott Morris
Well, it has. And you know what else? It's starting to replace, or maybe replace isn't the best word, maybe complement, in a really significant way is search and discovery. Social media has become a primary search engine for consumers. I mean, I think platforms like TikTok and Instagram and YouTube, those actually are where people go to discover, to learn, and of course, also to make decisions, including purchasing decisions. This didn't come from our research, but I've seen this stat a bunch of times that TikTok is actually the number one search destination for Gen Z now, and number two is YouTube. This shift, I think, provides a really great opportunity for brands, but it does require kind of a new approach. And social is really, really emerging as a discovery engine. But also at the same time, we have this thing Happening where AI is reshaping search. And you've probably heard a lot about this.
Benjamin Shapiro
Hang on. Before we get into AI, because I do want to ask about that. I want to double click into the difference between a couple different social channels because I think that's relevant for understanding the changes in behavior from browse to search. I think that most of us probably think of social media as a browsing experience. I'm going onto my feed, I've curated it. So I have either a list of topics or relationships accounts that I follow and I can browse through them to see what's happening in the world. And now you're saying, okay, well, actually TikTok is like a search engine as much as it is a permissionless content delivery engine. I'm too young for that, right? I'm not personally going into TikTok and being like, you know what I want to learn about, Tell me about the trends in marketing. People are actually just being like, here's basically a keyword. I'm putting it into TikTok. And now I'm learning about the subject.
Scott Morris
Is that actually a regular user behavior 100% now? Maybe not for your generation or my generation.
Benjamin Shapiro
God, I feel old.
Scott Morris
I know. I think we're about the same. But definitely, if you're Gen Z, those are the places you go first. You go directly to your social networks to start your search, to start your discovery. And then I think there are other examples. Reddit is a good example where you might not go there first to start your search, but if you go to a place like Google and you search increasingly, it's actually Reddit that's showing up as a key search destination. So whatever you're searching for, you are then driven into a social media network to actually get that answer or dig deeper into the question that you asked. So it is definitely what is happening today. And then Gen Z is doing it today. The future generations, millennials, Gen X, they're going to be following. So it's a trend that if you're a brand, you really need to follow and you really need to care about.
Benjamin Shapiro
To me, that's one of the most interesting takeaways is that social media is no longer a browse permissionless content delivery engine. It's less passive than how I think of it and more active with. I am looking for very specific engine. I think I would separate YouTube, which I think of very much as a video search engine. And now it seems like the other social networks are getting into the search game as well. Talk to me about some of the other findings that you found, you mentioned AI, what did you learn about that?
Scott Morris
That's always an interesting thing. Right? Because with AI, there's two different ways of looking at that. There's AI from a consumer's perspective and there's AI from a brand perspective. And AI can definitely help marketers. It can help provide timely personalized responses, it can help them sift through massive amounts of social data. But I think that for a consumer, they're a little bit split in terms of how they see AI. And again, it's generational. Generally they want to know when something is AI, but the younger the person is, like if they're from Gen Z, for example, they're much more open to AI, which even includes things like AI influencers. And they're very, very open to that.
Benjamin Shapiro
That's an interesting trend. And I keep seeing ironically LinkedIn posts about synthetic social media, which is AI influencers that are not actually people. Experiences that are image created that represent what people might want to see or feel, but it's not the real world. I don't know if you have benchmarks or practices, but like how big of a deal is this notion of synthetic social?
Scott Morris
It's a pretty small deal today that we think will be a really big deal in the future. This particular research didn't actually drill into that. And so I don't really have any benchmark data that we can show. But we know that this is another one of those trends that is just becoming more and more prevalent where there are some really bigger, becoming more well known influencers or creators who aren't real people at all. They are absolutely manufactured and everything that they're doing is completely AI generated. But it's pretty upfront, I think today for examples like that. And I think the concerns that a lot of people, including most consumers have is just really wanting to understand when it's AI and when it's not. A lot of people don't have any problem when it's AI. They just want that transparency. They want to know.
