It’s About Trust: Consumers Signal a Shift in Social Media Preferences

First it39s important to note that consumer sentiment about social media is impacted by current eventsamp160 Recent news relative to security breaches privacy and the dissemination of false or suspect news reports are serving to accelerate someamp160of these shiftsamp160 Others can beamp160attributed to changesamp160in social preferences by certain key demographicsamp160 As some consumers age they age out of or into different platforms which is why marketers can39t simply focus on a snapshot of this market but must look more deeply at how different consumer groups interact and engage with the various platformsA recent study by the Intent Lab a partnership between Performics and Northwestern University shows just how complicated this equation can beamp160 Our team looked at consumer attitudes about social media and the changing consumer uses of the five largest platforms amp160Facebook Instagram Pinterest Snapchat and Twitter amp160and then viewed it through the lens of the Digital Satisfaction Index DSI the Intent Lab39s biannual research study measuring consumer satisfaction with their online engagementsThe DSI measures consumer satisfaction with online experiences in moments of intent which is the single most important variable in performance marketingamp160 Intent shapes our search queries dictates our purchase paths and mediates meaningful interactions with brands regardless of channel media or content typeUnderstanding Intent Is the Key to Unlocking RelevancePerformics39 DSI identifies four key factors driving consumer digital satisfaction trust social utility and privacyamp160Trust measures consumer attitudes toward the credibility of online informationSocial measures the ability to connect and get a glimpse at other people39s livesUtility is how useful and efficient the consumer finds a website or appPrivacy is how comfortable users are with personal data collectionLooking at the social media research through this lens we find some interesting factsamp160 Privacy is a big concern for consumers and a big paradox for marketers amp160consumers want personalized experiences but they do not want companies using their past online behavior to tailor the experience for themamp160 This leads to trust issues as people do not fully trust the information they get from these platforms yet they find them useful and are not willing to give up on themThis has led to the emergence of an interesting new phenomenon amp160Instead of reducing the usage of social media platforms consumers are placing less importance on the reliability and trustworthiness of the information they get to feel satisfiedamp160 This is a common observation when people cannot change or do not want to change a behavior they instead change their attitude toward it thus keeping the behavior consistentFirst it39s important to note that each platform matters to consumers albeit for very different reasonsamp160 Most consumers don39t realize that Instagram is owned by Facebookamp160 With this the pall that current events have cast over the largest social network doesn39t extend to its younger sibling offering interesting crossover opportunities for brandsamp160 That said we are seeing some interesting trends regarding where trust is being placed and by whomMen Yes Men are Converting on Social Women and men are split on their preferred social platforms but men39s engagement with a particular social network could open new channels for brands to connect with this groupamp160amp160Men in general are more skeptical about social media when it comes to brand messaging and about twice as skeptical as females about anything they read online according to Intent Lab researchamp160 However while women overindex on social media across all the networks some signs are emerging that men feel more comfortable shopping viaamp160social mediaamp160 User recommendations are also measurably influencing men39s decisions as viewed through social mediaAt Performics we feel more research is needed but the ability to reach the male demographic holds promiseamp160 Of those male respondents who made a purchase manyamp160did so frequently 48 of respondents who bought something did so four to six times in that sixmonth period and 20 made seven or more purchasesOf the types of advertising that resonates with social media users Intent Lab research found that preferences for image ads vs video event or deal ads differed by platform and that Facebook Instagram Pinterest Snapchat and Twitter eachamp160had unique user responsesamp160 Regardless of the network however food and apparel were among the most purchased items from social mediaThe Intent Lab has uncovered some interesting and lesserknown attributes of these platforms and we believe there are missed opportunities for social media networks to capitalize on personalization options based on the unique attributes of their users paired with the intent signals each sends outClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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It’s About Trust: Consumers Signal a Shift in Social Media Preferences

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Esteban Ribero

The Ad Council, Huntsman Mental Health Foundation and Amazon Announce “The Mind Set” to Support Mental Health - Ad Council InSites

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It’s About Trust: Consumers Signal a Shift in Social Media Preferences

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