Young will abandon social media if brands get too pushy

by Elizabeth Clifford-Marsh, revolutionmagazine.com 29-Oct-09, 11:19

LONDON - Young people welcome the presence of brands on social networking sites but over half say they will stop using a network if it becomes too commercialised.

According to the Rules of Engagement survey by Webtrends, 85 per cent of people under the age of 35 welcome brands on sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, but half said they would leave if the site became too commercial.

The survey also found 39 per cent of social network users complain there is too much advertising on such sites, challenging brands to strike a delicate balance between brand communication and bombardment.

More than half of people who use Twitter every day expect brands to use social media to understand customers, provide better service for those customers, involve users in the design of future goods and services, discuss market issues and draw attention to new products and initiatives.

Half of Twitter users said a brand has successfully interacted with them through social media, compared to 31 per cent of Facebook users

Christian Howes, digital solutions architect at Webtrends, said businesses need to be agile on social networks, should listen to feedback and place the customer's interests at the heart of their message.

"Pumping out self-serving or ‘preachy' announcements just doesn't work, no matter how big the brand is. People are open to conversations with brands they like - I know I get a huge buzz out of a brand I favour following me on Twitter -but it's got to be a two-way conversation," he said.

Comments

Greg Felgate - 30/10/2009

Webtrends is asking the wrong questions here. A certain amount of people would leave a social media brand site if it became too commercial, yes, but I think the main issue is around the level of engagement and dialogue that a brand has with its fans online. Be creative, engaging and honest while offering a great prize, and you can't go far wrong. http://www.finncomms.com/blog/users/Greg