Benjamin Shapiro
Yeah, I think that's where the lines get gray, is there's entirely AI imagery and then there's mostly AI imagery. And I think it'll be harder and harder to distinguish as the tools get richer. Going back and talking about your study, I want to talk a little bit about the rules of engagement and understanding what consumers actually want from brands. Talk to me about the difference between what brands are thinking and then what consumers actually want. Focusing on the consumers first.
Scott Morris
Sure. So what our research showed us is that what consumers want from brands is they want really quick but personalized communications. And in particular when they're looking for an answer from a brand, when they're basically using social media as an outlet for customer service, about 2/3, I don't remember the exact number, but around 2/3 of the consumer respondents say that they'll basically purchase products from a competitor. If a brand doesn't respond on social media, I mean, it really is and is increasingly becoming a go to channel for customer service. So responding to customers online is no longer optional and timeliness really is key there. Three quarters or so of the users expect that response within 24 hours. So that's one of the big areas in terms of how consumers what their expectations are from brands. And I think another one is that as customer care standards continue to sort of elevate, brands need to really double down on those interactions. And that means really investing in the right tools and developing the right processes and having the right frameworks in place to really make timely, meaningful engagement possible. And so brands who succeed on social will be those that really can humanize themselves with relatable and helpful interactions with those consumers. I mean, I think the bottom line is you need to be able to deliver personalized interactions with customers on social. And that really is no longer a nice to have. Right. It's like a strategic imperative now that needs to be part of your marketing strategy.
Benjamin Shapiro
Yeah, it's interesting. When you're talking about how consumers want to engage with brands, it seems like the answer is it's about customer service. I want to be able to publicly gripe about my experience and then have a real person cuddle me until I feel better about the experience and provide an immediate resolution. So I am seen, heard, and my problem is resolved.
Scott Morris
I think that's partially true.
Benjamin Shapiro
I did it this weekend. I bought a grill from Traeger and it's less than a year old and it didn't work. Sorry, Traeger. After eight hours on customer service, text messaging, back and forth with them, I hadn't resolved the issue. So I went to Twitter and was like, hey, this experience stinks. And then somebody got back to me and I got a phone number and then they sent me a new part. Wonderful. Great experience. I feel seen Traeger, it only took eight hours for you to see me and help me solve the problem. But look, we're all working through our own stuff.
Scott Morris
And the good news is they did actually get back to you, right? They did actually respond. I mean, what's the worst possible outcome is when you do Something like that.
Benjamin Shapiro
I don't want to talk bad because I can make delicious food on that grill and this is the first time it's broken and everybody gets a pass.
Scott Morris
They are good grills.
Benjamin Shapiro
That experience sucked and maybe that's the one time that they get that one. What is interesting to me about how you said how consumers want to interact outside of my grill problems. You didn't say anything about marketing, right? It was all customer service. Hey, I want to interact with you. Where I am going to reach out and say, this is my problem. You solve it and we're going to do it in the public forum. And you didn't mention in the survey that consumers are saying, I want visibility, I want discoverability, I want content, I want education. And to me that's like as a marketer, what I think of first, social media. A channel where I can talk about my brand and say something interesting and hopefully be clever and funny and build awareness, trust, purchase, consideration and even the down funnel stuff of clicks to the website traffic, stuff that we actually count. Do consumers want that?
Scott Morris
Well, a hundred percent. Right? And I think that's something brands really need to be thinking about is you have to be thinking about how to leverage social media throughout that entire customer journey. We talked already about the importance of social for search, right? For discoverability. Either because people are driven there like Reddit through a search on something like Google, or because they start there like Gen z does on TikTok and on other platforms, Instagram, et cetera, but then actually learning more about your products, learning more about your brand. That is obviously a big role of social media and that is also where influencers can play a big role or I really should say creators. They don't call themselves influencers, we call it influencer marketing, but creators themselves call themselves creators. And that also needs to be a big part of your strategy, which also helps with discoverability and broadening your reach.
Benjamin Shapiro
Totally semantic. But I have to cut you off. To me, creator is somebody that creates content. An influencer is somebody that creates content and has an audience that is consuming the content.
Scott Morris
That's true, but they're both creating content.
Benjamin Shapiro
Everybody is a creator that is publishing. But an influencer is one that has an audience big enough to actually influence and help a brand.
