We wanted to explore consumer misconceptions of social media professionals: Instead, it sparked a dialogue about the need for greater diversity

“Who do consumers think runs brand accounts?” That’s the question we set out to answer when we surveyed 1,623 consumers from the US and the UK.

The results are telling: According to our Q4 2023 Sprout Pulse Survey, respondents believe the average social media manager is: white (65%), female (73%), 25-40 years old (55%), and a part-time employee or freelancer (40%).

Candidly, we hoped consumer perception was far from reality. We aspired to write an article that would prove consumer stereotypes wrong.

But after running a follow-up survey of our own audience and comparing our findings to third-party data, we realized consumer views about social marketers were mostly spot-on. The only difference is experience level (most people working in social aren’t entry-level or freelancers). Which means the industry is primarily made up of Millennial white women. Even the majority of our own team fit within that demographic.

This led us to new questions. What is it about social media careers that makes them dominated by white women? What does it say about the way brands co-opt BIPOC culture? Why do people assume a women-led field requires less experience and expertise? How can we make a place in the industry for people from different generations?

We asked social professionals outside of the majority demographic to weigh in, and got their take on what’s amiss in the industry and how we can chart a more inclusive path forward.