The most active social users say they are always logged on primarily to stay in touch with friends, but it also seems they continuously look to engage brands. A new survey from Invoke Solutions suggests that 65 percent of socially connected consumers follow businesses on Facebook, and Twitter users are more likely to engage brands online – both on and off of social platforms.
Invoke defines active social networkers as those who have at least one active social networking site and frequently participate in social media behavior. These social-savvy consumers are highly likely to interact with brands as part of their regular social media-related routine. Nearly half (47 percent) comment on brands' Feacebook pagess. At the same time, 31 percent follow brands' tweets and 25 percent tweet about brands.
While the smaller percentage of active social users who engage brands on Twitter would suggest businesses have less influence on the platform, marketers should still regard Twitter users as highly valuable potential brand advocates. Consumers who interact with or chatter about brands on Twitter are more likely to visit company websites, blogs or branded Facebook pages than other social users and the broader pool of online consumers.
Marketers who want to take advantage of the enthusiasm of these users to help promote their brands should offer social followers meaningful content and valuable interaction. A separate report from Invoke reported by eMarketer shows that consumers rank open dialog and quality content as the most important measures of whether a brand's social site is worthy of trust.
