Socialbakers to Host Engage 2012, Announce Top Performers in Social Customer Service

NEW YORK, Oct. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Earlier this year, Socialbakers, the leading social media analytics provider, started a conversation on social media customer service practices by releasing a study on "Socially Devoted" companies – brands that leveraged social media to improve customer satisfaction and ROI. The conversation will continue at the Engage 2012 conference hosted by Socialbakers on October 23 at the historic Bohemian National Hall in New York City. Topics will include the findings of the latest "Socially Devoted" companies study.

A must-attend event for marketing professionals looking to leverage social media to improve brand performance, Engage 2012 will feature keynote speakers from Socialbakers, major social networks – including Facebook – and social media executives from global brands such as Nestle and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. The one-day-only event will include expert insights on optimizing content, generating returns on engagement, organic vs. paid vs. viral engagement and content ROI strategies. It will conclude with the first ever Socially Devoted Awards ceremony and dinner.

Last June, Socialbakers released the results of a groundbreaking study identifying businesses that leveraged open and responsive social communications to drive ROI and improve customer satisfaction, defining a "Socially Devoted" benchmark for companies. Those that qualified as Socially Devoted opened their social media pages to questions and feedback, responded to at least 65% of questions and offered timely responses. The June study found that, on average, only 30% of customer queries and posts on Facebook were responded to on average.

New Study Shows Marked Improvement

Socialbakers concluded a new phase of the study in September. It revealed that 48.1% of customer queries are now addressed by the companies surveyed as opposed to only 30% just last June. That's a 60% increase. Most companies are now engaging customers by adopting more reactive and open social media strategies.

"Companies across diverse industry sectors are realizing the value of a Socially Devoted strategy," said Socialbakers CEO Jan Rezab. "The early adopters of this model have demonstrated how social media outreach can improve customer perceptions and deliver ROI, and this may have inspired more businesses to adopt the Socially Devoted model."

While it's important for companies to respond to feedback quickly and engage with fans on Facebook, Rezab also notes that companies that are truly Socially Devoted tend to engage customers on other social media venues, such as Twitter, and on customer service platforms like live chat, leveraging multiple communication tools to connect.

Most Socially Devoted Industries and Greatest Improvements

The follow-up study conducted by Socialbakers found that most industry sectors improved their Socially Devoted status:

The study, which analyzed brands worldwide, found that the airline industry demonstrated the highest levels of social devotion. Alcohol brands showed the most improvement across the two study periods, increasing social devotion by nearly 500%.

Companies that were included in the study can access limited information on their social devotion status at no charge. As the study indicates, social engagement is a growing trend, and with good reason: Socially Devoted companies can use social media marketing effectively to drive higher ROI and build productive customer relationships.

As social media takes a more central role as a communication tool, customers expect interaction, and companies that ignore the trend not only lose out on an opportunity to build positive relationships, they can project an unresponsive image that can hurt sales. The Engage 2012 event will explore the topic of social media marketing in greater detail and recognize leaders in social devotion with awards.

To learn more about the Socially Devoted rankings, please visit http://www.socially-devoted.com. To find out more about Socialbakers' comprehensive social analytics platform, which delivers actionable insights to social media marketers and customer service professionals, please visit www.socialbakers.com. 

About Socialbakers

Socialbakers is a social media analytics company and the most cited source for global social marketing data with more than 15 million Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube profiles and places indexed. Launched in 2008, Socialbakers' tools include its easy-to-use Analytics PRO and Builder PRO. It is the only solution that allows brands such as Lufthansa, L'Oreal, Danone, Vodafone, Samsung, GE Money, Ogilvy, Kraft and Peugeot to measure, compare and contrast the success of their social media campaigns with competitive intelligence. For more information, visit www.socialbakers.com.

SOURCE Socialbakers