There are few countries that can rival Brazil's devotion to social media. In our recent blog article Stressing the Social in Brazilian Social Media, Part I, we reviewed the main sites used by Brazilians and the connection between the social nature of Brazilians and their love for social media. Part II of this series focuses on Brazilians' preferences for social media messaging.
Social Media and Activism
Brazilians have found in social networks the reason and resources to be heard. This digital environment assumes a position of importance in Brazilian mobilizations.
Social networks are being used as a legitimate expression of society. Even those who don’t participate in activities on the street see on online pages as an opportunity to manifest their support of a cause. For many people, engaging in causes on social network is a way to exercise their citizenship in an integral manner. Disclosure of information is now faster due to social media, reaching international populations very efficiently.
Social Media and Brands
Wishpond conducted a study recently examining users’ behavior on social networks around the world, and the platforms utilized by companies to reach these people.
According to this research, 81% of Brazilians use social media to look for new products and the majority of users see social media as a good way to keep updated about brands. On the other hand, 58% of Twitter members use it to keep updated with news and events. Many users also expect to find discounts and promotions on this platform.
According to research conducted by Hi-Midia, during the week the peak time for people to access the internet via computer is night time between 7 and 10 pm, which coincides with the time that they get home after work. During the weekend the access is less concentrated, ranging from 2pm to 10 pm. For tablet and smartphone users, activities such as checking email and social media happens at a variety of times throughout the day. Knowing the time of access is important to plan publicity campaigns; it is important to understand users’ habits in order to optimize resources and improve the efficiency of the communication between consumers and brands.
Social media is well known as an important channel of the strategic relationship of brands with customers. Hi-Midia also conducted research to measure users’ interaction with and expectations of the brands present on social networks, and how they use email marketing to communicate. The results show that consumers want to interact with the brands and not only receive their content. For 87% of users, one of the worst things a brand can do is not reply when they try to contact the brand through social networks.
Hi-Midia’s research also shows that the decisive factor for companies’ success on social networks is their ability to engage with users through relevant content and promotions. Just posting ads about products and services, or attending to customer complaints doesn’t make the brand’s social media page most useful for customers. For 65% of internet users, the utility of a brand on social network is directly related to the relevance of the content posted. For 61%, promotions and discounts also add value.
Although there are incentives, few Brazilians “like” brands on social media. Among Facebook users, only 40% have ever liked a brand, product or company online. Moreover, the average user likes only 7 companies on Facebook. On Twitter 50% of users follow brands, with the goal of receiving discounts and promotions.
The main reason that users refrain from liking or following a brand that they don’t want to receive a lot of publicity messages, according to 52% of Facebook users and 36% of Twitter users. Additionally, 25% of Facebook users admit to not knowing the benefits of liking/following a brand while 25% fear for the privacy of the information on their profile. On Twitter, 38% of users prefer to gather information about companies in another way and 28% say that they haven’t found a brand that is worth following. 50% of users are afraid of email marketing being a virus and 46% say they only open email from companies they have signed up for.
The quantity of publicity posts and tweets by brands is very important for social network users. 72% of Facebook users and 65% of Twitter users take into consideration the amount of messages posted by the brands they follow. The people that were interviewed said that they want to receive only three posts a day via Facebook. Additionally, they specified that these posts should remind them about the brand, without being annoying. Three was also cited as the ideal amount of tweets a day. Consumers are interested in receiving marketing emails as long as their interests are taken into consideration.
Understanding Brazilians' social media preferences will greatly assist your social media marketing. There are tremendous recruitment opportunities in Brazil and social media can be a great entry point for building brand recognition.
How are you using social media in Brazil? What kinds of experiences have you had interacting with prospective students through Facebook and Twitter?
