A new study by marketing firm Constant Contact and research company Chadwick Martin Bailey sheds light on how consumers interact with brands on Facebook. According to 10 Quick Facts You Should Know About Consumer Behavior on Facebook (below), it turns out that people engage with their favorite brands on Facebook far more than on any other social network.
CMB asked 1,491 respondents to share their social media habits. The data shows that more than half of Americans over the age of 18 spend an hour or more each week on Facebook, and over a quarter of them are connecting with their favorite brands.
A number of details were revealed about why and how people interact with brands on the world's largest social network, including:
- For the most part, respondents said they "Like" a brand on Facebook because they are a customer (58%) or because they want to receive discounts and promotions (57%).
- Being a fan is mostly a passive activity - the vast majority of consumers, 77%, said they primarily engage with brands on Facebook through reading updates and posts from the brands.
- Only 17% of those polled said they interact with brands by sharing experiences and news stories with others about the brand, and only 13% said they post updates about brands that they "Like".
The study also revealed some promising data for businesses:
- 78% of consumers who "Like" brands on Facebook said they "Like" fewer than 10 brands.
- 56% of consumers said they are more likely to recommend a brand to a friend after becoming a fan on Facebook.
- 51% of consumers said they are more likely to buy a product after "Liking" the brand on Facebook.
The data also shows that 76% of consumers said they have never "unliked" a brand on Facebook. This is contrary to a February study by email marketing firm ExactTarget, The Social Break-Up, which concluded that 81% of consumers have either "unliked" or removed a company's posts from their Facebook news feed.
The data in the the Constant Contact/CMB study reinforces once again that brands looking to make the biggest impact on Facebook must keep marketing messages to a minimum, be careful not to overwhelm fans with too many updates and, most importantly, share compelling content.
Here are the study results:
10 Facts About Consumer Behavior on Facebook