Dear Brands,
Consumers don’t trust you.
Sincerely,
The truth.
OK, maybe that’s a little dramatic, but a new study by Nielsen found that consumers are indeed losing faith in paid media and looking to their friends for brand recommendations more than ever before.
- 92% of consumers around the world say they trust earned media (recommendations from friends and family) above all other forms of advertising, an increase of 18% since 2007.
- 70% trust online consumer reviews, an increase of 15%.
- Less than half of consumers trust TV, magazine, and newspaper ads, which is a 25% decline from previous studies.
(Click on the image to enlarge.)
With the rise of social media and third party review sites, everyone has a voice these days. Even my Grandma told me she wrote a Yelp review of her local Hometown Buffet (she gave it 5/5 stars of course). It is now crucial that brands get their Advocates to venture out on the social web and recommend on their behalf.
Check out these success stories of companies empowering their Advocates:
- 24 Hour Fitness has energized their enthusiastic members to create over 8,400 reviews and share 51,000 offers with their social networks.
- Webroot has identified 12,300 highly-satisfied customers who gladly wrote over 6,000 reviews and rated their products an average of 4.5/5 stars.
- Rubio’s has boosted CTR’s to a whopping 32% by giving Advocates offers to share on Facebook, Twitter, and via email.
To learn more about leveraging your trusted and influential Brand Advocates, download “Turning Fans and Followers into Brand Advocates.”
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Cara Fuggetta
I tweet, therefore I am.
