Social media: be careful not to exaggerate

Brands that start using social networks on a large-scale have to take care not to overdo it. That is the conclusion of a study by Exact Target and CoTweet. Their survey showed that 44% of respondents stop following a brand or company because they send too many messages. Also when the content distributed via social networks is boring or repetitive, they distance themselves.

What is good?
Why consumers do get fans (Facebook) or brand followers (Twitter)? A large majority of respondents indicated (26%) to follow a brand because of a one-time offer. If the further content is not interesting, many consumers will leave again.

Content should be relevant, informative and offer benefits for those in the network. Nevertheless, things are not to be too promotional. Consumers also do not want to feel that they are losing their freedom. 14% of respondents in the survey said they prefer to find information themselves than to be "forced" information by a company.

Wasted energy?
Exact Target and CoTweet add that at the end of the deal it does’nt really matter. Over 51% say they never take a look at the brands they follow through social media channels. By contrast, also 63% of respondents says to be no less likely to buy something of a brand, if they just left their social network.

Source: Retail Detail