The number of social media users worldwide increased by 24% to more than 4.6 billion in 2016, with 13 new users signing up to their first social media account every second. Social media is fastly becoming a primary channel of communication and social interaction for many people. How customers engage with companies on social media is also changing. Previously, many customers turned to social media as a channel of escalation when more traditional service channels failed to address their concerns. Today’s customers are increasingly using it for general requests, queries, and feedback. As the only servicing channel with public exposure, the quality of servicing on social media can have a significant impact on brand perception.

Demand generation can make a business’ marketing messages sound more authoritative and carry more weight with prospective clients, resulting in an increase in revenue by farming strong leads. Demand generation is different from lead generation. Demand generation strives to build brand awareness and authority so that potential customers reliably enter the purchase track, while lead generation focuses on turning an engaged audience into leads via direct outreach.