Twitter is the most influential social media platform for brands

Consumers that post a comment, view a video, play a game, or enter a competition on a brand’s social media page are on average 78% more likely to consider or make a purchase from the brand in future, according to a new research study by Starcom MediaVest Group.

The study also shows that Twitter beats Facebook and YouTube as the most influential social media platform for brands.

The Social Media Behavioural Index (SMBI) is the result of a study of the brand engagement of over 6,000 Twitter, Facebook and YouTube users across 29 blue chip brands. Six sectors were researched, including finance; food & drink, health & beauty; retailers; media & entertainment; and technology & telecommunications.

SMBI measures actions that indicate brand involvement and utilises existing data feeds easily available from social media publishers. Headline results include:

• 78% of users interacting with a brand on social media are likely to take a further brand action, such as visiting the website, or finding out more

• Video is proven to be the most popular content in social media, with 80% of users likely to take further action, followed by competitions on 68% and games on 59%

• The most engaging social media action revolves around commenting and sharing content

• Twitter consistently tops the poll of influence across all future brand actions, with those tweeting 89% more likely to consider purchase and 86% to prefer the brand

Jim Kite, strategic development director at Starcom MediaVest Group said: “Social media is the new shop floor. If consumers visit you, you’ve got them in the front door. If they ‘like’ you, they are talking to the shop assistant. But how you get them to the cash register is often the missing part. The Social Media Behavioural Index is the first measurement tool of its kind to help brands set-up and run social media campaigns specifically designed to influence consideration and purchase.”

Brands in the study include Heineken; Capital One; More Th>n; Coca-Cola; Gillette; Boots; Sainsbury’s; Dreams; Sky; Camelot; Samsung; Blackberry and Honda.

Nick Hudson, head of marketing communications at Heineken UK, added: “The research is helping us prioritise social media at Heineken UK. If you can’t measure the effect of a media channel on brand performance then it is hard to argue its case for inclusion in the plan. The SMBI™ analysis is providing us with further justification for using social media platforms to connect with our consumers.”