An Emplifi survey of 405 marketing professionals found that reported AI productivity gains outpaced confidence in showing social media’s return to company leaders with attribution data.
The findings appear in Emplifi’s The State of Social Media Marketing 2027 report. Eighty-seven percent of respondents said AI had improved team productivity, and 38% described the increase as significant. In a separate measure, 48% said their teams could confidently demonstrate social media ROI to leadership using clear attribution and data.
The workload was not negligible: 62% of respondents spent at least four hours each week on reporting and analytics. But 69% said AI had given their team at least three hours a week back on that work during the preceding 12 months.
Attribution led the list of reporting obstacles, Emplifi said. The survey’s KPI rankings leaned toward exposure: 58% put reach and impressions among their top three, while fewer than one-third listed revenue attributed to social media. The ROI question measured confidence in presenting results to leaders, while the KPI question asked which measures marketers prioritized.
Emplifi worked with Alchemer on the online survey in September 2026. It covered full-time marketing managers, directors and executives in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Respondents had at least three years of industry experience, worked at companies with 11 or more employees and influenced marketing technology purchases. The results reflect respondents’ reported experiences rather than audited productivity measurements. Emplifi cautioned that year-over-year comparisons are limited because the surveys differed in respondent markets, employer size and eligibility rules, and some questions changed.
Emplifi Chief Marketing Officer Claire Wilson said teams should look beyond content volume when judging strategy. “In 2027, the strongest social strategies will not be defined by how much content teams can produce,” Wilson said.
Emplifi said it will discuss the findings with Lia Haberman in a webinar Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 11 a.m. ET.
