Maybe so, but are we really aware of what we are referring to? Do we have a clear idea of how many people are involved in this? Do we give it the importance it should have?
I have finally found a way to see all this holistically and in perspective, which gives me cause to think, as a market researcher, if we are really taking advantage of this in an optimal way.
The solution, of course, I found on an Internet page… As you can see, it is something as simple as an infographic that represents the “Geosocial Universe” (source: http://alt1040.com/2011/05/el-universo-geosocial-en-una-infografia)
In other words, to summarise the figures, we have around 5.3 billion mobile service users, around 629 million Facebook users, 663 million Skype users, 200 million Twitter users, 100 million LinkedIn users… an infinite number of people counting, explaining, debating, evaluating, recommending, establishing relationships, rating, writing, photographing, recording, buying, watching, listening…
Are we really aware of the volume of information that we have relatively at hand? Millions of active users, with self-completed profiles, with direct opinions, easily segmentable…
I sincerely believe that current research methods will gradually incorporate tools for monitoring and measuring this brutal, pure, unconditioned volume of information, because it will be essential in the future to find ways to obtain information from consumers indirectly.
In fact, this is already beginning to happen, but even so, there are still voices that downplay the importance of social media research and the profitability that companies can have by investing in monitoring, following, researching or interacting with this brutal and growing volume of users.
For all those who still have doubts, take a look at this:
An average McDonald's user can spend 150$ while a loyal user (Facebook fan) can spend up to 310$.
An average Nike user can spend 120$ while a loyal user (Facebook fan) can spend up to 205$.
This is the case for each of the 20 brands analysed. All of them. Absolutely all of them improve their income from their “fans” on Facebook.
And if active participation in social networks together with brand loyalty in them is so decisive in the income variable, what are we waiting for to analyze this relationship in depth? What are we waiting for to measure and understand more about these people? Profiles, habits, behaviors, cross-loyalties with brands, etc.
Is there anyone who still doubts the need to invest in Social Media?
Paco Escuredo
