Thanks for your comment, I totally agree with you, the reserach is very top level, but it shows at least some proof that social media can affect sales, but not HOW. I believe as well that we first have to understand WHAT social media can do for a brand, before we concentrate on HOW to..

Social Media can help brands to improve the sentiment of the audience and with that be a positive reinforcement for consumers and increase brand loyalty, just as you say. That’s where it al starts. Eventually that can affect buying behaviour, but not from day 1. Believe me, I had many clients who really thought so.

Eventually, social media is just another mean where you can reach your audience, the big differnece is that the rules of engagement are different. It’s all about building relationships, just as in real life, something many brands find hard to understand. Explanation I always use: you don’t become friends just for Thanksgiving dinner and Valentines day.

Think of it this way. A person had a negative experience with a company. They were asked to be a fan/follower of the company. Are they really going to be more likely to buy/recommend? I believe the negative experience will probably outweigh the fact that they’ve fanned or followed the company. Or, if a person had no contact with a company or but had contact with its competitors, and the company with no contact invited them to be a fan/follower… would that person who already has loyalty to the competing brand switch just because they’ve suddenly become a fan/follower? Probably not. I believe personal past experience will outweigh. The image of a brand/company will outweigh.

Suppose, however, a person who had no contact with a company or its competing companies. The company who reaches out to them will probably have the upper hand. My point is.. I think there are a lot of other factors to consider, and I think those who participated in the survey are swayed to say yes because they want to support their favorite brands. And by supporting the brands, people will fan/follow them. But the bottom line is, a person who fanned/followed a brand were already planning on buying/recommending that brand.

I’m also not saying that social media isn’t a good thing to participate in. It can be a positive reinforcement for consumers and increase brand loyalty. I’m just saying that I think this study gives more credit to social media than it deserves. Well, if that wasn’t a rant, I don’t know what is.

But thanks for sharing! I love topics that bring good discussions. I anticipate your comments.

MOS Website: http://www.moscreative.com/
MOS Blog: http://blog.moscreative.com/

Thanks for the comment. I must say: I totally agree with you.