Not only do consumers want businesses to be open and honest in their social posts, consumers actually hold businesses to a higher standard than they hold for themselves.
In a new study from Sprout Social, consumers singled out brands as the group with the greatest responsibility to be “transparent” on social media, a broad term but one that the survey suggests includes honesty, openness, clarity and even authenticity.
More than three-quarters of the consumers (81%) surveyed said brands must be transparent on social media. By comparison, only 71% said that they themselves had a responsibility to be transparent. Celebrities got an even bigger pass, with just 57% of respondents holding them to that standard of behavior.
What demonstrates a lack of transparency? The two most cited behaviors included "withholding information" and "ignoring customer questions." But the respondents also expressed concerns about companies that ignore employee questions as well.
For a smaller but not insignificant portion of the survey base, avoiding political or social issues was interpreted as lacking transparency. More than one-third (34%) of respondents said that was an issue.
However, the consumers surveyed said social media candor can increase the likelihood of future purchases (53%) or how frequently a purchase is made (37%). Some 42% said they’d recommend a transparent brand to family and friends, while one-third would share a positive post on their personal social media account.