
Sharable Content and Search Make the Greatest Impact Online, According to Research from M Booth and Beyond
NEW YORK, Oct 26, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Marketers who create highly sharable online content — video, audio and photos consumers want to share with friends and colleagues — significantly boost their brand's online presence and are more likely to increase sales, according to a new survey of social consumers.
The "Science of Sharing" study, conducted by M Booth and Beyond, two communications agencies in the Next Fifteen global network, examined US consumer engagement with products online across a dozen brand categories. According to the data released today, more than half of consumers (53%) say they interact with brands on Facebook, four in ten (42%) have written a product review online, and a third (33%) have written an online post about a product.
One in five consumers are "high sharers,' according to the survey, and are three times more likely to make a product recommendation online. They tend to be younger, brand loyal, own multiple internet devices and are conducting online research that requires minimal emotional or monetary investment. "Low sharers" tend to be older, put a premium on quality, are less brand loyal, and are researching products online that cost more and involve more consideration.
When it comes to influencing consumer decision making, search is the most powerful online gateway followed by digital word of mouth and recommendations made by friends and family. The most common products that people recommended online, according to the study, are from the beauty, electronics, fashion and music categories.
"Search is essential for brands, and sharable creative content creation is of the utmost importance in order to generate strong organic search results to increase search's influence on the consumer," says David Hargreaves, CEO, Beyond. "The brand that can identify their online advocates and get them to share more content with their friends will most likely see an increase in sales."
The impact of online channels on consumer decision making rises and falls across product categories. Facebook has the highest influence on baby brands, YouTube on music, and review sites on electronics. The most influential channels in brand decision making, according to the study, are search results, the brand website, rating and review sites, news articles and online ads. The least influential are Twitter, Wikipedia, personal blog posts and Facebook comments.
"Understanding the path that your consumer follows when researching and making purchase decisions is critical for online fan engagement and marketing ROI," says Josh Rosenberg, Senior Vice President and Director of M Booth's FirstWord Digital. "Just having a social presence is no longer enough for brands; brands need to take a deeper dive into the most influential digital channels that correspond to their category to best connect with and influence consumers."
Methodology: M Booth and Beyond, both Next Fifteen Group agencies, commissioned a survey of 1,583 consumers in the US, and asked questions about the two products and services those respondents had most recently researched online and how they went about interacting with brands online. The sample was weighted to U.S. Census benchmarks to be more representative of the U.S. population. The survey questions focused on 12 categories of products (automotive, baby, beauty, cookware, electronics, fashion, kitchen appliances, music, personal finance, restaurants, tools and travel) and looked at the types of channels used to research those products, the type of content people shared with regards to the product, the types of actions people took after researching the product, and the amount of influence each channel had on consumers' actions and perceptions of the product. Beyond and M Booth used a variety of statistical techniques to analyze the data; mean differences were analyzed via ANOVA and categorical analyses were performed via logistic regressions and chi squares.
About M Booth: M Booth is a global communications agency pioneering creative science — the intersection of research, insight and imagination. The agency shapes opinion, enhances reputation and drives business results for some of the world's most influential brands. It works in diverse sectors including food, fashion & beauty, wine & spirits, travel, consumer tech, business-to-business, small business and financial services. Based in New York City, M Booth is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Next Fifteen Communications Group, operating from 38 offices in 19 markets around the globe. For more information, visit www.mbooth.com .
About Beyond: Beyond is a digital consultancy which helps brands make a positive impact by creating engaging experiences. The root of their approach is the power of good content, combined with insight driven ideas. Armed with these insights and combined with creativity and technical expertise, Beyond creates highly social experiences that people engage with on digital brand properties through owned, earned and paid media. With offices in San Francisco, New York and London, Beyond is an international digital agency owned by the Next Fifteen Communications Group, expanding across 38 offices in 19 markets around the globe. For more information, visit www.bynd.com .
Source: Business Wire 2011 and M Booth