Interesting stats from eMarketer – why do people follow brands in social media? Clearly deals are first and foremost in consumers’ minds. After all, we are in a recession and we are selfish species:
I’m disappointed to see that interesting or entertaining content is third on this list. I believe branded content is the future of marketing but I guess this is also an opportunity – there is just not a lot of good content out there being produced by brands.
From a more philosophical standpoint, I’m very much encouraged to see that consumers follow brands which they already buy from – that emotional connection is starting to be formed and consumers are feeling a sense of ownership over the brands they choose.The more “skin in the game” the consumer has, the more likely they are to buy from you.
Not only do I agree with your thought that branded content is the future of marketing, but I’ll take it one step further and say that branded content is the future of content.
By that, I mean we’re moving away from TV shows, movies, etc that are supported by ticket sales and unrelated ads, and more to entertainment events that are really just big marketing moves – think BMW’s Driver series of short films.
The fact that most people are really only following brands for deals doesn’t surprise me. I sometimes find it hard to believe that anyone follows any brands based on the content they churn out.
And maybe its because I’m jaded because of how I fit in the industry, but I think the only reason I follow brands on Twitter or become a fan of them on Facebook is because my friends are somehow involved with the company.
Parker – good point as always. one thing i would tweak is that content origination is coming full circle. think about the early soap operas which were created purely as a way to get housewives to the next commercial…for, you guessed it, soap.
[...] by Chris Garrett on January 25, 2010 via edlee.ca [...]
Hi Ed,
I am not surprised at all with the assessment that most are looking for deals. As a marketer myself, I know that people in general need to understand the benefit of following a brand. I mean, why would I follow a brand like North Face or Coke simply for content? I doubt that Coke could give me content good enough to merit me following them just to see what they are doing.
People follow brands because they want something. I follow certain marketers because I value their content enough to warrant following. I follow tigerdirect.com because they send me deals when they come out.
I seriously doubt that will ever change. Consumers follow brands because they want something.