THE SOCIAL HUNGER
01
EDITION
Why Your Audience Feasts on Social Integration
MASS RELEVANCE
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
MASS RELEVANCE
01
THE BIG IDEA
02
KEY FINDINGS
03
SOCIAL = ENGAGEMENT
04
ENGAGEMENT CASE STUDY
05
AMPLIFICATION AND REACH
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AMPLIFICATION AND REACH CASE STUDY
07
CONSUMERS PREFER SOCIAL BRANDS
08
PURCHASE INTENT
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SUMMARY
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METHODOLOGY
12
LET’S GET STARTED
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BRANDS WE WORK WITH
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ABOUT MASS RELEVANCE
16
OUR WORK
17
CONNECT WITH US
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We are living in the most revolutionary era in human communication since the invention of the printing press. For the past few years, marketers have ‘woken up’ to consumers who have the power to express their views anytime and anywhere. ‘Social’ is hot, and if nothing else, a response
THE BIG IDEA
to this awakening. Now, the lines between paid, owned and earned media have been blurred, if not erased. Social media crosses the barrier between the three. It’s fast-paced and chaotic. There’s also a blurring between media and brands. Brands are becoming publishers and content marketers. So for brands as well as media, the goal is to engage an ‘audience’ or group of customers. For the sake of this study we will use ‘audience’ to represent a brand’s customer base. Now is the time for media and brands to meet the audience with social relevance where they are. As you might guess, your audience is many places. So engaging them is not just in social media, but by integrating social content into any digital experience. Our new series of studies, The Social Hunger, pulls scattered pieces together to tell a story: why the audience is hungry for social integration. The first edition focuses on brands: why they must take action to integrate social media into their marketing plans and why they must do it now. We’ll start with the explosion of social media. Then we’ll show how if integrated the right way, brands can seize the opportunity to engage their audience, amplify their brand message, build trust and even increase purchase intent. In order to tell this story we partnered with the research firm Sentient Services and surveyed more than 200 consumers about their attitudes, opinions and beliefs about brands and social media integration. The respondents come from all over the country, with all different incomes, lifestyles, and social media habits. Universally, the data supports what we’ve already seen in action: consumers want to engage with brands that integrate social media, and they prefer to do business with social brands. In addition to the survey results we’ve complied real-world examples from brands that are already involving their audience and seeing great results. Let’s get started!
Sincerely,
Sam Decker, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer @samdecker
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KEY FINDINGS
WHEN BRANDS FEED THE SOCIAL HUNGER
Chances are your audience is already a social audience or soon will be. We found that the majority of people surveyed are already utilizing social media to find and share information about brands. Consumers are now more likely to engage with brands that have ‘gone social’ and share the messages of those social brands. They also tend to prefer to do business with social brands, and many of them have already made purchasing decisions based on social content.
Simply integrating social media gives brands a competitive advantage: 59% of respondents are more likely to trust brands that integrate social media.
SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS
$
YOUR AUDIENCE APPS
Whether brands harness their social conversations or not, they are happening: 75% of those surveyed are already using social media to talk about brands (91% for 18–34 year olds). MASS RELEVANCE
Consumers are hungry for social media: 62% are more likely to engage with social brands.
WEB
TV
The majority of people (60%) are more likely to share the messages of brands that integrate social experiences into their own digital properties (the brands’ web sites, mobile app, etc)
Consumers are beginning to consider social media when making purchasing decisions, in fact nearly two-thirds have already made a purchase based on social content. #SOCIALHUNGER | 2
75%
SOCIAL = ENGAGEMENT USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO FIND OR SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT A PRODUCT OR BRAND
There are more than 500 million Twitter users and more than a billion Facebook users. According to the Pew Research Center, 69% of all online adults are using social networks, and 92% of online adults under 30 use social networks.* Chances are that your audience is a social one or soon will be. Of those surveyed, 75% use social media to find or share information about a brand or product. For 18–34 year olds, it’s 91%.
The social conversations are happening, and it’s up to the brands to take action and harness them. Consumers pay more attention to brands that create social media experiences and spend more time on websites when social media is integrated. In our survey, the majority of respondents (58%) reported that they are more likely to interact with brands that integrate social media while only 16% are not. And 62% say they are more likely to stay engaged with brands that integrate social media.
