• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer, May 19, 2011

According to a research study conducted by Dr. Kathleen R. Ferris-Costa, University of Rhode Island, College of Business Administration, brand advocates, people who habitually review products and share their opinions with others around them, write more than twice as many communications about brands as the average Web user, and forward between two and three times more of other people's online communications about brands. Brand advocates are 70% more likely to be seen as a good source of information by people around them.

The study finds that that brand advocates are 83% more likely to share information about a product than typical web users, and 50% more likely to influence a purchase.  Advocates enjoy solving problems and helping others make better purchase decisions.  They are 75% more likely to share a great product experience and three times more likely to share product opinions with someone they don't know.

Sharing information isn't viewed as an imposition. On the contrary, advocates genuinely enjoy this activity and are three times more likely to view it as a form of relaxation. Brand advocates are also twice as likely to be driven by the need to contribute to the pool of information online. They want to solve problems, and adding their voice to the discussion is a strong motivator.

Advocates may have a strong altruistic streak, but they also want to be recognized. The study found that they are 150% more likely to value their perception as a good source of information. Advocates want to know they are being helpful, both from the people they help and from the brands that they discuss.

Brand advocates (28%) are four times as likely as non-advocates (7%) to share information about products, brands, sales or stores via online feedback mechanisms than non-advocates. They are also roughly twice as likely to share information via social media (58% compared to 27%) and e-commerce websites (43% compared to 22%). A smaller, but still significant discrepancy exists in the use of email (53% compared to 39%) for sharing product information.

Typical Web users still prefer to use email as their primary method of communications. They use other social media sites, but their participation is far less frequent. That limits the number of people exposed to their messages. To be sure, advocates also use email frequently, but they are more likely to spread their thoughts around other social sites that reach far beyond just their social circles.

Compared to typical Web users, advocates are three times more likely to discuss personal care products, more than twice as likely to discuss children's products and more than twice as likely to discuss household products.

The report concludes with 10 tips from the field for marketers to tap the power of brand advocates

For more information about the study, and to access the PDF formatted file, please visit BzzAgent here.

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