This post was inspired after reading Brian Solis's latest article about brands on the social web, specifically the rise of the social customer in Facebook.
If this doesn't kick organizations in the butt to get them thinking more about customer advocacy, I don't know what will. In a study way back in April (how in the heck did I miss this) of social media and usage, it's apparent that consumers who friend/fan/like/follow a brand on Facebook and Twitter are more likely to recommend and buy from those brands than before they friended/fanned/liked/followed them.
More deets to straight from the study reveal something interesting.
The study of over 1500 consumers by market research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate Research Technologies found that 60% of Facebook fans and 79% of Twitter followers are more likely to recommend those brands since becoming a fan or follower. And an impressive 51% of Facebook fans and 67% of Twitter followers are more likely to buy the brands they follow or are a fan of. Considering Facebook's over 400 million users, the opportunity is great for social media marketers.
There is a very important distinction here. The mere action of "becoming a friend, fan, following or just liking a brand" is influencing purchase behavior. Imagine, just imagine for one minute if a brand put just a little effort in harnessing those potential relationships. Brian hit it right on the head in his post, "Facebook success is defined by our investment of time, resources, energy and creativity." And, it's not just Facebook. It's the enitre social ecosystem. Advocates exist everywhere. They are dormant and just waiting to be activated.
Check out my latest post on Social Business.