automotive

When Brand Fans Share, What's the Upside?

Major brands, especially in the high-emotional, high-spend auto sector, have tons of fans on social. Getting them to share the positives about a brand and its vehicles is key to strategy. It means the best kind of reach. But what happens when they do take action? A study from social platform ShareThis -- which has a presence on about 2 million publisher sites and 120 social channels -- suggests, among other things, that owners who share have huge influence. 

The report raked through 4 months of data from some 13 million users logging 49 million auto-related sharing events. ShareThis said the study monitored more than 11 million ad impressions from a selection of campaigns run by major automotive brands over one month to understand the impact of advertising on sharers.   

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Per the findings, consumers ages 36 to 55 are the most active auto sharers and users of all ages in market for a new vehicle -- based on formal inquiries online about one or more brands, quote requests, or questionnaire responses -- are 10 times more likely to share about autos, and twice as likely to share about brands when they are interested in purchasing them. They are also half a percent more likely to share about a brand if they own one of the brand's cars. And the study says owners who share about a brand they own are 43% more influential than non-owners. 

Also, the more premium the brand, the more influential the share, per the study: Shares mentioning luxury vehicles drew 70% more click-backs than those related to mass-market or economy segments. On average, each luxury share garnered about 30 click-backs. Economy-category shares garnered about 11. 

The study found that delivering ads to users who share online about cars is three times more likely to generate brand inquiries. 

Over a four-month period based on 13 million uniques, the study found that 65% of people used Facebook to share about cars. The rest was split among email, Twitter, Reddit, Pinterest, and Blogger. Ford, Chrysler and Toyota were the most-shared brands. Mustang, Dodge Durango and Nissan Quest were the most shared-about models. 

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