BLOG: Face Facts – Consumers Crave Social Media Engagement

2010 was quite a year for Facebook. Not only was it the most searched for term on the internet, it reached the five hundred million user mark and even had a film made in its honour.

There seems to be no end to Mark Zuckerberg’s all consuming social networking empire and this is increasingly reflected in consumer behavioural trends. According to research from RightNow, 46% of customers have become Facebook ‘fans’ of retailers in order to engage in post purchase activity and yet, only 4% of those who have shopped online in the past year have interacted with a retailer through a social networking site.

At The Listening Company, we use Facebook to communicate with ‘fans’ on one of our public services projects – offering advice and guidance and holding direct conversations with users on over 1,900 separate posts in the eight months leading up to Christmas. Most brands now have a Facebook page but they should be doing more to engage with customers and develop modules that generate social ROI. Sainsbury’s has got the right idea. They may have less than 100,000 likes but they do converse with their customers, comment on specific posts and provide actionable insights i.e. web links that give advice on how best to spend nectar points.    

The social media juggernaut shows no sign of abating so brands should take advantage of social networking sites, harness the strength of their immediacy and use them to engage directly with their customers. It’s not just enough to create a Facebook page – we must all try to go the extra mile when communicating with our customers.

by Neville Upton, Feb 08 2011, 10.51 PM