what consumers want from brands in a divided society #BrandsGetRealTable of contents But what denes a connection between a brand and consumers? For starters, its not just about a brands popularity. Metrics like audience size and pageviews matter, but they say little about consumer sentiment or why someone stays loyal to a particular company. A growing number of followers, for example, doesnt reveal why someone feels an attachment to a specic brand or if a shopper is truly loyal to one business over another. When asked to reect on their relationship with brands, two thirds of consumers equate feeling connected with trust. Furthermore, 53% of people say they feel connected when that brands values align with their own. And more than half (51%) say their relationship with a brand starts when they feel the brand understands them and their desires. People today feel more divided than unitedand its all too easy to see why. Political discussions veer toward right vs. wrong and us vs. them. Sharing an opinion can quickly devolve into name-calling and ghting amongst friends who dont see eye to eye. And online, this all happens at the speed of social. New data from Sprout Social reveals that four out of ve consumers believe society is more divided today than ever before. Asked what factors contribute to societys fracturing, 68% point ngers at government and political leaders, and over half of consumers (55%) say social media is to blame. But despite the negativity, people remain hopeful. Hopeful that social media, for all its aws, can actually heal societys divisions and reconnect people with one another. Ninety-one percent of consumers believe social can connect people, and 78% want brands to use social to bring them together. Unlike partisan public gures, brands nd themselves uniquely positioned to foster connections between people online. We surveyed more than 1,000 consumers to understand their desire for greater connectionwith the brands they love and with each otherand how brands today benet when they facilitate connection on social. This report explores why consumers see brands as ideal facilitators of connection and how brands can establish meaningful relationships with consumers by acting as connectors rst and sellers second. Brands are no strangers to social. But, by and large, brands have only just begun to realize the value of truly connecting with consumers and treating social as more than a channel for promotion. Here are the top ve ndings from our research on the business value of building connections through social channels: ! People believe brands and social media can power connections. Despite feelings of division, 91% of people believe in socials power to connect people. More specically, 78% of consumers want brands to use social to help people connect with each other. ! Social is the number one channel for brands to connect with consumers. When asked which communication channels give brands the best opportunity to connect with their customers, survey respondents ranked social media as number one. ! Connection breeds loyalty and bottom line growth. Investing in relationships with consumers directly impacts business revenue and strengthens customer loyalty. When customers feel connected to brands, more than half of consumers (57%) will increase their spending with that brand and 76% will buy from them over a competitor. ! Real people are the key to authentic relationships. Consumers want to learn more about the people behind their favorite brands. Seventy percent of consumers, for example, report feeling more connected when a brands CEO is active on social. Additionally, 72% of consumers report feeling similarly when employees share information about a brand online. ! People want brands to connect them to other people. And they dont mean only those with similar mindsets. Sixty-two percent believe social can unify people of di“erent backgrounds and beliefs, and more than half (52%) expressed interest in connecting with individuals di“erent from them. Our newsfeeds today overow with constant breaking news stories and examples of leaders pitting one group against another. All the political strife can make it a challenge to nd a true connection. But while 72% of consumers cite government and political leaders as playing a signicant role in dividing society, people have a much more favorable outlook when it comes to brands. Their expectations for brands are high. Consumers expect brands to serve as connectors, whether that means fostering connection with their own customers or bringing together people with di“erent perspectives. In fact, nearly two thirds (64%) of consumers want brands to connect with them, while just under half (49%) expect brands to bring people together toward a common goal. Of all the communication channels available to them, consumers point to social media as providing brands the greatest opportunity to truly connect with their audiences. Other e“ective channels for connection include TV/radio advertising, email and direct mail to consumers' homes. Social ads round out the top ve. Social also gives brands the opportunity to connect people on opposite ends of the political spectrum. Seventy-two percent of consumers who identify as conservative want brands to use social to help individuals connect with each other; 85% of those who identify as liberal share the same desire. As the demand for connection grows stronger, consumers see brands in a new light. The brands who focus on building genuine relationships among their consumers, rather than strictly selling to them, will di“erentiate themselves from the competition. Our research reveals that nearly four in ve consumers (79%) agree brands are well positioned to connect people of varying backgrounds and beliefsand for several reasons. Eighty-one percent of consumers say brands can be good connectors because they carry products and services that appeal to a diverse range of customers. And 58% make the case for brands as uniers because they receive signicant media coverage and attention. So why do consumers rank social as the top channel for brands to use when connecting with their customers? Its worth taking a broader look at how people view social and its impact on their lives. The majority of consumers believe social can bring people together, with 63% citing socials ability to help people keep in touch, and 62% saying social unites people with di“erent beliefs. Based on personal experience, nearly half of consumers (46%) say social has introduced them to new people, while 44% say it has helped them understand a di“erent point of view. As brands embrace their role as relationship builders, doubling down on social to power connections is the logical next step. Consumers want brands to use social to help them connect with others for several reasons. More than half of consumers (55%) want brands to use social to help connect like-minded people with each other, while more than one third (36%) are looking for communities they can belong to. And over half of conservatives (51%) and liberals (54%) would like to connect with people who are di“erent from them. But why should brands care? Simply put, connection breeds loyalty, protecting businesses from boycotts when customers have a bad experience, or from losing customers to a competitor. Sixty-four