People Turn to Social Media to Share Major Milestones, Presenting Opportunities for Marketers
Think back to the last significant milestone of your life, be it a wedding, a birth, a graduation or any other moment you consider to be important. Did you share it on social media?
According to the Q4 2017 Sprout Social Index, 79% of people have shared a life milestone on social media and 1 in
3 would mention a brand when doing so. I’m sure you have noticed too that these
posts, given how they cover moments and accomplishments deemed significant,
tend to achieve a high reach, plenty of likes, and a lot of comments and
interactions as compared to the typical day-to-day status update. This presents
marketers with opportunities.
When mentioning brands in these posts the index asserts that 1 in 3 individuals (34%) simply want to thank the brand for being part of the moment (rising to 41% among Millennials), while 50% are in fact taking the opportunity to recommend the brand to friends, family, and followers. Given how recommendations from friends and family remain the most credible form of advertising for 83% of today’s consumers, it is somewhat unsurprising that as many as 48% of the survey’s >1,200 respondents have made a purchase for a milestone after seeing it on social media. By properly utilising this influx of user-generated content in their social strategies, companies can gain much benefit from these mentions.
As for which platforms people turn to in order to find recommendations
when planning major life events more than half of consumers (51%) use Facebook,
ranking it above any other source. Following closely behind are Pinterest (42%)
and YouTube (34%), likely due to their personality-driven and highly visual
nature. Instagram, despite also possessing a highly visual nature, is used in
such a manner by a surprisingly low 24% of consumers, though this figure does
somewhat-expectedly rise to 35% among Millennials.
The key for marketers is to ensure that their brand/product is on the receiving end of these positive mentions and recommendations, allowing them to better tap into the massive pool of consumers who congregate on these prominent social media platforms. You may want to consider the use of incentives to motivate consumers to share in such a way, such as popping into the occasional comments thread to offer discount vouchers to those who have praised your brand. It is also essential to remember however that the defining trait of these platforms, as the name suggests, is ‘social’, and so it is important that you actively try to connect with your audience rather than spamming them with generic- copy-and-paste responses that reek of disingenuous interest.
Sam
is an aspiring novelist with a passion for fantasy and crime thrillers.
Currently working as Editor of Social Songbird, he hopes to one day drop that
'aspiring' prefix. Follow him @Songbird_Sam
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People Turn to Social Media to Share Major Milestones, Presenting Opportunities for Marketers
Reviewed by Unknown
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Tuesday, November 21, 2017
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Reviewed by Unknown
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Tuesday, November 21, 2017
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Unknown
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Entrepreneur, international speaker on Social Media Marketing. First one in the UK to write and speak in conferences about Twitter as a marketing tool. Consultant to Corporate Companies, Government Organizations, Marketing Managers and Business Owners.
Aspiring novelist with a passion for fantasy and crime thrillers. He hopes to one day drop that 'aspiring' prefix. He started as a writer and soon after he was made Executive Editor and Manager of the team at Social Songbird. A position he held for 5 years.
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