| L’Oreal, Dove, Nivea and Chanel are the most coveted brands — on social media, that is.
According to a new survey, these four brands are the most likely to be recommended by social media users, while McDonald’s and Monsanto rank toward the bottom of the referral list. The research, conducted by WPP Plc’s Social@Ogilvy agency and SurveyMonkey, questioned 5,600 social media users throughout 11 countries, a June 23 Bloomberg article reports. The respondents use networks like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Interestingly enough, while 84% of respondents reported “liking” or following a brand on social media, a mere 58% were willing to share their good and bad experiences with these brands. “We found that people had been using likes as a measure online, but that’s been the only measure and it’s not that accurate or deep,” Bennett Porter, vice president of marketing at SurveyMonkey, said. As social media has become a nearly universally used tool, the indispensability of a social media marketing campaign has become increasingly evident to companies large and small. When 47% of Americans have reported that Facebook alone has a large influence on their purchasing habits, failing to market to a social audience means missing out on tons of business. In fact, the survey found, an ever-larger chunk of the $544 billion ad industry is being driven by Internet marketing. But what makes some brands more attractive to others in the eyes of the consumer? The quality — perceived or otherwise — of a brand is most important among social media users. About 93% of respondents cited quality as the top reason to recommend a brand name or product to their friends or colleagues, Bloomberg reports. Secondly, consumers increasingly expect personalized attention, one-on-one interaction and dynamic content from the brands they follow on social media. “Companies need to move beyond collecting likes and retweets with meaningless content,” said Thomas Crampton, the global managing director of Social@Ogilvy. “Through genuine interaction and content designed to connect with true advocates, companies can drive forward their brand, business and reputation in ways not possible before this era of social media.” Social media can be an incredibly powerful medium for developing relationships between brands and consumers — but ultimately, this medium only delivers as much as you put into it. |
