Social media has become such an important marketing channel for brands that it is not surprising to read that a February 2010 survey by Chadwick Martin Bailey showed that 33% of Facebook users have become fans of brands.
Read that again. A third of Facebook users have became fans of a brand. That is pretty amazing to me. And leads me to ask the obvious follow-up question: Why?
Well coupons are by far and away the most popular driver of brand interactions in social networks. After that, people say that learning about sales and new products is also a strong motivator for them to fan brands.
Those two actions (coupons and learning) are usually taken by people who are already aware of your company/brand. But if you are not aware of a company/brand, how do social network users research?
Interestingly, they do not tap into their existing social network of friends for advice or recommendations. According to a study by PowerReviews and the e-tailing group, only 3% of online buyers said they sought recommendations from social network friends first, compared with 57% who started with search engines.
“While people trust their friends for advice and use social networks as part of their research process, social networks are long way from replacing search, if they ever will, as a source of information leading to a purchase” Said Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer senior analyst.
I find this data most interesting as my Twitter stream is full of people asking for product recommendations. Am I that much of a minority here? Do you ask your social network friends for brand recommendations?
source: social-media-optimization
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