Brands, Maintain A Facebook Page, But Don’t Bother Me

Posted by David Cohen on February 23rd, 2012 10:53 AM

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Consumers believe brands need Facebook pages in order to remain relevant, but they “hate” intrusions by those brands.
A new study from research and strategy outfit Insight Strategy Group illustrated the no-win situation brands face when it comes to marketing on Facebook:

• 53 percent of respondents believe brands must maintain Facebook pages for relevancy, but
• 64 percent said they “hate” when they are targeted via their social network profiles, and
• 58 percent find marketing via social media to be invasive.

Continuing the mixed messages sent by consumers, 54 percent like when a brand has a Facebook page or presence on another social network, but 60 percent find it annoying when brands communicate with them via Facebook or Twitter.
Consumers view their relationships with brands on social media as purely one-way, as 58 percent of respondents indicated that they liked or followed brands in order to receive special news and deals, and 55 percent mentioned giving feedback to brands.
Other findings from the study by Insight Strategy Group include:

• 53 percent of respondents agreed that it is not clear to them who can see a comment or post they write on Facebook
• 55 percent feel that they can have a strong impact on a company by writing about it on a social networking site
• 55 percent believe writing about a product, service, or show on a social networking site is the best way to give a company feedback
• 47 percent agree that Facebook allows them to be who they really are
• 51 percent feel that Facebook does not capture the “real me”
• 64 percent disagree that you can learn more about someone online than you can in-person

Insight Strategy Group Founder and Chief Executive Officer Boaz Mourad said:

Consumers are definitely of two minds when it comes to a corporate presence on social media. They seem to have an instinctive aversion to a brand’s invasion of their social space, yet much of that resistance falls away when they perceive that there is something in it for them — a deal or an exclusive offer, for example. This study shows that the consumers’ relationship to companies and social media is complex, fluid, and difficult to generalize.

Readers: What are your feelings on marketing via Facebook and other social networks?