Twitter see's the highest adoption rate in social media marketing while customer reviews rank number one for increasing sales and customer engagement, according to a study released Thursday! Retailers are revving up their social media marketing efforts as the past six months show aggressive adoption of the emerging trend with Facebook and Twitter leading the way, according to the report. The trend coincides with the uptick in the community base of these sites and Facebook just passed up the three hundred million mark providing a large audience for retailers to tap with branding efforts. Still, Facebook and Twitter aren't the only social media being employed by marketers to promote their brands. The other top tools include Twitter Publishing with sixty five percent saying they currently use it, customer reviews and blogs followed by viral videos with fifty percent.
In addition, the study found three-fourths of the 117 survey respondents have accelerated their use of, and commitment to, community and social media in the past six months. First, brands want to be involved to put their own spin on their products and services from consumers already using sites such as Facebook. Second, retailers want to be seen as up to date in their online presence so as not to appear as using old marketing techniques. The third reason cited by participants in the study is the fear that their customers will leave their e-commerce site for others that are more socially engaging. These motivators, drove the last wave of social media adoption, will also be driving the next one in the coming year. Over the next 12 months, 31 percent of study respondents say they plan to adopt Facebook Connect while 26 percent say they will employ customer reviews and 26 percent will begin offering product suggestions.
Facebook is the monster of social media. Facebook has become so large that there will be unlimited potential for companies or individuals looking for low cost or even free advertising. After all, isn't that what Social Media is all about. Each person on Facebook is an example of advertising. Whether we are promoting our lifestyles, likes and dislikes, and relationships, it's all advertising.
ReplyDeleteFacebook is a vast ast of marketing opportunities. Other social media sites are slowly catching up, but Facebooks' over 300 million person audience is a gigantic audience thus far. Facebook is great for indorcing brand name products and companies. Facebook is a great source for product information through customer perceptions, however, there are many other sources to find customer perceptions like LinkedIn and Blogger.
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