Most Companies Dropping The Ball on Social Media EngagementSocial media has become one of the best ways for companies to connect with their growing customer base, but according to the most recent data from Sprout Social, a majority of customers say they are not getting as much attention from companies as they expect.

In other words, businesses on social media are mostly underwhelming current and prospective customers with their communications.

Despite skyrocketing activity among customers on all leading social media platforms – especially Facebook and Twitter – companies are not able to keep up with this pace of engagement.

Astoundingly, the amount of customers trying to engage with companies on social media is growing faster than the number of companies trying to reach customers on social media.

Unable to keep up with this growing trend, businesses are showing abysmal response rates on the platforms that are supposed to keep them the most engaged with their customers.

On Twitter, for example, customers can expect to wait an average of eight hours for a response. On Facebook, the wait time is almost 15 hours.

“The most important trend happening in social media for brands is the rapid growth of inbound consumer engagement,” Sprout Social CEO Justyn Howard says. “Businesses need to regroup and retool to shift from a largely marketing-driven focus in social channels to one that revolves around the customer.”