expertSEM

One question I hear a lot when discussing social media engagement with clients is “Do people really friend/fan brands on social networks?” Well, according to the digital marketing agency Razorfish, the answer is yes, they do. In an August 2009 study, Razorfish polled 1,000 internet users between the ages of 18 and 55 and found some interesting statistics regarding their online brand interaction. According to the study, 25.5% at one time or another have followed a brand on Twitter, and 40% have “friended” a brand on MySpace or Facebook. That’s a number to stop and take notice of. However the next reasonable question to ask is “why?”, and not surprisingly, between 37% and 43.5% do it for exclusive deals or offers. Well why not? People like free, and a sizeable discount is not half bad either.

Taking it a step farther than a simple promotion or exclusive offer, 70% polled have participated in a brand-sponsored contest or sweepstakes. When working with brands wanting a presence in the MySpace community a few years back, we pushed contests and sweeps heavily as a way to drive traffic to the community. I guess we were right. Giving people a desirable incentive to engage with a brand such as a Nintendo Wii or a trip to Hawaii is much more powerful than saying “here we are, please be our friend”. However only 24% have produced content in order to join the contest so remember, the less the user has to do in order to enter, the more entrees you’ll have.

Another interesting question was in regards to the effect the friended/followed brand has on the user. For Twitter, 47% usually consider the brand when they are in the market for that product or service, 46% usually purchase a product or service from that brand, and 37% usually recommend that brand to others. These stats were just a little lower for Facebook, so the lesson learned here is that there IS in fact a value to having a presence on these popular social networks.

The last question I wanted to make note of is this one:

“Has an experience you have had online ever changed your opinion (ether positively or negatively) about a brand or the products and services they offer?” 65% apparently have. “Has that experience influenced whether or not you purchased a product or service from the brand?” I’d have to say a 97% yes is a significant percentage to take note of. Brands need to stay on top of their online reputation because if they’re not the ones doing the talking, someone else will and their message might not be as favorable.