By Jill Kurtz, Owner, Kurtz Digital StrategyWhile 86% of users want to and do follow brands on social media, many brands make it hard by posting undesirable and annoying content.This and other insights come from a recent study by Sprout Social.Sprout surveyed more than 1,000 Facebook, Twitter and Instagram users to determine what annoys them about brands on social, what drives them to unfollow and which industries are on the right side of the line.Give People What They WantMany brands use social tactics that don’t correlate with what people want.

• 60% of people are annoyed with too many promotions by brands
• 1 in 4 people are annoyed when you don’t respond to them
• 38% of people find the use of slang to be irritating
• 32% are annoyed when a brand tries to be funny–when they clearly are not
• 34% of people find a lack of personality to be just as bad.

Pushes to UnfollowWhat causes people to actually unfollow a brand? Outside of basic interest, people want something more from your brand.

• 25% of people started following you so they could have a two-way dialogue with your brand
• Too many promotional messages cause 46% of people to unfollow a brand
• 41% of people will unfollow a brand that doesn’t share relevant information
• 7 in 10 people have unfollowed a brand because they were embarrassed their friends might see

Say It Again and Again75% of people have purchased something because they saw it on social media but that impression takes multiple messages. Most people have to see a product or service 2-4 times on social before they purchase it. And nearly 20% of people need to see a social post or advertisement 5-8 times. Purchasing decisions prompted by social take time.[author]About the Author: Jill Kurtz founded Kurtz Digital Strategy to help clients see the communication potential of the newest trends and technologies. She is an expert at website strategy and redesign, social media planning, and developing exceptional content.[/author]