• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, May 15, 2014

Most user interactions with brands on social media are positive or neutral. Twitter is the platform with the most positive interactions, according to a new study by Converseon, which analyzed around 2,500 consumer interactions with 20 big brands on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.
 
Overall, Converseon found that 55% of interactions between brands and consumers on Twitter were positive, compared to 53% for Google+ and 49% for Facebook. Also, 25% of consumer interactions with brands on Twitter were neutral, compared to 29% for Google+ and 32% for Facebook. Finally 20% of interactions on Twitter were negative, compared to 18% for Google+ and 20% for Facebook.
 
While marketers understandably like to focus on the positive side of things, from a customer service perspective the negative interactions are obviously a major area of concern.

On that note, a separate study from the Social Media Marketing University, cited by eMarketer, found that 56% of negative posts are complaints about products or services, while 14% were negative feedback in response to a brand’s social content. Further, an alarming 15% were negative commentary created by former employees, and 14% were negative commentary created by competitors.
 
Negative commentary is likely to increase, judging by the results of several other studies, which suggest that younger people are more likely to take their complaints to social media. In December 2013, NewVoiceMedia published data showing that young adults are more likely to post negative online reviews of brands after bad experiences: 18% of all adults said they would go online to post a bad review and 16% would vent on social media. That number jumps to 59% among consumers ages 25-34.
 
In 2012, another survey conducted by Echo Research on behalf of American Express found that social media users in general are more vocal with their complaints. Social media users who have bad customer service experiences will tell a whopping 53 people about their misfortune on average, the AmEx-Echo survey found, compared to an average 24 people for non-users.