Consumers Embrace Social Media for Brand Feedback - eMarketer

Many social network users are using channels such as Twitter and Facebook to discuss shopping decisions and experiences with their peers. Although often this means they are using social networks as another channel to hunt down the best deals, consumers are also turning to those sites to provide feedback about their experiences with brands, according to ROI Research.

The majority of respondents to a recent survey said that when discussing products and services, they are comparing prices and talking about sales and specials with their social network friends and followers. Fifty-three percent of the surveyed social network users said they provide feedback to the brand or retailer via social network sites and 47 percent said they express disappointment with the brand when they see fit.

So every brand should be using social media, right? Probably. But not every brand likely has the opportunity or "downside" from negative reviews. Social media seems to work best, across the board, for consumer products and services. It isn't so clear how well it generally works for most business to business brands, especially when those brands are not household names.

Consumers Embrace Social Media for Brand Feedback