Scott Morris
I believe that's true. Although I've also talked to some going to use your term, influencers who have really large audiences. And when I call them an influencer, they say, I'm sorry, I call myself a creator.
Benjamin Shapiro
Yeah, I'm not an actor, I'm an artist. Okay. Anyway, go on.
Scott Morris
Yeah. So really it is that whole customer journey that you were talking about. I do think consumers have an expectation that brands are going to show up in all of those ways for them. I happen to be focused a little more on the customer service side of it when we talked about it, just because that's an area that I think is probably growing the most. I think discoverability and I think learning more about products and services. That's been around for a while. But increasingly social is trending to be the number one place people are going to go even to get that post purchase help like you talked about with your trigger grill or fixing a problem.
Benjamin Shapiro
You're not wrong. And it's logical that the consumers, when asked, hey, how do you want to engage with brands? Is their answer is, solve all my problems. Whenever I gripe, give me a hug and some new stuff. That's what I want. But in reality, what consumers are saying they want doesn't take into consideration. No one's going to say, you know what I want. I want to be marketed to and I want it to be easy to find you so I can make a decision on your product. But in reality, consumers are consuming because that's what they do. They're consumers. The advertising in social media, my takeaway is the notion of omnipresence is probably very important to the consumer so they can find information about your brand. Because there are so many social channels to go to, you need to be right sized in each channel. And I think that that's probably something that is understated but important to consumers.
Scott Morris
100% agree. And that came out loud and clear in the research as well. Consumers are present on all social media platforms. The research showed no big surprise. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube were the most popular platforms across demographics. And then others like TikTok and X quickly follow. But again, if you look at this generationally, Facebook is not the number one network for Gen Z. You know, it's TikTok and Instagram, but a lot of them are still on Facebook as well. And you might argue some of them are on there because they want to keep in touch with their grandparents or their parents or whatever it is. But they're there, they're present. And I think that's why for a brand, platform diversification is really, really crucial because you want to make sure that your brand is meeting your audiences where they are. And if you only serve Gen Z, if that's all you care about, then maybe you have the luxury of being on fewer of those networks or those platforms. But if you're a brand that really wants to serve all of those markets, then creating a really strong presence across those platforms is what will allow you to reach audiences in a way that feels authentic to them and on each network because as you know, each network feels very different from each other.
Benjamin Shapiro
This is going to end up being our social short for this episode, but I want you to social stereotype for a second here and give me the profiles of the various social networks and who are they most likely for? Like Snapchat, Millennials. Is that Gen Z? Where do the different social channels fit in?
Scott Morris
Facebook really is kind of your catch all. Facebook is great if you want to reach across generations regardless of the type of content you're trying to deliver. I would say for something like TikTok, definitely obviously video focused. And when you really want to focus on Gen Z and want to focus on some younger audiences, I would say that for something like Instagram that has a bit of a broader reach than something like TikTok. So still video centric and you're getting the Gen Z audience for sure, but you also are getting folks from some other generations there. X also actually has really broad reach. It's changed a lot in the last couple of years. A lot of conversations are happening on X. So if you care about things like social listening and how people are talking about your brand on social, X has a very, very high volume of conversations happening there.
Benjamin Shapiro
Let's flip this around and talk a little bit about brands. What do you think about the way that brands are using social media and how is it most likely conflicting with what consumers actually want?
Scott Morris
So one thing that we found in this research is that I think the stat was 98%. Let's round that up. Let's say 100%.
Benjamin Shapiro
A lot.
