Most companies that adopt technology tend to look at from an internal cost saving perspective rather than a consumer centric mindset.

The surge to 'automate' shit because you can might save you a few quid in the short term, but what about the ROX (return on experience) in the medium to long term.

Despite Gartner, Forrester, and other such luminaries providing ongoing insight and supporting data stating that the buying process has changed forever, there are still many that think being on social media is something the girl with the tattoo or the guy with the beard in marketing do.

Do you still believe that your website is the first place people go to in order to find out about your business?

Perhaps the most interesting trend in evolving search behaviours is the rise of social search.

"Roughly 45 percent of global internet users say that they turn to social networks at least once per month when looking for information about products or services that they’re thinking of buying."

However, that figure is considerably higher amongst younger age groups.

Indeed, Gen Z internet users are now more likely to start their brand research on social networks than they are to turn to a search engine, and trends suggest that this will soon be the case for younger Millennials too.

In-depth analysis of data collected by GWI shows that at least 98 percent of the users of any given social media platform use at least one other social platform.

The audiences of individual social platforms are also subject to significant overlaps, with 85 percent of TikTok users aged 16 to 64 saying they use Facebook, and almost 95 percent of Instagram users saying they also use YouTube. 

The extent of these audience overlaps has particular relevance to marketers, who often spend significant amounts of time debating which platforms to use for their activities.

So, how does your social footprint stack up?