Social Media Marketing Gives Brands Measurable Long-Term Benefits

January 6, 2012

In a study by BzzAgent, the long-term effects of social media marketing were put into metrics that the numbers-hungry executives are sure to notice. At least, we hope they notice — and listen.

According to the study, social media marketing campaigns generate an immediate boost in the likelihood that consumer packaged goods brand advocates would recommend a brand to other people. Purchase intent also gets an immediate bump among brand advocates after exposure to a social media campaign.

However, those are results that brand managers have been showing to executives for some time now. The significant findings in this study come from the long-term effects that social media campaigns have on brand advocates.

First, let’s take a look at the data from the study related to the likelihood that U.S. brand advocates would recommend a consumer packaged goods brand before and after exposure to a social media campaign. Data was obtained between summer 2010 and summer 2011:

Pre-campaign = 39% likely to recommend the brand
Immediately post-campaign = 61% likely to recommend the brand
3 months post-campaign = 57% likely to recommend the brand
6 months post-campaign = 57% likely to recommend the brand
9 months post-campaign = 56% likely to recommend the brand
1 year post-campaign = 55% likely to recommend the brand

Next, you can see how the purchase intent of U.S. consumer packaged goods brand advocates was affected before and after exposure to a social media campaign during the same time period — summer 2010 to summer 2011:

Pre-campaign = 38% said they would purchase
Immediately post-campaign = 69% said they would purchase
3 months post-campaign = 69% said they would purchase
6 months post-campaign = 64% said they would purchase
9 months post-campaign = 63% said they would purchase
1 year post-campaign = 61% said they would purchase

As eMarketer points out, this data shouldn’t be used as a barometer for how all social media campaigns will perform. However, next time you’re trying to convince your leadership team to devote a portion of the marketing budget to social media marketing, this data can help you demonstrate the positive effects that social media campaigns can have.

The important thing to remember is just as not every television ad or print ad will deliver optimum results, neither will every social media campaign. However, if you’re not experimenting and trying to learn the best ways to connect with your audience, particularly brand advocates, and motivate them to recommend your brand and purchase it via social media marketing, you’re missing an opportunity that your competitors are happy to take from you. Is that an opportunity your executives are willing to miss by leaving social media out of the marketing budget?

Image: Brian Wilkins

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Susan Gunelius

President & CEO at KeySplash Creative, Inc.

Susan Gunelius is the author of multiple marketing, social media, branding, copywriting, and blogging books, and she is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She also owns Women on Business, a leading blog for business women. She is a featured columnist for Entrepreneur.com, a featured writer for Forbes.com, and the Guide to Blogging for About.com. Additionally, her marketing-related articles have appeared on websites such as MSNBC.com, FoxBusiness.com, WashingtonPost.com, TheStreet.com, SmartMoney.com, TodayShow.com, BusinessWeek.com, Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo! Small Business, and more. She has nearly 20 years of experience in the marketing field having spent the first decade of her career directing marketing programs for some of the largest companies in the world, including divisions of AT&T and HSBC. Susan also appears at in-person and virtual events where she speaks about marketing, branding, social media, and more (visit www.SusanGunelius.com for more information). You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.