Scott Morris
That's a lot. Social media practitioners, meaning folks who do social media as a living, social media managers, et cetera, literally all of them think that social content should keep up with online trends, that it should be very, very focused on staying up with the latest trends. But consumers are actually very split on whether brands should jump on every trend or not. About a third of them think that it's embarrassing when brands hop on viral trends. Yet most of them do want brands to understand online culture. So the key is to balance these things. You want to stay culturally relevant while avoiding embarrassment. And really the key to that is sort of awareness and understanding. Consumers aren't interested in brands who just churn out content in order to participate in every trend. They really would rather that Brands deeply understand kind of the nuances of online culture as it's specifically pertains to their interest. So I think that's one area where we saw a real difference between how brands are approaching this and sort of what consumers actually want. I think another area that came out of the research is just the importance to be really aware of potential burnout here. So we just talked about sort of chasing every trend. Social media managers, social media marketers really feel like they have to be constantly in the know and that can lead to burnout. 94%, I think it was, of social media folks think they need to be online 24,7 to succeed. And part of that is because most of them also think they have to jump on every trend and replicate that with their brand. And while this aligns to what consumers do want, they want quick personalized interactions. Right? You want a Traeger to reply to your tweet or whatever it was right away. It also poses challenges for marketers who are really looking to be mindful on social media, setting boundaries and creating thoughtful, intentional content. And I think this is an area where not only is balance crucial, but don't talk about AI. Something like AI can definitely help. Technology can help.
Benjamin Shapiro
Yeah. It's interesting the sort of concept of newsjacking where if you're a social media manager and you're thinking about how to get your brand out there hopping on top of every story seems relevant, but it might not be interesting. If I have a, I don't know any sort of product, if I'm running a restaurant, I don't need to be talking about tariffs. Right. That's just not necessary relevant. Actually it's probably relevant to everybody because prices are going up, but maybe it's not something I'm using in my social media marketing. Can you think of other examples of brands that have been a little tone deaf trying to do the sort of newsjacking always on social content?
Scott Morris
I'm not sure that I want to call out a specific brand by name, but I think we've all seen examples. They are a little bit cringe worthy when you see a brand trying too hard to try to jump on the latest trend. I think a good example is all the TikTok sounds. You see brands all the time trying to replicate that. I even see creators, influencers, whatever word you want to use trying to do that sometimes. And even when like the recording is out of sync, like the audio, then how they're trying to do the video and it's just really, really cringeworthy. And I think it's because you see examples. I think Duolingo is one of the best examples. They're doing such amazing things on social and they're definitely trend jacking, but in a really good way. They're really setting trends themselves in a lot of ways. And sometimes people think that they have to replicate that, but that's not appropriate for every brand.
Benjamin Shapiro
My takeaway from our conversation is that there is a disconnect between what consumers want and what brands want. And if you ask a consumer how they want to engage with the brand in social media, it often has to do with the post marketing engagement. It is customer service. It is immediacy in response and conversation. But they don't really think about the way that they want or at least they don't vocalize the way that they want to be marketed to. And our job as marketers is to not only think about the customer experience when we are working with somebody that is engaging with our brand, but also how to get in front of them early. And there's this fine line between understanding what is culturally relevant for your brand and appropriate and then just being everywhere all the time, which can lead to burnout for your social media marketing managers and that sort of ick factor of a brand trying to be and do too much. All right, and that wraps up this episode of the Martech podcast. Thanks to Scott Morris from Sprout Social for joining us. If you'd like to get in touch with Scott, you can find a link to his LinkedIn profile in our show notes, or you can read Sprout Social's research on consumer and marketing behavior by visiting their website, sproutsocial.com and if you haven't subscribed yet and you want a daily stream of marketing and technology knowledge in your podcast feed, hit the subscribe button in your podcast app or follow us on YouTube. All right, that's it for today, but until next time, my advice is to just focus on keeping your customers happy.
Scott Morris
Foreign.
Benjamin Shapiro
Thanks for listening to the Martech podcast and I hear everything. Production Looking to launch or scale a podcast like this one for your brand? Then visit iheareverything.com.
MarTech Podcast ™ // Marketing + Technology = Business Growth
Episode: Social Disconnect Between Brands & Consumers
Release Date: April 28, 2025
Host: Benjamin Shapiro
Guest: Scott Morris, Chief Marketing Officer at Sprout Social
In this enlightening episode of the MarTech Podcast ™, host Benjamin Shapiro engages in a deep conversation with Scott Morris, the Chief Marketing Officer at Sprout Social. The discussion centers on the "Social Disconnect Between Brands & Consumers," exploring the evolving dynamics of social media as a marketing tool and the shifting expectations of consumers.