62%
ARE MORE LIKELY TO STAY ENGAGED WITH THE BRANDS THEY LIKE THAT INTEGRATE SOCIAL INTO THEIR DIGITAL PROPERTIES
*Pew Internet & American Life Project, “Pew Internet: Social Networking” November 13, 2012 http://bit.ly/TO8EwS
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ENGAGEMENT CASE STUDY
AMERICAN IDOL FAN HUB In 2012, American Idol created a fan hub to harness the already robust social conversations around the show. The fan hub allowed American Idol fans to view all the social buzz about the show and interact with each other. The time on site for those who interacted with the American Idol fan hub was seven times longer than those who did not. The American Idol Season 11 Finale received 1.4 million social comments, breaking the record at that time. (Source: Bluefin Labs). Read More about American Idol: massrelevance.com/projects/american-idol MASS RELEVANCE
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AMPLIFICATION AND REACH Integrating social media not only increases engagement, it increases amplification and reach. Brands are not the only ones with an audience. Every brand audience member has his or her own network. When the audience shares, the message is amplified. The more people exposed to the message, the greater the reach. The good news is the audience wants to share the message of social brands. Even better, brands can increase their reach by gaining more followers and fans.
2013 FORD FUSION TRENDS CONSTELLATION
When asked about brands that integrate social media on their websites, 60% of respondents reported that they were more likely to share experiences with the brand or product (only 16% were not). More than half (56%) said they would be more likely to encourage friends and family to try new products from the brand (16% would not). After viewing examples of social media integrations, the majority of respondents (51%) said they would be more likely to tell a friend or family member about the brand’s products (17% would not).
60% OF RESPONDENTS REPORTED THAT THEY WERE MORE LIKELY TO SHARE EXPERIENCES WITH THE BRAND OR PRODUCT
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AMPLIFICATION AND REACH CASE STUDY
TAYLORMADE US OPEN SOCIAL HUB TaylorMade wanted to activate its audience around the US Open in order to spread its message and gain more fans. By creating a fan hub where visitors could get access to exclusive content and interact with each other, TaylorMade became a key destination during the US Open. As a result, the brand added 19,000 new fans. TaylorMade added the most fans during the US Open and was the top ranked brand for engagement on Facebook. There was so much social activity around the brand that it trended on Twitter. Read more about TaylorMade: http://bit.ly/SpO9tF MASS RELEVANCE
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CONSUMERS PREFER SOCIAL BRANDS In addition to reaching more people, brands that integrate social media increase the level of trust and positive perception by the audience. More than half of the respondents (59%) reported that they are more likely to trust brands that integrate social media (only 13% are not). After being exposed to social media experiences, 56% of respondents reported they would be more likely to trust a brand that integrates the same types of experiences, while only 11% are not. And 62% said they would think more positively about the brand, while only 10% do not.
More and more people prefer to take their business to brands that effectively integrate social media. A growing segment of respondents (46%) prefer to do business with companies that use social media (compared with only 21% that do not). This statistic rises dramatically to 67% among the 18–34 set (only 7% do not prefer to do business with brands that use social media). Consumers want brands to integrate social media.
59% OF RESPONDENTS ARE MORE LIKELY TO TRUST BRANDS THAT INTEGRATE SOCIAL MEDIA
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PURCHASE INTENT The bottom line? People want to buy from social brands. Consumers are basing purchasing decisions on social content. Nearly two-thirds of those who use social media to find information or share feedback about brands have purchased a product based on social media content. For 18–34 year olds, the number grows to 75%. When asked about brands that integrate social media experiences on their websites, 63% of respondents report they are more likely to buy products and try new things because of the social comments of others while only 12% said they would not. 60% say they are likely to try new things based on the brand’s social
suggestion, while only 15% would not. After viewing social media integrations, 63% of respondents agreed that having these types of social experiences makes them more likely to be interested in a brand’s products (compared to 12 percent who disagree). More than half (54%) reported they would be more likely to purchase a product from the brand (only 15% would not). And 79% report that they want to be able to get coupons and promotions from brands socially. Brands that integrate social media are putting themselves a step ahead in the sales cycle.
