Brand 'break ups' surface in social media
More than 90% of consumers have 'broken up' with at least one brand through the medium of Facebook, Twitter, or email because of irrelevant, too frequent or boring marketing messages, according to a study by ExactTarget and CoTweet.
The study of more than 1,500 consumers identified how consumers are changing their online behaviour and detailed today's most important motivations for 'unfanning', 'unfollowing' and unsubscribing from marketing campaigns on Facebook, Twitter and email.
"Consumers remain willing to engage with marketers via the inbox, Facebook and Twitter," said Jeff Rohrs, principal of ExactTarget's Marketing Research and Education Group. "However, consumers understand now more than ever that they are in control of marketers' messages and will punish irrelevant, voluminous or boring messages by cutting off marketers means of direct communication."
Key results of the study include:
- 91% of consumers have unsubscribed from permission-based marketing emails;
- 77% of consumers report being more cautious about providing their email address to companies versus last year;
- 81% of consumers have either "unliked" or removed a company's posts from their Facebook news feed;
- 71% of consumers report being more selective about "liking" a company on Facebook versus last year;
- 51% of consumers expect that a "like" will result in marketing communications from brands while 40% do not believe it should result in marketing communications;
- 41% of consumers have "unfollowed" a company on Twitter.
The study, entitled 'The Social Break-Up' is the eighth research brief in ExactTarget's and CoTweet's Subscribers, Fans and Followers research series, providing insights into how consumers interact with brands online based on a series of primary focus groups, interviews and surveys.
Sources: ExactTarget; CoTweet / The Marketing Factbook.
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