One of the findings in the recent Social Media Wave 5 study by Universal McCann showed that brands that build communities on social networking sites stand to build stronger ties with their market which can lead to growth in sales. In fact according to the study 71% of people who join brand communities are more likely to buy the product and 63% recommended others to join the community! The same study shows that the Philippines is actually the second country in the world with the highest penetration of internet users who join brand communities online.
Social Media Wave 5 Study by Universal McCann (page 54)
It’s interesting because a lot of companies here in the Philippines are still having a hard time realizing the value of websites. If you check the study, you’ll see there that less people have been going to company websites and product micro sites over the last few years. Don’t get me wrong though. Websites are still important because they offer a customization, search engine presence, and a whole lot more of features that Facebook Pages can’t give. However we all have to acknowledge that there’s so much value in establishing your brand’s social platform on Facebook and Twitter especially since Filipinos are very open to the concept of joining online brand communities. The things you can do with Facebook has also grown over the last few years (landing pages, apps, etc).
Social Media Wave 5 Study by Universal McCann Page 58
Social media marketing shouldn’t be an after thought anymore in your marketing strategy. It’s here to stay and it will keep on growing. If you ignore it then you are leaving a very big window open for your competitors to grab market share from you.
