According to the 2010 Cone Consumer New Media Study, loyal followers can be hard to come by for companies trying to reach consumers online. New media users still choose to demonstrate affinity
("like" or "follow" or subscribe to RSS feed) for an average of only 4.6 companies online, making this an exclusive club.
Consumers are more open than ever to engaging with
companies via new media (86% vs. 78% in 2009), but it still takes a big effort on the part of the company to reach the upper echelons of the consideration set. To stand out, companies need to
incentivize new followers.
advertisement advertisement Reasons for Deciding to Engage With Company Via New
Media |
Company Interaction | % of Respondents to
Engage |
Incentives (products, services, coupons, discounts) | 77% |
Solve problems (service, information) | 46 |
Solicit feedback | 39 |
Entertain (access to premium content) | 28 |
New ways to interact (games, apps, contests) | 26 |
Market directly
(targeted ads) | 21 |
Source: Cone, November 2010 |
Before deciding whether to engage with companies online, 77% of new media users look for free products, coupons or discounts, and they expect to find them in the following
places:
Location To Find Incentives | % of
Respondents |
Social networks | 48% |
Mobile
devices | 20% |
Message boards | 20% |
Blogs | 13% |
Photo, audio, web-sharing | 11 |
Online games | 12 |
Microblogs | 4 |
Source: Cone, November 2010 |
Cone's director of new media, Mike Hollywood, "Marketers are being more aggressive than ever with attractive promotions... (but) companies need to think beyond the
coupon or clever widget to figure out how to develop long-term relationships with real staying power... "
It may be difficult for companies to get to the top, but it's even harder to
stay there, says the report. 59% of new media users say they are satisfied with their online experiences with companies, but that doesn't mean they won't hesitate to punish companies by
disengaging. 58% of users will stop following a company if it acts irresponsibly toward its consumers:
- 58% will stop if the company over-communicates with them
- 53% if it provides
irrelevant content
- 36% for under-communicating
- 28% for censoring user-generated content
Companies that can deliver high-quality customer experiences are richly
rewarded:
Company and Brands Benefit From Interaction With New Media
Users |
New Media User Attitude | % of Respondents |
More aware of brand | 63% |
More likely to share
information | 62 |
Stronger connection | 61 |
Better served | 60 |
More likely to purchase | 59 |
More likely to follow company | 59 |
Source: Cone, November 2010 |
As new media usage grows, so too do the myriad touch points. Nearly one-in-five (18%,
up from 13% in 2009) look to interact with companies via their mobile devices. Traditional online tools and social networks lead the way, but Americans use a mix of new media sites and tools
To Interact With Companies Or Brands |
Search Location | % of Respondents |
Websites | 63% |
Email | 62 |
Social networks | 38% |
Mobile devices | 18% |
Message boards | 16% |
Online games | 15 |
Blogs | 13% |
Photo, audio, web-sharing | 11 |
Microblogs | 3 |
Source: Cone, November 2010 |
For additional information from the study, and to access the PDF fact sheet, please visit here.