BarnRaisers

Some say social media is a lot like high school.  People follow the popular kids.

But most of us never were or will be ”most likely” to…succeed, funniest or best looking.  The popular kids represent a small segment in high school.

According to new data from eMarketer, there’s a greater asset available; trust and it has little to do with being popular.

This eMarketer data comes from Scott Monty, Global, Digital and Multi-Communications Manager at Ford.  Scott is one of the most trusted, “go-to” social media voices in corporate America.  He writes a great blog, The Social Media Marketing Blog.  I go to this blog because I trust Scott.

And the same applies to businesses and brands.  If you’re not #1, #2 or #3 in your category and are being outshouted, you can gain a stronger competitive advantage.

Here’s what the data says about trust and social media:

1. PEOPLE LIKE TO DO BUSINESS WITH PEOPLE THEY KNOW.  And who they know is who they trust.  That’s why social outposts with the most content and expression give people the chance to learn more about, know and trust you.  Whether it’s people or companies, blogs generate the most trusted information source, followed by Facebook then Twitter.

2. TRUST CAN’T BE BUILT BY POPULARITY; IT BUILDS BY BEING GENUINE.  It isn’t how many fans or followers you have; it’s how open, engaging and responsive you are with every connection.  So, unlike high school, you don’t have to worry about being outgoing and extroverted; you do have to listen, engage and be timely about it.

3. TRUST IS CURRENCY FOR AWARENESS THAT CAN’T BE BOUGHT.  Social media is different from traditional media where impressions, reach and awareness are a function of spending.  Social media is available to anyone, but only if you jump in, keep at it and show you care do you secure trust and awareness, the kind you can’t buy.

Good research tells a story.  This story here is social media is more egalitarian than high school.  Everyone gets the chance, every time they put themselves out there, to be trusted.  Anything stopping you?

Thanks to eMarketer and Scott for bringing this to our attention.

What are net promoters? Consumers who rate products on the internet?  Mommy Bloggers? People who Tweets about brands on Twitter? Fans on Facebook? Hold that thought.

For students of relationship marketing and CRM, net promoters are the driving force of Fred Reichheld’s book, The Ultimate Question. Fred studied and surveyed the customers of 100′s of companies and came to a singular conclusion: The most admired and profitable companies are the ones with the greatest percentage of net promoters – people who enthusiastically answer in the affirmative the question, ”How likely is it that you would recommend this company to a friend or colleague?”

Fred developed the Net Promoter Score (NPS).  The NPS is the percentage of people who are “promoters” of a company minus the   “passives” and “detractors” (NPS = P – D).  Reichheld’s work is known for its statistical significance and high correlation with business success.  In 2006, the companies with the highest NPS were:

• USAA (82%)
• HomeBanc (81%)
• Harley-Davidson (81%)
• Costco (79%)
• Amazon.com (73%)
• Chick-fil-A (72%)
• eBay (71%)

By 2008, Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff, in Groundswell, delivered research showing 80% of people rate and review products favorably on the internet and their social networks. If companies with an NPS of 80% rank among the highest in Reichheld’s work, Li and Bernoff’s research is particularly good news for businesses and brands.

It means companies that use interactive ratings are reviews are likely to have a higher NPS, be more admired and have greater profitability. Li and Bernoff’s research also showed:

• 76% of customers use online reviews to make purchases
• 96% of sites that have them say they are an effective merchandising tactic
• Only 25% of e-commerce sites have them now

So, from Reichheld’s, Li’s and Bernoff’s viewpoints, we’re in the “net promoters era.”  If your company isn’t taking advantage of it, shouldn’t it be?