percent of consumers say that their loyalty to a brand increases when they feel connected. Connection also directly impacts a brands bottom line. More than three quarters of consumers (76%) say they would buy from a brand they feel connected to over a competitor, and 57% say they are more likely to increase how much they spend with a brand when they feel connected. On the other hand, when consumers dont feel connected to a brand, 70% are less likely to shop there over a competitor and almost two thirds (61%) will spend less with that business. YouTube, the global video-sharing platform, reaches more than one billion users every month. Recognizing the reach of its global inuencers and creators, as well as the size of their potential audience, YouTube launched its Creators for Change program to build empathy and forge new connections among its users. The program empowered people from all walks of life to connect with each other. Video simply provided the medium. With a platform to share personal stories with people of di“erent backgrounds and beliefs, creators all over the world sparked conversations around topics like xenophobia and online extremism. To supplement those narratives, YouTube creators also received the tools they needed to facilitate constructive dialogue around tough issues and to craft messages promoting social change. This campaign gave YouTube the opportunity to both address criticism related to the moderation of sensitive content on its platform and to put the focus on facilitating positive conversations. Since its inception, YouTubes initiative has logged 60 million views and 731,000 hours watched of all Creators for Change videos. For brands to build true connections with people, they need to meet consumers on their preferred communication channels and create content that puts a brands own people front and center. But companies cant tell the story of their people without a strong social foundation. According to our research, 65% of consumers feel more connected to brands that have a robust presence on social. That means brands have to pay attention to both the consistency and quality of their content. Specically, consumers want material that humanizes an otherwise faceless brand, and they want the people behind the brands doing the posting. Consumers are increasingly interested in learning about the humans who make up their favorite organizations. When a CEO has an active social presence, for example, 70% of consumers feel more connected to that brand. Of those respondents, almost two thirds (65%) say when a CEO uses social regularly it feels like real people run the business. Likewise, people want to hear directly from the employees who keep businesses running day and night. Seventy-two percent of consumers report feeling a bond with brands when employees share information about the business online. Admittedly, shoppers might not be as eager to see a brand-sponsored post about a new product launch in their newsfeed as they are to hear from friends and familybut they may want to hear from a friend who shares excitement about the same launch, or describes their own role in making it possible. Encouraging employees to post about their employer can generate positive brand exposure while making announcements and brand messaging more interesting and relatable to consumers. For years, John Schnatter was the face of his namesake US pizza brand. But when a conference call recording surfaced of Schnatter using the n-word, the pizza chain knew it had to act fast to mitigate the fallout. Instead of launching an apology tour for Schnatters behaviors, Papa Johns hired an agency to help the brand reconnect with its consumers through emotional storytelling and social transparency. This led to the creation of the “Voices of Papa Johns” campaign, a series of short videos proling the brands employees describing why they value working at Papa Johns. While its still too early to quantify the long-term impacts of the initiative, there are signs the people-centric campaign is slowly beginning to rebuild trust among the pizza brands consumers. Papa Johns success to date results from focusing on the many real, diverse people behind the brand sharing what the company means to them and giving consumers new facesand voicesto associate with the brand. In order for brands to connect with consumers, they need to understand how to speak the same language as their target audience. Reaching that understanding, however, starts with listening. If brands fail to listen, consumers will sense they're not operating on the same wavelength and take their business elsewhere. Listening reveals what types of content matter most to consumers right now. Brands can identify industry trends, pop culture events or timely news pieces that resonate with their consumers, then start and join conversations to capitalize on these insights. When brands create, participate in and even host relevant conversations online, 44% of consumers say they feel more connected to them. When brands share content highlighting the latest trends in their industry, 40% of individuals feel a stronger connection to them. A deeper dive into the data reveals which topics will best pique consumers interest. While consumers usually want information about products and services, they also want to learn what makes a brand unique. Forty-six percent of consumers are interested in content detailing a brands social good initiatives and more than one third (39%) want features on company employees. As brands brainstorm topics for content creation, listening can play a big role in helping uncover ideas that will resonate. With a stronger grasp of what content makes their audience tick, brands can better leverage social to connect with their audiences and build community. When it comes to using social to help consumers connect with each other, 46% of consumers would like to see brands create interactive social content, while a little over one third (37%) believe brands should promote user-generated content. And 41% of consumers believe brands should create private groups like the ones that Peloton, the on-demand streaming provider and maker of the Peloton Bike, hosts on Facebook. These groups serve a dual purpose by bringing people together and giving brands a wellspring of ideas and feedback. Consumers who join private groups receive the content they want from and about their favorite companies, while brands can strengthen their relationships with customers and gain deeper insights into what their diehard fans expect from them. Sometimes brands move in the opposite direction and take a gamble by highlighting issues that arent trending in their respective industries. For teen retailer Aerie, such a bold move has paid dividends. While most lingerie retailers focused on using models and a single body type for advertisements, Aerie paid close attention to what actual customers wanted, attaching itself to the conversation women were having online regarding body acceptance and female empowerment. The underwear brand encouraged people to celebrate body positivity and diversity by uploading seles of themselves online with #AerieREAL. It even gave some women the chance to be cast in Aeries latest campaign. The result? Aeries decision to promote authenticity and user-generated content has