Why Do People Follow Brands? Conversation or Deals?

This is the second post about the Razorfish FEED 2009 Report… as promised. I was reading a post from my friend Todd Muffley over at Fat Atom and it got me thinking about the future of online communication. His post is entitled, “Is Social Media One Big Coupon Book?” The premise of the post is captured in two sentences:

“If Social Media does become one big coupon book, watch out Newspaper, Magazine, Radio, TV and Direct Mail (to name a few). The old school push model of coupon distribution may just go the way of the VCR.”

The post is (of course) fueled by the Razorfish study which states that of “those that follow a brand on Twitter, 44% say that access to deals is the main reason. The same holds true for those that added a brand on Facebook or Myspace, where 37% cite access to exclusive deals or offers as their main reason.” (pg 9)

Now, the Razorfish study does not give a voice to all 200 million people using broadband Internet access but it does create a platform for discussing the main draw of social media. I would venture to say that the main reason a user FIRST joins a fanpage or follows a brand on Twitter is because of a contest or promotion. Once the individual becomes a fan the SECOND step is interacting with that fan in order to build some type of trust. Repeat customers are the best customers… nay… repeat customers with friends are the best customers.

There is always a conversation buried in the depths of a relationship being built between a customer and a brand. Where that relationship starts? Who knows? The important thing to remember is to have the conversation… which eventually leads to conversion.

Of those

who follow a brand on Twitter, 44% say access to

exclusive deals is the main reason. The same holds

true for those who “friended” a brand on Facebook

or MySpace, where 37% cite access to exclusive

deals or offers as their main reas