In the last decade, social media has become a quagmire of marketers competing for consumers’ attention. Companies are the party crashers that social users never invited and are often clueless about what consumers want on social networks. Analyst Jessica Liu explains in her new report, “It’s OK To Break Up With Social Media”, why companies need to relax on social media and let consumers define their brands:

  • Only 24% of US online adults agree that it’s cool to be associated with a company/brand on social media. And 68% don’t think brands/companies share interesting content on social media.
  • In 2020, 32% of CMOs are still unable to show its impact to business, while only 30% can prove the impact quantitatively.
  • For marketers who can’t prove social media efficacy or feel that social networks’ decisions conflict with their own brand principles, they should pull the rip cord.
  • Companies need to relax on pushing out content on social media. It’s more important to gather insights by listening to customers on social media. Listening can happen through traditional monitoring but also via social customer service, communities, ratings and reviews, and user-generated content feedback. 

Liu: “It might be controversial, but we are here to give companies permission to break up with social media.”

Brands must stick to their corporate values, speak up when the social networks misbehave, and walk away when they can’t deliver on critical needs like sound measurement. With these principles, brands can feel comfortable dialing back their social media presences and letting consumers take control.

Jessie has also published a blog post on this topic: Don’t Succumb To Social Media Stockholm Syndrome. If you are interested in interviewing her please reach out to press@forrester.com.