31% of overall respondents purchase more from companies/brands that they like/follow than from brands/companies they do not. And, educational institutions, sports and entertainment top the list of most discussed categories on social networking sites.
Key industry-specific highlights for social media include:
Daina Middleton, CEO of Performics, says "Customers expect, and are already participating in, a two-way dialogue... marketers (should) adopt strategies that engage them in every channel... across all platforms, devices and screens."
52% of respondents strongly or somewhat agree that voicing opinions on social networking sites can influence business decisions of companies/brands. For instance 43% who purchase alcoholic beverages discuss them on social networks and15% have purchased as a result of content on a social network.
The reasons respondents discuss these products on social networks are:
The reasons for following the alcoholic beverage category are:
And, the desired brand interaction on the Network is:
This study reports findings, similar to those for the alcohol industry, specific to 18 different industries which include: alcoholic beverages, apparel, appliances, automotive, education, electronics, entertainment, financial services, food, healthcare/pharma, household, magazines/newspapers, non-alcoholic beverages, personal care, restaurants, sports related, telecommunications and travel.
Based on the study results, the report suggests best practices to make the most of social networks might be:
To request complimentary copies of the category reports or the summary of findings from the overall S-Net study, please visit Performics release here.