Does anyone really want to be friends with your brand?
Social networking has exploded in popularity in the past few years, so it makes sense that marketers would want to follow consumers to this space. I’ve seen some great examples of campaigns that have been very successful with reaching fairly large audiences through social media channels, but I wonder how responsive people are to most everyday online interactions with brands. With so many brands present in the social media space, one would guess that people must respond well to interacting with brands in this way. If people were resistant to this method of communication, brands wouldn’t be participating, right?
It seems like a logical conclusion to reach, but apparently, it’s wrong. According to a recent study called “Digital Life”, (conducted by Kantar Media’s TNS) people aren’t as open to engaging with brands online as we may have thought. This is especially evident in developed markets. The results indicate that in developed markets such as Canada, the US and Europe, people are more resistant to finding out about brands or purchasing products on social networks. When it comes to finding out about brands through social media, 6% of Canadians, 9% of Americans and just 1% of people in the UK are more open to interacting with brands than they are resistant to them. When it comes to buying products, 18% of Canadians, 12% of Americans and 20% of people in the UK are actually more resistant to brands than they are open to them. If this is the case, are brands wasting their time with social media?
Not necessarily. People may be resistant to brands appearing in their online social spaces, but they still interact with brands. While they might not appreciate brands approaching them or having branding messages shoved in their faces without warning, they are still open to communicating with brands online. People are starting to use social media to seek immediate response to customer service issues, and are also likely to use social media to talk about positive (or negative) brand experiences. This is why it’s still important for brands to have a social networking presence. You still need to be monitoring what people are saying about you online, and looking for opportunities to help create positive brand experiences where you can.
Social networking does need to be part of your marketing strategy, you just have to be careful about how you’re using it. This requires a more gentle approach and is more about being there, without being up in people’s faces. (Or in this case, up in people’s Facebooks.)
Check out the rest of the results from the study and let us know what you think. Should brands be part of social networking if people are still resistant to them being there?
