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RetailWire Discussion: Brands not connecting with women through social media

A new study finds that three out of four women who engage with brands via social networking sites say they are not influenced to purchase based on what they see online.

September 24, 2009

The research, which surveyed 1,000 women online, found nearly 22 percent were somewhat influenced in purchasing decisions after visiting social networking sites while three percent reported being greatly influenced.

"Although women are socializing a lot more with each other, they are not interacting with brands more. The brands are falling behind in this game and they are not opening dialog with women in this arena," Matt Wise, president of Q Interactive, told Brandweek. "We're seeing a divide right now of where the women are leaping ahead of the brand and the brands are struggling to find how best to interact with them."

Although 52 percent of survey respondents report having "friended" a brand, most encountering brands online were either neutral (64 percent) or had a negative reaction (19 percent).

"Brand marketers still have a fundamental misunderstanding of what a social environment actually means — people are communicating on their own terms," Jonathan Ashton, managing partner for Agency.com, told Brandweek. "[Marketers] need to find a way to disassociate the brand from product and associate the brand with lifestyle or something that has more meaning on a personal level. The selling opportunity will come on after you ultimately create a relationship with someone in these environments."

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Discussion Questions: Are you surprised at all by the numbers in the ad:tech Chicago and Q Interactive study showing the influence that social media sites have in the purchasing decisions of women? Do you see this number changing in the future and are there ways for brands to more effectively communicate with and influence female consumers?

RetailWire BrainTrust comments:

Social media experts generally caution that traditional marketing techniques need to be strongly avoided in this medium. In short, marketers are advised to listen to consumers and not talk to them as they usually do with marketing messages. This is not your father's communication vehicle. —Dan Raftery, President, Raftery Resource Network

With all due respect for surveyors I'm hardly swayed by such results. Behavioral consumer buying online or to what extent a consumer is influenced by what she reads or views online ... Well, it's NOT a survey question that can be answered accurately by most subjects. Truth is, consumers know little about how even their own intuition responded to news, articles, words, graphics, images, word-of-mouth, etc. Long subject but short answer: Psychologists in the consumer marketing field will tell you not to take these types of survey results seriously. —David Biernbaum, Senior Marketing and Business Development Consultant, David Biernbaum Associates

If brands are going to be effective online they need to create a dialogue with consumers and add something valuable to the discussion. Brands need to participate in a non-selling manner. If brands can add something valuable to the dialogue — a helpful hint that will make the consumer's life easier or save her time or money, a new recipe, etc. — the consumer will develop a positive opinion of the brand. Brands can also use their websites to connect consumers. By providing a forum and not trying to control the conversation, a brand can build goodwill.

There is no holy grail in this area. Brands will learn by trial and error. And just because something works for one brand does not mean it will work for another. The one mantra that brand managers need to repeat over and over is, "NO Selling." —Max Goldberg, Founding Partner, The Radical Clarity Group

There's quite a difference between checking what's in someone's pantry or on a shopping receipt and asking "are you influenced by...?" Few people see themselves as influenced by advertising, much less social media, for most products. However, if you ask them about exposure to brands the answer is probably that social media can be very effective in raising awareness, the first necessary (but not sufficient) step towards purchase.

Brands which are least likely to be impacted by social media probably include paper towels and butter. Electronics and other durables may have a better opportunity to get some lift from Social Media.

Before I focus on consumers' views of what motivates their purchase, I'd first examine the relationship between social media, brand awareness, perceptions of the brand and brand usage. Compare those results with consumers who do not interact with social media for the same metrics. Any difference? Now you have a basis upon how to judge the impact of social media for brands. —Joan Treistman, President, The Treistman Group LLC

Social media sites are succeeding at elevating brand awareness in successful implementations but that does not translate directly to brand preference and purchase which is a mistaken association that is often made. Oh by the way, I doubt this phenomenon is exclusive to women.

Ultimately marketers are slowly figuring out the space and how to move from brand awareness to preference and purchase. We have seen successful social implementations like BlendTec's successful YouTube series on "Will it Blend?" where they realized a five-fold sales increase.

Starbucks is another example where they have empowered consumers with an opportunity to make suggestions and offer ideas that are then voted on and implemented. Sounds a lot like putting the consumer in control which is about driving and influencing preference.