5 Important Stats about Brand Interaction on Facebook

Companies trying to establish their brands on Facebook is nothing new. However, now that brand proliferation is so strong online, it's good to step back and look at how the consumers are actually interacting with those brands.

A recent report from Constant Contact analyzed the online consumer behavior of nearly 1,500 Facebook users to see how they interact with brands. Rather than boring you with the entire report, here are the 5 key points I took away from the study:

• 78% like fewer than 10 brands: This is interesting, because that means a brand has to offer something of substance to be one of those few brands consumers are willing to follow.
• 58% like brands that they already use: This was the number one reason for why a consumer likes a brand. This is key because it contradicts the strategy of using Facebook to gain new customers. However, Facebook obviously plays into customer relations after the purchase.
• 56% more likely to recommend a brand: Echoing the previous point of post-purchase customer relations, more than half of those surveyed said they are much more likely to refer a brand to a friend after becoming a fan on Facebook.
• 13% post updates about brands they like: One of the biggest takeaways I got from this report is that very few consumers actively engage with brands on Facebook. This needs to be taken into account when brands are deciding what direction their Facebook page should go.
• 77% interact by reading posts: By a substantial margin, reading posts was the primary way consumers interact with brands. This is good news for brands that can't offer quick and easy discounts, because they can at least try to generate engaging content to fuel fan interaction.

While this survey focused on consumer brands, it's good to know that the quality of the content dictates how engaged fans will be. And although it's just one survey, there are still some very interesting lessons to take away as brands try to cut through the noise inherent to social media.

Mile High Mobile Usage

The following is a post from Dave Sniadak, Axiom's video specialist and resident airplane aficionado. You can find him on Twitter at @davesniadak.

When traveling for business, it's important to remain connected. In years past, it seemed that the 'commute' time we'd log while trapped inside an airplane gave us an excuse to catch some z's while on the clock. For the sake of productivity, however, mobile Wi-Fi providers like Gogo are changing the way we travel for business.

In a recent infographic posted by the airliner-based internet provider, the tech-savvy traveler could be considered Apple aficionados - nearly 78% of sky high Wi-Fi users logged on using iOS technology. Android users logged 15% of the mile-high mobile market share. And much like on the ground, Blackberry only enjoys a small slice of the providers' usage at just 4%.

Additionally, Gogo looked at the sites users are connecting to while online, and unlike my initial implication, passengers aren't researching new business leads or networking with clients...they're racking up frequent Facebook miles. The mega-social networking site was the most visited site for Gogo, while LinkedIn came in third. Foursquare was #4 on Gogo's list, perhaps due to their Mile High Badge, which users can earn by checking in while above 10,000 feet.

Finally, Gogo says that you can mix work and pleasure while soaring the skies at 35,000 feet. 67% of all Gogo users mix both work and pleasure surfing. That other 33%? Well, let's just say that's time well spent checking our eyelids for holes.

Video Post: Have Location-Based Services Grown The Past Year?

You may have heard of location-based applications like Foursquare. But the burning question is are people actually using them? Is there a place for these applications in the ever growing world of social media. Join Steve as he dives into this dilemma.

Wordless Wednesday: 8 Simple Rules for Designing a Bad Website

Research with Rob: Skyping for Depth

The following is a post by Rob Beachy, Axiom's Market Research Expert. Research with Rob is a weekly series of posts about the role of social media and technology in market research.

Smart phones have revolutionized the way we keep in contact with one another, but through video chat services like Skype, smart phones have changed the landscape of research as well.

For instance, I discussed panels vs. focus groups last week, but sometimes group interaction is not critical to the research process. This is where depth interviews (one-on-one interviews) come in, since they provide a great deal of information.

Being in-person is often difficult and time-consuming, so video chat alleviates the expenses associated with one-on-one interviews. We're constantly developing the role of social media technologies like Skype in our market research. Social media tools make depth interviews easier and faster to implement, while avoiding the time and financial cost of traveling.

The keys to an effective Depth Interview are:

• Qualify and Probe – Can you elaborate, explain, etc
• Unbiased - Explain but never sell
• Counter Question Technique – How much should it cost, weigh, etc.
• Common basis for comparison
• Flexibility to change and manage time

Depth interviews should be a strategic source of market research in every company and everyone involved in product development from marketing to technology should be trained and involved.

It is often as easy as scripting your questions and calling.