Social Increasing, but Search Still King
Forrester Research recently released a new study, “It’s Time To Make Facebook Marketing Work,” which looks at the trends and impact of Facebook on marketing activities. While search has showed significant increases in impact over the last few years, it still has a long way to go to catch search as the place people go for purchasing information.
Many in the industry believe that because the recommendations and information on social networks come from trusted friends, there is more influence within social marketing. However, the chart below indicates that they still rely on the diverse results search provides, as well as personal, hands-on, interactions in the store.
While social recommendations still lags well behind these other sources, it is one of the areas showing significant growth over the last three years. Social influence showed significant growth between 2009 and 2010, but slowed a bit within the last year. As individuals expand their networks, they may be finding less value in an increasing number of recommendations, perhaps many which contradict each other.
As social networking use matures and users add more “friends” to their social networking circles, it will be important to see how perceptions and assumptions about those audiences change. For now, it appears that search and media placements should continue to be emphasized, but with a close eye on how social networking matures and information is processed and used.
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