By Neil Glassman on June 14, 2010 8:43 PM

Study Finds Users Welcome Brands to Their Social Networks

Finding that 40 percent of 3,000 social network users surveyed connect with brands and products on their networks, a new study provides an optimistic outlook for marketers to capitalize on social media opportunities. Performics, a performance marketing agency inside Publicis Groupe, released results from S-Net (The Impact of Social Media), a report it sponsored from ROI Research Inc. The study tackled not only general behaviors and platform preferences for social sites; it delved deeper into how social sites affect family and friend relationships and consumer attitudes towards brands and products.

Despite increased industry chatter over privacy concerns, the findings illustrate how social networks continue to drive changes in consumer behavior online and offer insights for marketers. Consumers reported a desire to connect with brands throughout the study:

Fifty percent of Facebook users click on Facebook ads to “like” a brand

Thirty-seven percent learned about a new product or service from a social networking site

Thirty-two percent of respondents have recommended a product/service/brand to friends via a social networking site

Thirty-two percent of Twitter users re-tweet content provided by a company or product

“Social networking has greatly contributed to the shift from strict consumerism to more lively, two-way participation between brands and everyday customers” said Daina Middleton, CEO of Performics. “It’s a groundswell of technology-enabled word of mouth, and many of the brands involved in these active discussions are effectively satisfying their fans.”

Specific to Facebook, for example, nearly 90 percent of respondents said that at least some of the companies and/or products they are a fan of are doing a good job providing relevant content. More than a third said most or all of them were doing a good job.

“Users are not only satisfied, they want more, which is a good sign for marketers,” noted Scott Haiges, president of ROI Research. “Respondents expressed a strong desire to get more printable coupons (49 percent), notifications of sales and special deals (46 percent) and information about new products (35 percent) from companies or products on Facebook.”

More than a third of all respondents reported using a search engine to learn further after seeing an ad on a social networking site and more than a third also think social networking sites are good sources of information about companies and products.

S-Net (The Impact of Social Media) used a 30-minute online survey to collect responses from 3,000 U.S. consumers who access at least one social network regularly. Responses were compiled, analyzed and trended against data from wave I, fielded in October of 2009. The objective of this study was to determine how various segments of consumers use social networks in their daily lives, specifically with regard to the purchase process for different types of products and in relation to other media channels. Performics and ROI Research this summer will release “vertical reports” that highlight findings specific to eleven different industries including apparel, automotive, entertainment, financial services and travel.

Not out of line with the surveyed population consisting of social networkers, 51 percent of those surveyed say social sites are the best way to communicate with friends and family. Among other survey results:

Eighty percent of respondents have an active Facebook account, and 23 percent of those without an active Facebook account plan to join in the next six months

Sixty-seven percent of respondents have reconnected with people through social networking sites that they never would have otherwise

Thirty-nine percent of Twitter users respond to other people’s tweets once a week or more

More than thirty percent of respondents access Facebook and/or Twitter from their mobile phone (through a browser or application) once a day or more