Social media “less useful” than thought
Almost half of consumers object to brand advertising on social networks that uses profile information, according to new research by YouGov.
The research body claims that “social is not always the advertiser’s friend” and has less benefit for brands than many marketers originally thought.
Almost half (47%) of online consumers it surveyed claim said that they object to seeing ads from brands on social platforms based on their profile activities.
Likewise, 44% of the UK population claim they wouldn’t be more likely to buy a brand even if their friends promoted it on social media, and 43% would be unlikely to talk about a brand on social media even if they had something positive to share.
Dan Brilot, YouGov media consulting director, says: “It appears that whilst social media can be a key tool in the brand marketer’s armoury, in particular to maximise commitment amongst those already highly engaged with the brand, it has not quite reached the effectiveness necessary to be considered as a truly mass media marketing tool. With the ability to share, tweet and interact on any kind of site, is almost a given, social media services increasingly need to have an extra raison d’etre beyond merely being ‘social’ to make an impact in today’s crowded market.”
YouGov surveyed a representative sample of 1,275 UK online consumers.
For more insight into the value of social channels, read our recent cover story on benchmarking social media.
