Razorfish’s 2009 Digital Brand Experience Report , may reveal the real value of social media– to communicate discounts and good deals. Consumers don’t want to be a brand’s BFF at the social media cocktail party.
It’s not so much about some type of “shared passion” for a brand’s values. Largely, it’s about deals—pure and simple.
Some other social media findings for the digital brand:
- digital brand experiences are not just “awareness” or “conversion” plays, but customer-creation plays. Consumer brand engagement creates customers.
- 65% of consumers report having had a digital experience that either positively or negatively changed their opinion about a brand. Of that group, a nearly unanimous 97% say that their digital experience influenced whether or not they eventually purchased a product or service from that brand.
- Because of the interactive nature of the medium, one brand experience can lead a consumer from “awareness” through “purchase” and recommendation” almost instantly. According to our study, 64% of consumers have made a first purchase from a brand because of a digital experience such as a web site, microsite, mobile coupon, or email
- brands must not only stand for something but also do something. Branded experiences (or actions) are the new advertising. “Clicks” and “impressions” mean far less than conversations and brand behaviors (like using your content to jump you in the SERPs– trulya selfish brand behavior)
- the myth of marketing-free social spaces is just that. The “dialogue” between brands and consumers is not only frequent, but also welcome. (oh no, I may soon have to jetison my F-book account)
- consumers don’t want a conversation with brands—they want deals. Of those who follow a brand on Twitter, 44% say access to exclusive deals is the main reason. (Zillow appraisal coupons coming?)
- Engagement equals affinity. 64% of consumers report making a first purchase from a brand because of a digital experience.
- U.S. consumers now spend, on average, about the same amount of time online as they do watching television. (Digital advertising still behind TV and magazines)
- 84% of consumers rely on the web to get current news (yea for theclozing.com)
- consumers will now demand mobile experiences that rival those built for a PC—with a twist, of course– cool useful apps. (with GPS) (so build an app instead of a display ad)
- the other significant driver of brand engagement in social media is customer service. (so complain to Trulia and Zillow on Twitter and have them jump to your service)
- Twitter game changer: those who follow a brand on Twitter seem to be engaged beyond deals or customer service: 23% cite “interesting or entertaining” content as their main reason. (gee, did you see that truly entertaining testimonial tweet?)
About the Survey:
In August 2009, Razorfish surveyed 1,000 U.S. consumers (50.5% female, 49.5% male) in four major age groups to understand how their adoption of Internet technology and services impacted the way that they engaged with brands. The respondents were evenly split geographically among the 10 major U.S. metros and broader geographic representation.
They sought “connected consumers“– broadband access, spent $150 online in the last six months, visited a “community site” (YouTube, Facebook, Yelp, etc.), consumed or created some form of digital media, such as photos, videos, music, or news.
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