New Research: Marketers Say Authentic Content Delivers Results on Social, But Bandwidth Holds Them Back

PhotoShelter’s State of Social Media Marketing study reveals how leading brands overcome resource gaps by leaning on technology, smarter workflows, and ROI-driven storytelling

PhotoShelter, the leading digital asset management (DAM) platform, mtsreleased the findings of its 2025 State of Social Media Marketing study, revealing that the old playbook of “just post more” on social media is not getting the results it used to. The research surveyed nearly 400 U.S. marketers across industries, finding that while 70% of organizations post daily and 1 in 3 post multiple times per day, volume alone is not driving engagement or reach. Instead, marketers point to authentic content as the factor that consistently delivers results.

Marketers are approaching authenticity in two ways: by collecting user-generated content (UGC) that brings real, human voices onto their brand channels, and by distributing photos and videos to athletes, employees, sponsors, and other key influencers who share them with their own followers. When content comes through trusted messengers, it travels farther and resonates more deeply – extending reach by up to 10x.

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“Our research shows that too many organizations rate their social strategies as weak,” said Andrew Fingerman, CEO of PhotoShelter. “Their number one challenge is creating authentic content at the speed their audiences expect. That challenge is a major hurdle for brands, and it’s exactly where the opportunity lies: pairing creativity with tools that allow for real-time storytelling.”

Key findings include:

• Marketers score their organization’s social media strategy a B+ – With 6 in 10 saying that social is the primary way they drive results, achieving top performance in this channel is crucial
• Bandwidth is the #1 challenge – While 95% of marketers agree social is essential to their overall strategy, nearly half (46%) say their teams are stretched too thin to execute
• Consistency still pays off – 41% say consistent posting drives results, with dedicated teams (30%) and community engagement (27%) also leading the way
• Authenticity beats polish – Marketers are investing in UGC (41%) to meet the demand for authentic content, leading engagement driver
• AI is on the rise – 45% of marketers use AI for social media, especially those posting multiple times per day

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The findings show that social media has evolved from a numbers game into one driven by speed, credibility, and adaptability. brand engagement and reach come from getting authentic content into the world in real time, letting trusted voices like athletes, employees, and partners amplify the message, and using AI to streamline the process. Marketers are also tapping into their archives in smarter ways, turning once-static libraries into assets that generate measurable ROI.