Friday, November 6, 2009

Consumers Open to Online Referrals - But Of Course...


Consumers More Willing To Share Brand Info On Social Networks Than Previously Thought

Excerpted from Laurie Sullivan 11/6/2009 article

...Nearly half of people who saw a brand's name on Twitter went to a search engine to look for the product, compared with 34% on any social network. That's according to a joint study released Thursday by Performics, the marketing arm of Publicis Groupe's VivaKi Nerve Center, and ROI Research, an analytics and technology firm.

Performics Marketing Senior Vice President Michael Kahn says. "Being in a social network is like going to someone's barbecue. People are talking about the experiences of their lives. The sharing experience that happens in the physical world also happens in the social."

Among survey respondents, 30% admitted to learning about a product, service or brand on a social network site. Twenty-seven percent say they remain receptive to receiving invitations for events, special offers or promotions from advertisers through the sites, and 25% admit to going directly to an online retailer or ecommerce site after learning about a product or service on Facebook, Twitter or another social site.

The study found that 44% of people have recommended a product on Twitter, and 39% have discussed a product on Twitter. Facebook skewed a bit higher. Forty-six percent of respondents say they would talk about or recommend a product on Facebook.

"Consumers are open to asking about brands, sharing information and taking action on information they get from social networks," Kahn says.

My Take

Social media is on a fast track to be the top source of local information. Because of its power to track and mine consumers' trust levels, social media will leave other forms of advertising in the dust.


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