Consumers following brands on Twitter and Liking them on Facebook are more likely to become customers when they feel social interaction with brands leads to positive experiences and value, a report from the CMO Council suggests.
The study, released last week, says that 52 percent of businesses using social media marketing believe the channel has positively influenced their web presence and visibility. However, just 17 percent of these organizations believe their strategy for social media content is integrated into their business completely.
Social media marketing campaigns provide consumers an easy way to interact with various companies – especially when the outreach offers product information and assistance, the report found. Exclusive discounts are always going to attract the most users, but social also gives brands the chance to effectively communicate with prospects regarding new product releases, user feedback and industry updates .
The CMO Council said that social media marketing has evolved to the point where there are clearly some methods that work and others that fail in terms of boosting engagement.
“The social brand explosion has created a wave of loyalty among social consumers who are eager to show their support and share their experiences with others online, but this loyalty comes at a cost – from savings to games – that consumers see as their social currency,” Liz Miller, vice president of marketing programs for the CMO Council. “Social can garner significant influence and pull for marketers who can bridge this gap in expectation and execution.”
Brafton reported on Friday that social media marketing, especially with Facebook, has been directly linked to improvements in web conversions. The study cited a case of one company that saw a sales jump of 433 percent.
