Research conducted by the Keller Fay Group reveals that there are far more positive conversations happening about brands online than negative conversations. If you’re not giving up control already and letting consumers talk about your brand online, then these statistics should alleviate some of your concerns.
While some industries received a higher percentage of positive versus negative brand buzz online than others, even industries that have come under fire in recent years have experienced more positive buzz than negative according to the research results.
For example, the telecom industry was reported to be the subject of the fewest positive conversations at 51% versus 23% mixed conversations and 14% negative. The financial services industry was split similarly with 51% of buzz positive, 16% mixed and 15% negative.
At the other end of the spectrum, the food and dining industry experienced 73% positive buzz, 12% mixed and 6% negative while the personal care and beauty and the beverages industries experienced 72% positive, 12% mixed and 5% negative online conversations and buzz.
Another key finding in the Keller Fay Group study tells us how people feel about the information they glean from word-of-mouth conversations online and what they do with that information. As the chart to the left shows, both positive and negative online buzz influences consumers, but those responses are more likely to occur when positive buzz is heard as opposed to negative buzz.
There is no doubt that using the social web to create and drive online conversations, sharing and buzz about your brand can deliver positive results to your bottom-line. The concern that negative conversations could usurp those positive conversations is a possibility, but as the statistics from these reports show, the potential for rewards outweighs the risks.
Have you given up control and let the conversation about your brand spread across the web in the form of word-of-mouth marketing yet? Leave a comment and share your reason why you are or are not leveraging the power of the online buzz to build your brand and business.
Image source: eMarketer
Susan Gunelius is the author of 10 marketing, social media, branding, copywriting, and technology books, and she is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She also owns Women on Business, an award-wining blog for business women. She is a featured columnist for Entrepreneur.com and Forbes.com, and her marketing-related articles have appeared on websites such as MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, TodayShow.com, and more.
She has over 20 years of experience in the marketing field having spent the first decade of her career directing marketing programs for some of the largest companies in the world, including divisions of AT&T and HSBC. Today, her clients include large and small companies around the world and household brands like Citigroup, Cox Communications, Intuit, and more. Susan is frequently interviewed about marketing and branding by television, radio, print, and online media organizations, and she speaks about these topics at events around the world. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google+.