VICTORIA’S SECRET PINK NATION TAILGATE
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ALL SURVEYED
HAVE YOU EVER PURCHASED A PRODUCT BASED ON SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT? BASE: Those who use social media to find and share information about products or brands
5% Unsure
64% Yes
31% No
18-34 YEAR OLDS
4% Unsure
76% Yes
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20% No
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IN SUMMARY
SOCIAL INTEGRATION FEEDS A HUNGRY AUDIENCE
YOUR AUDIENCE:
Brands can successfully create unique social experiences to drive engagement like American Idol. They can amplify their message like TaylorMade. These experiences are all social, and yet happen outside of ‘social’—in other words, they don’t just take place on social network web sites.
Pays more attention to brands that integrate social media. Is more likely to share social experiences. Prefers to do business with social brands. Uses social information to make purchasing decisions.
The ‘purchase funnel’ is no longer relevant. Customers are experiencing your brand everywhere. That audience is drawn into an experience, a brand, or a product when a social experience is present. The next era of marketing centers on facilitating brand-relevant social experiences to any digital touchpoint. Your audience prefers and trusts social brands and is starting to use social information to make purchasing decisions. With the fragmentation of experiences, the explosion of digital experiences, and the desire for participation, the time to integrate social media into all facets of brand marketing is now.
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METHODOLOGY
Together with Mass Relevance, Sentient Services developed and administered an interactive quantitative online survey with a sample size of 228. Responses were collected from September 25, 2012 through October 1, 2012. The sample consisted of consumers ages 18–64, 50% male and 50% female. The median income was $49,999. The survey asked respondents about their attitudes, beliefs and behaviors when dealing with brands that integrate social media.
ABOUT SENTIENT SERVICES Sentient Services is a Knowledge Studio®—the amalgamation of market research, user experience and information design practices. We leverage these core competencies for our clients in product development, interactive, usability, sales, marketing and branding. We have extensive global experience covering qualitative and quantitative market research and usability. We work with Fortune 500 clients and startups alike. The common denominator is great people, great products, integrity and a quest to make something better through customer insights. We don’t help put lipstick on pigs.
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LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR PLATFORM AND PRODUCTS LET’S GET STARTED
massrelevance.com/products-platform
Victoria’s Secret, Patagonia, Pepsi, GE and many more brands (See more examples: massrelevance.com/portfolio/gallery) are already curating and integrating social media. They’re creating inspiring experiences for their audiences, and they are getting results. Whether your goal is engagement, amplification, sales, or a more positive perception, Mass Relevance can work with
REQUEST A DEMO massrelevance.com/request-a-demo
you to make it happen.
CONTACT US (888) 330 6441
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BRANDS WE WORK WITH
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ABOUT MASS RELEVANCE INSPIRING BRANDS TO INVOLVE THEIR AUDIENCE
Mass Relevance is the leader in social media curation
Mass Relevance played an integral part in providing
and integration. Brands in virtually every sector
social media curation and integration during the 2012
from entertainment to media to retail are partnering
Olympics and the recent presidential elections.
with Mass Relevance to drive real-time engagement.
Partnering with hundreds of brands including GE,
Using our platform and products, brands create
Patagonia, Victoria’s Secret, and Major League
visually compelling social experience that can be
Baseball, Mass Relevance continues to make sure
displayed anywhere.
brands are on the cutting edge.
Whether it is on a brand’s website, on a stadium screen, Times Square or on a television show, the Mass Relevance platform and products get brands results. MASS RELEVANCE
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HOW WE DO IT
MOBILE
In 2011, Twitter selected Mass Relevance as
MASS RELEVANCE IS BASED IN AUSTIN, TEXAS AND WORKS
its first curation partner officially licensed to
WITH ORGANIZATIONS ALL OVER THE GLOBE.
re-syndicate Twitter content. And in 2012, Mass Relevance was named one of only twelve Twitter certified products.
(888) 330 6441 MASSRELEVANCE.COM
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OUR WORK Visit massrelevance.com/portfolio/gallery for more examples.
FROM LEFT: VICTORIA’S SECRET FASHION SHOW BUZZ PAGE; MICROSOFT SURFACE; CAMPBELL’S; SECRET: MEAN STINKS; FINISHLINE: NIKE BLACKOUT
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CONNECT WITH US GET INSPIRED TO INVOLVE YOUR AUDIENCE. Visit our website:
massrelevance.com
Contact us by phone: (888) 330 6441 Access the report:
massrelevance.com/socialhunger
Read our blog:
massrelevance.com/category/blog
Follow us on Twitter:
@massrelevance
Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/massrelevance
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