We recently relaunched our Keep Social Honest research which explored the path to positive engagement between consumers and brands online. We found that two of the main barriers when trying to achieve this is transparency and trust. With the level of engagement on social media increasing, and new social channels coming to the forefront, consumers are being immersed into this digital world more than ever before. Which is why it's crucial for brands to ensure they are transparent and honest online. https://goo.gl/vT1fxN

1. BRAND
TRANSPARENCY
ON SOCIAL MEDIA
of consumers have seen fake reviews online
of consumers say it is difficult to know if brands are using questionable
methods on social media
of consumers have seen falsified user-generated content
have seen customers be paid or incentivised to share positive
reviews online
of consumers use social media
when deciding whether or not
to purchase a product or service
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SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE
TRUSTING BRANDS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Current affairs
The top five reasons consumers have used social media in the last three months are:
Asked a friend, contact or network
for advice with purchasing
Searched for
a specific brand
23%
32%
19%
29%
Enjoyed content
from a brand online
Searched for a general
product or service
25%
of people find it easy to tell the difference between
marketing communications, advertising and branded content,
and non-commercial content on social media
of people have little or no trust in the content they see on Blogs
of people have little or no trust in the content they see on YouTube
of people have little or no trust in the content they see on Instagram
of people have little or no trust in the content they see on Twitter
of people have little or no trust in the content they see on Facebook
19%
30%
25%
23%
18%
20%
PURCHASING BEHAVIOURS
The list of ‘listening to what people/
brands have said on social media
has helped re purchasing decisions’
32%
18%
17%42%
of consumers admitted to interacting
with brands on social media that they
never had any intention of buying from
RATING BRANDS
62%
81% of consumers would read an online
review before purchasing a product
54%
said they would post
a review online if they
were happy with
a product or service
The top three
places to read
online reviews are: 77%
45%
33%
OVERSTEPPING THE MARK
25%
21%
16%
25%