// UPDATE / CORRECTION: Embarrassingly, we inverted the results from a key chart in the report in our original post. The original headline read “49% of Facebook Fans More Likely to Buy” — that is actually the percentage of respondents who disagree with that statement. We have corrected the data in this post, and we apologize for the error. //
Email marketing services provider ExactTarget has released report #6, titled “The Collaborative Future,” in their “Subscriber, Fans and Followers” research series, which is based on quantitative and qualitative research conducted March – April 2010 across a panel of 1,506 U.S. consumers. The report compares the behavior of email subscribers, Facebook fans and Twitter followers, and offers advice on how marketers can most effectively engage across all platforms.
Nearly half–49%–of Facebook fans say they are more likely to purchase from a brand they Like. 32% of Twitter followers agree with this statement. Twitter followers are most likely to agree that they are more likely to recommend a brand they follow.
CORRECTION: 37% of Twitter followers agree that they are more likely to purchase from a brand they follow, while 17% of Facebook Fans agree with that statement. Twitter followers are also more likely to recommend a brand they follow — 33% agree with that statement, vs. only 21% for Facebook.
Email subscribers are most likely to be motivated by discounts, promotions and “freebies.” Facebook fans are looking for discounts, too (40%), but an equally high percentage are simply looking to show their support of a brand to others. Twitter followers are most motivated by information: 38% say they follow brands to get updates on future products.
| Email Subscriber | Facebook Fan | Twitter Follower | |
| More likely to purchase from a brand | 27% | 17% | 37% |
| More likely to recommend a brand | 24% | 21% | 33% |
| Motivations for becoming a subscriber, fan or follower: | Email Subscriber | Facebook Fan | Twitter Follower |
| Receive discounts & promotions | 67% | 40% | 31% |
| Get a “freebie” | 55% | 36% | 28% |
| Get updates on future products | 45% | 33% | 38% |
| Stay informed about the co. | 28% | 34% | 32% |
| Fun and entertainment | 29% | 29% | 26% |
| Show support for the co. to others | 11% | 39% | 23% |
| Learn about products & services | 28% | 21% | 25% |
| Get access to exclusive content | 33% | 25% | 25% |
| Someone recommended it to me | 17% | 22% | 14% |
| For education about co. topics | 22% | 13% | 14% |
| To interact (eg provide feedback) | 14% | 13% | 20% |
To download the full report, along with others in the series, follow this link: http://email.exacttarget.com/sff/index.html.
