The power of
consumer product reviews
What folks say about a brand has huge impact
By Diego Vasquez
Oct 20, 2011
One of the most notable side effects of the rise of social media has been to bridge the gap between brands and their customers. Nearly every company has some sort of social media presence, from a Twitter account to a Facebook page, and that makes it much easier for customers to interact with them. Interestingly, most of these interactions are positive, according to a new study from Nielsen/McKinsey's NM Incite. It finds that 60 percent of consumers researching products through online sources learned about a specific brand or retailer through social networking sites, and three out of five active social media users create their own product reviews. The majority are favorable. Women are more likely than men to post about the products they like, and social media users say they prefer to read their peers' reviews of products more than any other information source before they buy something. Radha Subramanyam, senior vice president of media analytics at NM Incite, talks to Media Life about why peer reviews on social media sites are so important, why they tend to be positive, and how media people can use this information.
What did you find most interesting or most surprising about this report?
Consumers are now very much part of the decision funnel for other consumers.
What is really surprising is not how many people are reading consumer-generated reviews today, but the vast swaths of people who are actively creating such content. And the No. 1 motivation for consumers is not criticism, but praise -- consumers want to commend brands and companies for a job well done.
What's the most important thing that media buyers and planners can take from it?
There are a few things to think about as you plan media. One – is the ad itself sharable? Is it interesting enough to be shared?
Two -- are you aligning your paid, owned and earned efforts to drive the same message? Is your paid advertising synched up with your social efforts and what the company web site says?
Three -- is there a contextual difference in where you place you ad that impacts breakthrough or shareability?
Why are active social media users more likely to read product reviews online?
People now have access to the most powerful resource, people like them, real people who have tried that product or service. This is based on deep human trust, and how another real person, friend or stranger, will tell you the truth. And once you turn to the voice of the masses, you are hooked – it turns out to be the most accurate information out there.
Why are consumer-generated reviews and product ratings the most preferred sources of product information among social media users? What does that say about this group?
Social media, this vast global town hall, brings out in many cases the best in people. People help total strangers, people are willing to help companies improve their products. And this desire to help others is the primary motivation for why people create reviews online.
This is especially true of 18-to-34-year-olds. People experience the truth told by others for a single product or service, and this becomes the go-to source.
How are social media users seeking out and finding discounts from brands via social media? How much is this a motivation in their social media interactions?
Discounts and coupons come from a wide range of sources, from social shopping to email. Yes it is a motivation, but it is not a primary motivation. Staying in touch with people you care about, hanging out and being entertained, and finding the best value all rank much higher.
Are ads with social context more influential/convincing to social media users than those without social context?
I think that would make intuitive sense but a lot more work needs to be done to quantify that impact. Over the next few months and years, we at Nielsen and Nielsen-McKinsey (NM Incite) are committed to helping our clients figure out these issues.
What's the motivation for people sharing poor reviews of companies' products?
To protect others from such an experience and to get brands to hear their voice.
Are younger consumers more likely to interact with brands than older ones? Why or why not?
People 18-34 expect a two-way relationship with a brand.
They want to give product improvement recommendations, they want to customize products, they believe others turn to them for their opinion. They are most likely to get the opinions of others while researching a purchase, but 35-49s are starting to lean heavily on others as well.
How have brands adjusted the way they interact with consumers on social media over the past few years?
It is a range. Some of the smartest companies have embraced the “power of the people” brought in by social and embraced social for all types of functions ranging from product development to marketing. Others are still early in their process.
But we believe that companies that embrace the full range of options enabled by social will be more likely to succeed over the next decade.
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