For a business that uses social media, the popularity of messages is of particular importance. This is the conclusion reached by researchers from the School of Management at the University of New York at Buffalo. At first glance, this conclusion is not surprising. But in reality this is not the case, and the conclusion for many will be somewhat unexpected. After all, there is also an opinion that only positive reviews bring benefits to sales, and not the popularity as such.
The results of the study were published in the Journal of Marketing. In the course of the study, messages on social networks were evaluated by their emotional coloration (positive, neutral, or negative), popularity, and the way users interact with social media. And it turned out that the popularity of social media posts has the greatest impact on sales.
Ram Bezawada, co-author of the study, associate professor of marketing at the New York State University School of Management in Buffalo, notes that a neutral or even negative message in social media, provided it is popular, will have a more significant effect on sales than a positive message that did not share, without “likes” and comments.
Moreover, this is true even for those consumers who say that when making purchasing decisions, they do not pay attention to what they read on social networks.
The researchers analyzed data from a large retail company from various locations in the north of the United States. Were also compared the data of the presence of the consumer on the company's page on social networks with purchases in the store before and after the company made efforts to promote in social media.
A consumer survey was also conducted regarding the role that technology and social networks play for them. The study found that business messages in social networks greatly enhance the effect of traditional television marketing and email marketing.
When social media marketing is combined with television, consumer spending increases by 1.03%, and combined purchases by 0.84%. In conjunction with email marketing, spending increases by 2.02%, and combined purchases by 1.22%. Combined purchases mean the purchase of additional goods and services from the same company.
Ram Bezavada also notes that the study leads to the explicit conclusion that social media marketing has begun to play a significant role and managers need to use this opportunity to interact with consumers. Creating a community and a certain fan audience has a significant impact on profits and earnings.
It is still difficult for many users to believe that social networks are not just a tool for communication, but also a powerful advertising platform, largely shaping the opinion of consumers about products and services. If a topic related to the products and services offered by companies has become popular on the social network, this increases the spending of users who might not otherwise have gained much of what they learned from social networks.
Another thing is that for this topic should be so interesting that users want to say something in response, like or share it.
However, there is no doubt that sales factors are influenced by other factors, and not just popularity in social networks. The study does not speak about the exclusivity of social networks as a marketing tool, but about their increasing importance as a means of promoting the company's products and services on the market.
Based on sciencedaily.com
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