Social Media Forming Brand Behavior

It’s pretty evident that social media and networking sites are the best thing since sliced bread, but new research is confirming that they decide which loaf you will buy. Controlling market trends is no easy task, but social media has found a unique niche in the online market. A recent study was conducted by ROI Research Inc to investigate the affect that social media has on our lives, with an emphasis on consumer behaviors. In particular, our attitude’s towards particular brands and products was studied. The sample of three thousand social network users led to resounding results.

• 50% of Facebook users click on Facebook ads to "like" a brand
• 37% learned about a new product or service from a social networking site
• 32% of respondents have recommended a product/service/brand to friends via a social networking site
• 32% of Twitter users re-tweet content provided by a company or product Source: ROI Research, June 2010

Frequency of Activities on Facebook (% of Respondents)
Social Activity	Facebook Respondents (Once a week or more)	Twitter Respondents (At least once a week)
Make comments about other people's post	54%
Visit company or product pages	25%
Login to other sites using Facebook	25%
Share an opinion about a company	22%	33%
Click on an ad on Facebook	22%
Make a recommendation	20%	32%
Re-post content	19%
Ask for a product or service	17%	30%
Source: ROI Research, June 2010

• More printable coupons [49%]
• Notifications of sales and special deals [46%]
• Information about new products [35%]

Average Online Spending by Time Spent on Facebook & Twitter ($ in Q1, 2010)
Type of User	Facebook Spenders	Twitter Spenders
Heavy	$67	$43
Medium	61	75
Light	50	73
Non-visitor	27	43
Source: ComScore, May 2010 (User: Heavy, top 20% of visitors by time spent on site; Medium, next 30%, Light, lowest 50%)

The social media champion from this study is without a doubt Twitter. Twitter users are more inclined to make an online purchase than Facebook users. Those who love to Tweet have more interest and awareness on brand updates, new products, and updated company services. What really drives this study home for me is according to eCommerce by the end of 2010 nine out of ten corporate businesses will be using social media networks. I’d say that’s better than sliced bread.