This customer engagement special edition is made possible by DoorDash |
JULY 8, 2025 |
What do business leaders worldwide say is their most pressing customer engagement challenge in 2025? |
A) Protecting customer data B) Addressing disconnected customer journeys C) Navigating complex regulations D) Balancing security and the customer experience |
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TOP STORY |
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While consumers are always looking for more efficient ways to shop and engage with brands, they aren't always ready to trade that efficiency for relinquished control. Marketers seeking to enhance engagement with AI have an evolving tightrope to walk. |
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“AI is just making the customer journey more efficient for consumers,” said our analyst Suzy Davidkhanian in a recent “Behind the Numbers” episode, “but it comes at the price of losing the treasure hunt and impulse purchases.” |
With the right guardrails, marketers and retailers can implement AI chatbots into their customer service strategy while maintaining sales and driving customer loyalty.
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IN THE NEWS |
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Brands are increasingly engaging with nano-, micro-, and mid-tier influencers—creators with up to 10,000, 50,000, 500,000 followers, respectively—and shifting away from macro- and mega-influencers with larger followings. |
The numbers: |
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Nano-influencers maintain the highest engagement rate across influencer categories on Instagram at 6.23%. On Instagram, there’s a notable trend of engagement rates decreasing as follower count increases.
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TikTok generally outperforms other platforms in terms of engagement rates across influencer sizes, but nano-, micro-, and mid-tier influencers maintain the highest engagement. Per a study from Influencer Marketing Hub, nano-influencers had a 10.3% engagement rate on TikTok in 2024, while micro-influencers came in at 8.7% and mid-tier landed at 7.5%. |
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ANALYSIS |
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Social media success was once defined by public stamps of approval, but now brands are recognizing that in-feed engagement is both an inaccurate and incomplete approach to measuring impact. Reaching consumers within their DMs has emerged as a growing strategy for many marketers. |
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Almost half (48%) of 18- to 24-year-olds said they had messaged someone on social media in the last week, per an October Ypulse survey.
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Snapchat brought ads to private chats last year.
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Messaging app Discord is launching a new ad product in June, offering brands more opportunities to engage with consumers. |
“People are so used to liking content out of habit, and that doesn’t necessarily mean they connect with it,” said influencer marketing consultant Lindsey Gamble, who pointed to the lack of privacy that comes with in-feed engagement. |
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