In MediaPost yesterday, Pangea Media released the results of a survey they did of tweens and teens who visit their site Quibblo.com. Of particular interest:
“Teens still rely the most on friends (77%) to find out about new brands, followed by seeing new brands in a store (71%) or on a TV commercial (51%).
However, it appears that social networks still have a long way to go when it comes to offering them ads and content around what’s cool. Asked to cite which social networking site had the ‘coolest’ information about new products or brands, 46% said neither [Facebook nor MySpace], followed by 23% who said MySpace. Accordingly, most (71%) responded that they are not ‘fans’ of a brand on a social networking site.”
We believe strongly that the main reason people are engaging in social networking is to…well, be “social,” i.e., to stay connected with friends and family, not to deepen their relationships with brands or to be marketed to. The teen/tween segment is no different.
The “hard sell” on social networks is not where the biggest bang for the buck is currently. Instead, it may make more sense for online brands to invest in technologies that help fans easily tell their story. For example, many retailers offer a “share” button which allows fans to send out products they like to their friend networks and include comments. Rather than a marketing message coming directly from the company, the shopper’s network of friends and followers is exposed to the product(s) and brand in their friend’s own voice. The link included with the product drives interested friends back to the brand’s site, where they can browse more products, and the brand can engage a potential new customer.
The next step is to provide real-time social shopping technology that lets friends chat and shop together on the retailer’s site, where they’ve chosen to go on their own terms, as opposed to the personal, private domain of their social network. This type of engagement can be the way to convert both the fan and the fan’s friend into new customers, without intruding on hallowed turf.
Tags: real-time, ShopTogether, social shopping, teens, tweens