Scott Morris introduces the Sprout Social Index Survey for 2025, detailing its purpose: to uncover the latest trends in social culture and predict their implications for brands. The research surveyed a diverse group, including consumers, social media practitioners, and marketing leaders, aiming to bridge the gap between brand strategies and consumer expectations.
"Our goal was to determine what consumers want to see from brands on social media so that marketers can better understand what will resonate most with them."
— Scott Morris [02:31]
Morris highlights a significant shift in how social media is utilized:
Primary Source for Trends and Culture:
"Social media has become a primary search engine for consumers... TikTok is actually the number one search destination for Gen Z."
— Scott Morris [04:33]
Search and Discovery Engine:
Complementary to Traditional Search:
AI plays a dual role in the evolving social media landscape:
From the Brand's Perspective:
"AI can definitely help marketers by providing timely personalized responses."
— Scott Morris [08:17]
From the Consumer's Perspective:
"Consumers want to understand when it's AI and when it's not. Transparency is key."
— Scott Morris [09:18]
A central theme of the episode is the disconnect between what brands believe consumers want and the actual desires of consumers:
Consumer Priorities:
Personalized and Quick Interactions:
Consumers expect brands to respond swiftly and personally, especially when addressing customer service issues.
"Consumers want really quick but personalized communications... three-quarters expect a response within 24 hours."
— Scott Morris [10:30]
Customer Service Over Traditional Marketing:
While brands often focus on content creation for marketing purposes, consumers primarily engage with brands for customer service and problem resolution.
Brand Shortcomings:
Overemphasis on Trend-Jacking:
Brands often attempt to participate in every viral trend, leading to inauthentic and cringe-worthy content that doesn't resonate with consumers.
"Consumers are very split on whether brands should jump on every trend or not. About a third think it's embarrassing."
— Scott Morris [19:16]
Burnout Among Social Media Managers:
The pressure to stay constantly updated and engage with every trend leads to significant burnout among marketers.
"94% of social media practitioners feel they need to be online 24/7 to succeed."
— Scott Morris [20:30]
To bridge the gap between brands and consumers, Scott Morris offers several actionable insights:
Platform Diversification:
Presence Across Multiple Social Channels:
Brands should maintain a strong presence on key platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and X to meet audiences where they are.
"Platform diversification is crucial to reach audiences authentically on each network."
— Scott Morris [18:23]
Balanced Content Strategy:
Cultural Relevance Without Overextension:
Brands must balance staying culturally relevant without attempting to chase every trend, thereby maintaining authenticity.
"Brands should deeply understand the nuances of online culture rather than just participating in every trend."
— Scott Morris [19:26]
Leveraging AI and Technology:
Focus on Customer Service:
Benjamin Shapiro shares a personal anecdote to illustrate the importance of effective social media customer service:
"I bought a grill from Traeger, had issues, and after eight hours of back-and-forth with their customer service, I turned to Twitter. They responded promptly, provided a solution, and resolved my problem. I felt seen and heard."
— Benjamin Shapiro [12:30]
This example underscores the value of swift and genuine engagement with customers on social platforms.
The episode wraps up with a synthesis of the discussions, emphasizing the need for brands to align their social media strategies with consumer expectations. By focusing on personalized interactions, maintaining platform diversification, and leveraging AI responsibly, brands can foster stronger relationships with their audience.
"There is a disconnect between what consumers want and what brands want. Our job as marketers is to bridge that gap by focusing on customer experience and authentic engagement."
— Benjamin Shapiro [22:49]
Social Media as a Primary Information Hub:
Consumers rely heavily on social media for trends, search, and discovery, surpassing traditional sources.
AI's Dual Role:
While beneficial for brands, AI must be used transparently to meet consumer acceptance, especially among younger demographics.
Customer Service Priority:
Quick and personalized responses on social media are paramount for consumer satisfaction and loyalty.
Authentic Engagement Over Trend-Chasing:
Brands should prioritize understanding cultural nuances over attempting to participate in every trend to avoid appearing inauthentic.
Preventing Marketer Burnout:
Sustainable social media strategies should balance trend engagement with thoughtful, intentional content creation.
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Note: This summary excludes advertisements, intros, outros, and non-content sections to provide a comprehensive overview of the episode's key discussions and insights.