Social Media Yields Results

For brands that use social media, does it work? Does one brands engagement on Faceboook or Twitter make you want to buy one product over another. Short answer, yes. J.D. Power and Associates reported in a new study with over 20,000 online consumers, 87 percent indicate that the online social interaction with the company positively impacted their likelihood to purchase from that company. In retrospect, the study also revealed that if a brand had negative engagement with users their likelihood to purchase the product decreased.

"This is a unique, comprehensive consumer study that defines consumer expectations in the ever-changing social space and measures companies' performances against those benchmarks," said Jacqueline Anderson, director of social media and text analytics at J.D. Power and Associates. "This study provides companies with the framework they need to begin effectively integrating social media into their business strategies. It also illustrates the relationship between a positive social media experience and consumer purchase intent."

The inaugural study also revealed that some industries are more successful than others at effectively engaging users on two platforms: marketing and servicing.  Marketing was measured by J.D. Power and Associates in brand awareness as well as affinity. While servicing was calculated by evaluating the answers the brand provided to consumers as well as resolving problems. Across the board the auto industry excelled in both interactions. Meanwhile other industries were reported to excel in mobile social services.