Linchi Kwok’ and Bei Yu’ explain
their findings as to people who click “like" or leave a comment on a
company’s Facebook page . The research only pertains to the restaurant and
hotel industries but is a good example for all other businesses. The findings state
that consumers are more likely to respond to a photo or status update than they
are to a company's video post or a link (url.) This is important to know as marketers and
managers because social media has such a heavy influence in the decision making
of consumers. Understanding what works and what not so well, will give a competitive
advantage to the marketer whom updates their company’s Facebook page. Kwok’ and
Yu’ have shown that conversational messages gain more attention than sales marketing
messages. This is important to remember when posting a status that says
something about a discount or promotion. Grabbing the customer’s attention is
key to marketing if we are to be successful at unloading things into our
consumer’s short term memory. Research was also conducted on which words are
more popular than others. The more
popular words that consumers respond to include days, sandwich,
like, tried, dinner, October, who, fans, lobster and many more. The less
popular words to use include week, check, memories, winners, watch,
pictures, family, win, seat and many more as well. Research like this is
priceless to a marketer who uses social media to reach their customers. Knowing
which words to use and which not can only be a benefit when choosing what to
display on the company’s Facebook status.
Understanding
exactly how to create an electric word of mouth effect or eWOM using social
media marketing can be the difference in success and failure. If we don’t study
how our target consumer views our attempts at making them laugh and catching
their eye, we don’t stand a chance at staying successful. Social media
marketing on Facebook can have such a huge impact on a company’s image and
influence. It’s not just the one or even two thousand customers that click “like”
that we shoot for, it’s the twenty thousand friends that will see the message
that count. As Facebook is constantly changing and evolving so is the consumer
and the interaction between the two. It is important to always be conducting
research in order to advance your company in Facebook communications. Creating
an eWOM buzz on Facebook can be easier than you think when armed with the right
tools. Knowing exactly what form (status, photo, link, or video), to use and
what words to put in the Facebook message makes for an easier job when we post.
All in all if it weren’t for marketing research like that of Kwok’ and Yu’s, we
wouldn’t understand how to communicate efficiently with our consumers and have
a strong social media message.
·
Kwok, Linchi, and Bei Yu.
"Spreading Social Media Messages On Facebook: An Analysis Of Restaurant
Business-To-Consumer Communications." Cornell Hospitality Quarterly
54.1 (2013): 84-94. PsycINFO. Web. 23 Sept. 2013.
