Remember the heady days of 2010? The world was recovering from the worst economic crisis since the end of the Great Depression; young and old mused aloud at which avatars would best represent us online; everyone grooved to Shakira’s Waka Waka in the wake of South Africa’s FIFA World Cup extravaganza.
But, in the CX space, a hype cycle was rapidly gaining momentum, one the likes of which the industry had rarely seen (to that point… but that’s another story). Social media was upon us in full force, and the pressure to deliver customer service across its associated networks was at an all-time high for enterprises. BPOs quickly clamored to be identified with social CX provision as consumers took to their apps in order to complain and ask questions about products or services.
Fast-forward 15 years, and the social media landscape looks, well… different.
In 2025, the concerns about the impact of social networks on individuals are rampant. Intolerance, fake news, cyber-bullying, AI-generated content and screen addiction are just some of the reasons why many are choosing to engage less across social channels, or to abandon them altogether. This was eloquently discussed by leading BBC journalist Katty Kay in an interview that she conducted recently with Kyle Chayka, during which not only the reasons for this trend were explored, but also where social media is headed.
The broad downward direction of social media use correlates from a customer management angle. In fact, the 2025 CX Technology and Global Services Survey published by Ryan Strategic Advisory shows that social media is the enterprise CX delivery channel that will grow the slowest over the coming year; almost half of those sounded indicate they anticipate interactions across this medium will remain flat or drop the next 12 months.
That said, there are still significant social media enterprise CX needs that have to be filled. Despite expected drops in activity across this medium, according to the 2025 CX Technology and Global Services Survey social media remains the second-most deployed contact center channel among captive operators. Nearly every enterprise sounded uses at least one of these networks as a means of customer interactions. Thus, despite reported declines in levels of social media activity, outsourcers supporting these networks for clients would be wise to moderninze their approach and offerings for this channel.
A logical starting point is content moderation. This has been a line of business wrought with headaches as it relates to the trust & safety of agents monitoring what can be in many instances heinous content. However, there are now more AI-driven solutions that take a significant portion (if not all) of the human element out of this function. Outsourcers aiming to harness enterprise demand for content moderation services need to avail themselves of this technology at the earliest.
Analytics remain a social media standout, as well. Notably, how end-users are communicating about the brands from which they buy goods / services in different networks or forums can be a powerful source of data, and an offering that outsourcers can leverage to intelligence-hungry clients.
So too is content management strategy. With social networks awash with generic, auto-generated posts and flat advertising efforts, finding a way to stand out in the eyes of doom-scrolling users is an interesting value-add niche for BPOs. However, any outsourcer going down this path will need to ensure the right talent in place that understands not only the mechanics of social networks, but marketing communications too.
Finally, there is the ongoing delivery of customer management via social media. What is interesting is the extent to which social network members seem more inclined to use these platforms as a means of interacting with each other, as well as enterprises, via private messaging, as opposed to doing so in public posts. BPOs with a legacy in digital communications across other non-voice platforms have an immediate advantage in this regard and should position themselves as the partner of choice on private message support.
As with other contact mediums, social media is not going away, but how its users are interacting with it is evolving. Outsourcers can act as the trusted guide for enterprise CX department leaders that are unsure about where social channels fit in their customer experience mix. While things have changed since 2010, social media’s CX pertinence is still in play.
Image sourced from Jason Howie under Creative Commons licence
BPOs Must Rethink Social Media CX Provision
By Ryan Strategic Advisory
Remember the heady days of 2010? The world was recovering from the worst economic crisis since the end of the Great Depression; young and old mused aloud at which avatars would best represent us online; everyone grooved to Shakira’s Waka Waka in the wake of South Africa’s FIFA World Cup extravaganza.
But, in the CX space, a hype cycle was rapidly gaining momentum, one the likes of which the industry had rarely seen (to that point… but that’s another story). Social media was upon us in full force, and the pressure to deliver customer service across its associated networks was at an all-time high for enterprises. BPOs quickly clamored to be identified with social CX provision as consumers took to their apps in order to complain and ask questions about products or services.
Fast-forward 15 years, and the social media landscape looks, well… different.
In 2025, the concerns about the impact of social networks on individuals are rampant. Intolerance, fake news, cyber-bullying, AI-generated content and screen addiction are just some of the reasons why many are choosing to engage less across social channels, or to abandon them altogether. This was eloquently discussed by leading BBC journalist Katty Kay in an interview that she conducted recently with Kyle Chayka, during which not only the reasons for this trend were explored, but also where social media is headed.
The broad downward direction of social media use correlates from a customer management angle. In fact, the 2025 CX Technology and Global Services Survey published by Ryan Strategic Advisory shows that social media is the enterprise CX delivery channel that will grow the slowest over the coming year; almost half of those sounded indicate they anticipate interactions across this medium will remain flat or drop the next 12 months.
That said, there are still significant social media enterprise CX needs that have to be filled. Despite expected drops in activity across this medium, according to the 2025 CX Technology and Global Services Survey social media remains the second-most deployed contact center channel among captive operators. Nearly every enterprise sounded uses at least one of these networks as a means of customer interactions. Thus, despite reported declines in levels of social media activity, outsourcers supporting these networks for clients would be wise to moderninze their approach and offerings for this channel.
A logical starting point is content moderation. This has been a line of business wrought with headaches as it relates to the trust & safety of agents monitoring what can be in many instances heinous content. However, there are now more AI-driven solutions that take a significant portion (if not all) of the human element out of this function. Outsourcers aiming to harness enterprise demand for content moderation services need to avail themselves of this technology at the earliest.
Analytics remain a social media standout, as well. Notably, how end-users are communicating about the brands from which they buy goods / services in different networks or forums can be a powerful source of data, and an offering that outsourcers can leverage to intelligence-hungry clients.
So too is content management strategy. With social networks awash with generic, auto-generated posts and flat advertising efforts, finding a way to stand out in the eyes of doom-scrolling users is an interesting value-add niche for BPOs. However, any outsourcer going down this path will need to ensure the right talent in place that understands not only the mechanics of social networks, but marketing communications too.
Finally, there is the ongoing delivery of customer management via social media. What is interesting is the extent to which social network members seem more inclined to use these platforms as a means of interacting with each other, as well as enterprises, via private messaging, as opposed to doing so in public posts. BPOs with a legacy in digital communications across other non-voice platforms have an immediate advantage in this regard and should position themselves as the partner of choice on private message support.
As with other contact mediums, social media is not going away, but how its users are interacting with it is evolving. Outsourcers can act as the trusted guide for enterprise CX department leaders that are unsure about where social channels fit in their customer experience mix. While things have changed since 2010, social media’s CX pertinence is still in play.
Image sourced from Jason Howie under Creative Commons licence