How Consumers Interact With Brands on Facebook [STUDY]

How Consumers Interact With Brands on Facebook [STUDY]

People interact with their favorite brands on Facebook far more than on any other social network, according to a recent study of online consumer behavior.

The study, conducted by Constant Contact and research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey, analyzed the behavior of 1,491 consumers ages 18 and older throughout the United States and revealed a number of details about how people interact with brands on the world’s largest social network.

When it comes to “Liking” brands on Facebook, the reasons are varied, but for the most part, respondents said they “Like” a brand on Facebook because they are a customer (58%) or because they want to receive discounts and promotions (57%).

SEE ALSO: 13 Best Practices for Restaurants on Facebook

Being a fan, for the most part, is a rather passive activity. A whopping 77% of consumers said they interact with brands on Facebook primarily through reading posts and updates from the brands.

A measly 17% of respondents said they interact with brands by sharing experiences and news stories with others about the brand, and only 13% of respondents said they post updates about brands that they Like.

The study also pointed to a number of encouraging stats for businesses, including:

• 56% of consumers said they are more likely to recommend a brand to a friend after becoming a fan on Facebook
• 51% of consumers said they are more likely to buy a product since becoming a fan on Facebook
• 78% of consumers who “Like” brands on Facebook said they “Like” fewer than ten brands

Contrary to another study published in February that stated that 81% of consumers have either “unliked” or removed a company’s posts from their Facebook News Feed, this study reports that 76% of consumers said they have never “unliked” a brand on Facebook.

For brands looking to make the biggest impact on Facebook, it is essential to share compelling content, minimize marketing messages and refrain from overwhelming readers with too frequent updates.

View the complete study here:

10 Quick Facts You Should Know About Consumer Behavior on Facebook

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15 Case Studies to Get Your Client On Board With Social Media

15 Case Studies to Get Your Client On Board With Social Media

Jonathan Rick is a social media strategist in Arlington, VA. You can follow him on Twitter @jrick and read his blog atJonathanRick.com.

In business, definitions are everywhere. They’re your first line of defense in mission statements, job descriptions, expense accounts, statements of work, accounting principles and the like. If you fail to define the parameters and jurisdiction of a tool or concept, you’ll be left with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s famous but ultimately vague application: “I know it when I see it.”

Understandably, the plague of ambiguous definitions is why a plethora of pundits have sought to corner the elusive term “social media” within the scope of the dictionary. For instance, Booz Allen Hamilton defines the phenomenon as “electronic tools, technologies, and platforms.” Wikipedia prefers to dub social media as “Web-based and mobile technologies.” Finally, Duct Tape Marketing nominates social media as “the use of technology combined with social interaction.” Got all that? If you don’t, your clients surely won’t follow either.

In order to sell the field that everyone is talking about, but on which few can illuminate, we first need to reframe the conversation. Instead of striving for Merriam-Webster precision, social media strategists would do better to focus on case studies.

Specifically, social media strategist Ari Herzog has argued, when you reach for the term “social media,” don’t spew broad buzzwords like Facebook or Twitter or YouTube. Instead:

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• Narrow your focus to responding to customer complaints, as Comcast does on Twitter.
• Build brand loyalty, as Bisnow does with e-newsletters, as Skittles does on Facebook, and as the Wine Library does with its podcasts.
• Issue blog posts and tweets instead of news releases, as Google does with its blog, and as its now-former CEO did with Twitter.
• Re-purpose your existing content, and thus enlarge your audience, as The New York Times does with Twitter, as the FBI does with Scribd, and as Dell does with SlideShare.
• Manage your reputation, as countless companies do — or try to do — with Wikipedia.
• Conduct crisis communications, as Johnson & Johnson does with its blog.
• Hold contests to improve your algorithms, as Netflix did with the Netflix Prize.
• Crowdsource your challenges, as the U.S. Army did with its field manuals.
• Demonstrate thought leadership, as recruiter Lindsay Olson does with her blog.
• Research free advertising opportunities, as Allstate does on YouTube.
• Showcase your wares, as Zappos does with its blog, and boost your sales, as Dell does on Twitter.
• Recruit employees, as Booz Allen does on LinkedIn.

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In these contexts, “social media” refers not to platforms, but to what those applications enable: social interaction.

Think of these interactions the next time you confront a reluctant client. Instead of touting Twitter in general, instead emphasize the importance of reaching new and savvy stakeholders using the platform. Instead of evangelizing for a blog, show how blogging can generate leads. Instead of pointing to videos gone viral, explore video tools that will help your client develop a brand identity.

By unpacking social media’s broad definition on a case-by-case basis, you will not only render it familiar to a client, but also present it as something entirely doable.

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