blog: 
Brand advocates or bargain hunters?
by Megan Reeg on 12.4.2009 in Brand Development, Promotions, Trends + Surveys 2
A few days ago, a friend and I were discussing weekend dinner plans over the phone. I suggested a local restaurant, and he responded, “Let’s check out their website first to see if they have an e-mail list. Can you check if they’re on Twitter? We might be able to get a discount.”
It turns out that he does this regularly. If any local restaurant or bar has an e-newsletter, he will sign up for it. If they have a Twitter account, he will follow them. Same goes for Facebook. Not because he wants to know the soup of the day or what band is playing that night. He follows them because he wants to get a deal.
A new study from Razorfish suggests that consumers who follow brands online aren’t always enthusiastic brand advocates who want to engage in a digital dialogue. Rather, they, like my friend, may just be looking for exclusive offers. Razorfish found that 44% of consumers who follow a brand on Twitter do so for deals, and 37% of consumers who “friend” a brand on Facebook and/or MySpace do so for deals.*
I believe an online brand follower can be both a bargain hunter and a brand advocate.
Would you follow a restaurant on Twitter in order to get deals if you didn’t like their food? A person who follows a brand for special offers might tell a friend about an offer they found, which could create new customers. They may not be singing your brand’s praises from the rooftops (yet!), but a follower is a follower. Even if they are just looking for freebies, they are still somewhat interested in your brand. The next step is to convert them into that passionate brand advocate through strategic communications.
If you follow brands on Twitter or Facebook, are you more of a brand advocate or bargain hunter? Or both?
* In August 2009, Razorfish surveyed 1,000 “connected consumers” who have access to broadband, spent $150 online in the past 6 months, have visited a social networking site and consumed or created some form of digital media such as news, photos or music.
Twitter isn’t the place to look for coupons and deals; SnackSquare.com is.
Twitter might not be the place, but social media outlets are definitely a great place to shop for deals. The Groupons, Living Socials, and other daily deal media do just the same. They are not brand advocates, but absolutely create an awareness of restaurants and shops that you might not have known existed. With their ability to target geographically, they’re more often than not right around the corner, thus helping drive repeat customers. Personally, I am a sucker for these deals, so I’d have to side as a “bargain hunter.” Might be wise to require a customer survey be filled out in order to use those ‘deals’ in hopes of gaining the necessary feedback to help build brands.