October 14, 2011
Consumers are spending more time than ever using social media, as demonstrated in the Social Media Report
recently published by Nielsen and NM Incite, a Nielsen/McKinsey
company. Building on this report, research by NM Incite helps uncover
what impacts social media may have for marketers trying to build their
brands and connect with their audience more directly.
Social media plays an important role in how consumers discover,
research, and share information about brands and products. In fact 60
percent of consumers researching products through multiple online
sources learned about a specific brand or retailer through social
networking sites. Active social media users are more likely to read
product reviews online, and 3 out of 5 create their own reviews of
products and services. Women are more likely than men to tell others
about products that they like (81% of females vs. 72% of males).
Overall, consumer-generated reviews and product ratings are the most
preferred sources of product information among social media users.
Research shows that social media is increasingly a platform consumers
use to express their loyalty to their favorite brands and products, and
many seek to reap benefits from brands for helping promote their
products. Among those who share their brand experiences through social
media, at least 41 percent say they do so to receive discounts. When
researching products, social media users are likely to trust the
recommendations of their friends and family most, and results from
Nielsen’s Global Online Survey indicate that 2 out of 3 respondents said
they were either highly or somewhat influenced by advertising with a
social context.
Social Media also plays a key role in protecting brands: 58 percent
of social media users say they write product reviews to protect others
from bad experiences, and nearly 1 in 4 say they share their negative
experiences to “punish companies”. Many customers also use social media
to engage with brands on a customer service level, with 42 percent of
18- to 34-year-olds acknowledging that they expect customer support
within 12 hours of a complaint.
On the flip side, another interesting trend is the interest of
consumers to act as ambassadors and advocates for brands through social
media. A majority of active social networkers (53%) follow brands.
These brands are increasingly recruiting their fans and followers to
spread word-of-mouth recommendations about their products and services,
and among consumers who write product reviews online, a majority say
their share their experiences to “give recognition for a job well done”
by the company. Social media users are also interested in collaborating
with their favorite brands, with 60 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds
saying they want to give product improvement recommendations, and
another 64 percent who want to customize their products.
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/how-social-media-impacts-brand-marketing/
Don't be lazy - use Google alerts at the minimum to monitor the web for your brand. Use Hootsuite or Social Mention to monitor social media brandspeak. Are there other tools you folks use? @dock29
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