Sprout Social: Two-thirds of consumers believe brands should publicly disclose their stance on social issues

199IT original compilation

Sprout Social released its latest survey, "The Change of Advertising in the Social Media Era". People are eager to hear from brands, not just products and services. But Sprout Social's survey found that brands have some things to pay attention to when speaking on social media:

People want brands to take a stance on important issues on social media, with two-thirds of consumers believing it is very important for brands to take a public stance on social and political issues (66%), and more than half of consumers being open to brands taking a stance on social media (58%).

66% of respondents said that brands’ social media posts rarely or never influence their opinions on social issues. However, brands are more effective at promoting donations (39%) and encouraging support for a cause (37%) on social media.

78% of respondents who identify as liberal want brands to take a stand, while conservatives are more conservative (52%). 82% of liberals believe that brands are credible, while only 46% of conservatives think so.

Relevance is key. Brands are most credible when issues directly impact customers (47%), employees (40%) and business operations (31%).

Brands face more crises on social media. Consumers' attitudes toward brands taking a stand on social issues on social media are generally positive, with the most common being curiosity, impression and participation in emerging things. When consumers' personal beliefs are consistent with the brand, 28% will publicly like it; when people disagree with the brand's position, 20% will publicly criticize it.

199IT.com Originally compiled from: Sprout Social. Please do not reprint without authorization