Social-first brands outperform competitors by focusing on three key areas: community, content, and conversion, according to Deloitte’s latest “State of Social Research” report.

Despite social media budgets surging by an average of 9% from 2023 to 2024, the research reveals that brands are only meeting 69% of their social media business objectives.

Deloitte reports a 9% year-over-year increase in community management investment in 2024. Social-first brands allocate an average of 24% of their social media marketing budgets to social tools, enabling them to provide more personalized customer experiences.

The research indicates that 51% of brands currently using generative AI tools leverage them for community management responses. The same percentage of consumers report liking, sharing, or spending more time with brands as a result of personalized content.

Image source: Deloitte Digital

Creator Strategy Prioritizes Niche Influencers

Creators topped social media marketing budget priorities in 2024, accounting for 24% of total yearly spend on average. Social-first brands prioritized micro and mid-tier creators (84% and 87% respectively) compared to low-maturity brands (35% and 47% respectively).

Consumers followed an average of 13 creators and influencers but only 7 brands on social media. Additionally, 83% of consumers viewed the influencers they follow as trusted information sources, while 81% of all brands placed high or very high priority on leveraging mega creators.

Among social-first brands, 48% report their creator and influencer partnerships delivered the highest ROI of all social media tactics, compared to just 38% of low-maturity brands.

Conversion Through Multiple Voices

The report suggests brands overcome social commerce challenges by “sharing the pen” – introducing voices beyond their own through creators and user-generated content. This approach builds trust, enhances the social shopping experience, drives sales, maximizes revenue potential, and decreases content creation costs.

Deloitte Digital’s research indicates that while social media investment increases, effectiveness depends on adopting innovative, customer-centric strategies across community, content, and conversion areas.

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