Half of all social media campaigns go unnoticed, says new report

As many as half of all companies running social media marketing campaigns are seeing their messages fall upon deaf ears, according to data from the Digital Life 2012 report published by TNS today.

The report, which is based on the assessment of how 72,000 selected consumers from 60 different countries interact with brands and products online, found Brits and Americans to be the most unresponsive to digital marketing campaigns.

While consumers in the US (60 percent) and the UK (61 percent) may be cynical, those in developing markets were found to be more considerably more open to engaging with companies over the medium with Columbia (33 percent) and Mexico (37 percent) the most fertile grounds for social media campaigns.

The report also found that 59 percent of those in developing markets view social networks as an excellent source for learning about brand and products. That’s considerably higher than than the 44 percent average worldwide.

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While consumers are losing interest in brand campaigns there is an increase in attention paid to comments from friends, peers and even strangers are growing in influence, with almost half of those questioned using the Internet to post comments about products and brands.

TNS believes that companies should place greater emphasis on how they communicate with consumers if they want to reach audiences more effectively, as Matthew Froggatt, the company’s chief development office, explains:

The online world undoubtedly presents massive opportunities for brands, however it is only through deploying precisely tailored marketing strategies that they will be able to realise this potential. Choosing the wrong channel, or simply adding to the cacophony of online noise, risks alienating potential customers and impacting business growth.

The findings on each market’s openness to social media marketing are nicely summarised in the chart below.

The TNS findings echo a recent report on corporate social media marketing in Asia. Carried out by PR firm Burson Marsteller, it found that message and strategy were lacking in the region despite the fact that many firms had established a presence on social media sites.

Alongside the announcement, TNS has a large amount of research from the report available within its website. We’ve had a good look and will be posting a deep dive into the data very soon.

Update: TNS has released the below video recapping key points from its report

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYxIYutGdYA