Further to yesterday’s blog post on who or what social media users trust to provide them with credible information, here’s an interesting aside.
When asked who they are most likely to engage with (beyond the usual friends and connections) – either through becoming a fan or ‘liking’ (Facebook), following (Twitter) or joining a group (LinkedIn) etc, brands come third in drawing the attentions of consumers, behind musicians and celebrities.
This may explain the obsession that many large brands have with bands, music and festivals and the revival of the good, old-fashioned celebrity endorsement in recent years.
What’s most interesting is that charities are fourth, suggesting that third sector organisations should be thinking more like businesses in terms of engaging with consumers online. An aspect of that is being first off the block in setting up specific Facebook groups. Many of us are members of groups like ‘Stop Japanese Whaling’ and ‘Join This Group If You Want People Who Go Dog Fighting To Be Thrown In The English Channel’ etc. but few of these groups are owned by charities.
Charities are finding the economic conditions tough and few have a dedicated marketing resource, but if you it’s worth searching for and subscribing to the channels of your favourite charities. The vast majority have an official presence. They will then guide you to causes and campaigns.