AI to make social media data the primary driver of BI

The rise of AI is set to drive a new era for social media marketing, with the vast majority of bosses insisting their brand’s long-term success depends on how effectively they can use social media data and insights to inform business strategy.

That is the bold conclusion of a new study from social media management software firm Sprout Social, conducted by The Harris Poll, which reveals four-fifths (80%) of businesses are planning to increase investments in social media over the next three years as 93% agree social data will be a primary source of business intelligence moving forward.

The report, “The 2023 State of Social Media: AI, Data Take Centre Stage”, shows nearly every executive understands the value of social media data in informing key business decisions across an organisation, and 40% are increasing social media budgets by more than 50% as a result, despite macroeconomic trends putting pressure on organisation-wide budgets.

The survey, which quizzed nearly 800 UK and US business leaders in marketing, customer care and communications, found that 90% believe their company’s long-term success depends on how effectively it can use social media data and insights to inform business strategy, and are turning to AI to help.

In fact, virtually every leader (97%) believes AI tools can help them analyse social media data more efficiently, and 87% are increasing their AI investments in the next three years in response. Furthermore, the majority believe that effectively leveraging social data and investing in these emerging technologies will give their companies a competitive advantage moving forward.

Meanwhile, 86% of business leaders reckon the implementation of AI is critical for long-term success, citing behavioral segmentation (49%), predictive analytics (45%), dynamic pricing (45%), and sentiment analysis (44%) among the most useful applications for marketing.

Businesses are also increasingly using social data in a variety of ways and still think it is being underused. While 69% of business leaders agree it is easy to demonstrate social media’s impact on their company’s bottom line, the same amount also agree that social media data and insights are underused at their company today.

Currently, customer service (62%), brand awareness (60%), and market and industry research (53%) are the top three business functions informed by social media data.

The medium is also the channel of choice for customer care. Some 88% of business leaders agree that social media is critical for both customer care and customer retention, and 96% say it is integral for capturing customer feedback about products or services.

Nearly every business leader surveyed (96%) also expects social data to be integrated into the company’s CRM capabilities in the next three years, and 93% believe increased investment in AI will be crucial for scaling customer care functions in that time.

Nearly 7 in 10 business leaders report their company currently uses social media management (SMM) software, with three-quarters (74%) using customer engagement features, 6 in 10 using social commerce and social listening features, and around half using employee advocacy, analytics, and publishing and scheduling features.

Sprout Social CMO Jamie Gilpin said: “It’s encouraging to see the extent to which business leaders now understand social’s ability to influence every aspect of their organisation, and the resulting investments will catapult brands into their next phase of growth.

“With frontline access to the most impactful data and insights available, marketers have the opportunity to not only educate their organisations, but to drive foundational change. By giving every department access to the latest social intelligence, marketers can lead their business strategies while ensuring their organisation stays ahead of the competition.”