Consumers Want Short SocNet Updates, Emails from Brands

December 21, 2011

aytm-update-preferred-channels.jpgShort updates from Facebook and Twitter (32%) and emails (27%) rank as the leading ways in which consumers most prefer to get updates from their favorite brands, according to a survey released in December 2011 by AYTM Market Research. 22% prefer receiving updates from traditional offline ads such as TV commercials and billboards, and 8% from mailed flyers. However, a greater proportion indicate that mailed flyers are their least preferred update method (15%), trailing only audio/podcasts (25%) and traditional offline ads (23%) among the least-favored methods.

Consumers Want Coupons, Not News

Data from “Branding and How it Works in the Social Media Age” indicates that 80% of consumers say that coupons, promotions, and discounts are their most preferred type of content to receive from brands, ahead of brand news (8%), answers to questions (5%), how-to’s (5%), and interviews (2%). Brand news (34%) ranks as the least preferred type of content to receive from brands, with answers to questions (27%) and how-to’s (25%) not far behind. Just 11% cite coupons, promotions, and discounts as their least preferred type of content.

Facebook Likers More Apt to Mention, Refer Brand

According to the AYTM survey, of users who have liked a brand on Facebook, 59% have mentioned a brand in a status update and 57% have shared a link or a video about a brand. This compares to 19% of Facebook users who have not liked a brand, and 42% of Facebook members overall, who have either mentioned a brand in a status update or shared a link or video about a brand.

Facebook users who have liked a brand are also more likely than those who have not to be active on the social network daily (84% vs. 60%) and have more than 100 friends (66% vs. 46%).

Women Nicer on Twitter

Almost twice as many Twitter users say their brand tweets are only positive, versus only negative or mixed. Breaking the figures down by gender, AYTM finds that 2.3 times more female users say their brand tweets are only positive than only negative or mixed, while the ratio for male users is 1.4.

On Facebook, 50% more users say their brand mentions in status updates on the social network are only positive rather than only negative or mixed.

Social Media Drives Trust, Holiday Purchases

According to December study results from Mr Youth, 36% of social media users trust brands that have a social media presence more than brands that do not, and 52% of users are willing to pay more for brands they trust.

In fact, during the 3-week period leading up to and during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopping event, 86% of social media users made or received a holiday gift recommendation, while 65% of users’ recommendations led to a purchase. By comparison, only 49% of non-users made or received a holiday gift recommendation, while just one-third of those recommendations led to a purchase.

Overall, 66% of social media users who made a Black Friday / Cyber Monday purchase reported doing so as a direct result of social media interactions with brands and family.

Engagement Leads to Sales

Although Mr Youth’s survey results show that brands only respond to half of brand posts, 80% of users who received a response to their post made a purchase as a result of the interaction. Additionally, 28% of users who reported a brand reaching out to them proactively made a purchase as a result of the interaction.

About the Data: The AYTM data is based on a survey of 2000 internet users from the company’s built-in consumer platform. The Mr Youth data is part of a broader study on social media usage during the 2011 holiday shopping season. The full study is being fielded through a nationwide survey of 500 households, once a week, over the 6-week period leading up to the Christmas holiday (November 17 – December 19). The survey was conducted in conjunction with Survey Sampling International (SSI) and Kanter Analytics.

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