26 Jul Why Do People Follow Brands?
One of the biggest questions brands struggle with is how to utilize social media channels. In particular, we quite often are asked (and see) as to what type of content to post on their social media channels. The issue is that most brands want to see immediate return on their investments in social media, so it’s not a surprise to us that coupons and deals are the number one thing people want. More after the jump.
There are two points worth noting on this chart; make that three.
The first is: Who’s still using Myspace that it’s included in this chart? 😉
The second is that the percentage of people who are actual fans of brands on Facebook isn’t surprising, but it is quite low relative to the number of people actually buying and using those products. This reaffirms our position that a Like is definitely not the same as a “Love”. This is a clear sign to brands that using Facebook as an advocacy channel is going to only yield limited, if not poor, results.
Second, the fact that the Twitter numbers are significantly different (More deals, less fans) speaks to the fact that a) A lot of deal site bloggers are using this as their “go to” channel to get offers from brands, and b) More online influencers that may not be a fan of your brand but are influencing the channel and/or vertical are listening.
The question isn’t whether or not people are using these channels, the more pertinent question is: How well are you talking with them?