What Makes People Want To Follow a Brand?

Great question - and, coincidentally, the name of an infographic from Get Satisfaction.com's Social Studies blog. The company, which offers an online tool for building online communities that connect companies with their customers, took a look at online behavior, specifically on Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter. Although the findings are from mid-2011 (a decade in online time), the infographic is both informative and educational in showing companies where they should focus their efforts to create online connections with their customers - and desired customers.

Responses to the first question, What are the top reasons people follow brands?, show roughly similar patterns for both Facebook/Myspace users and Twitter users. The responses, which can be viewed online (click on the infographic for a larger, readable version), are presented here in table form. The most popular reason? Special offers and deals, of course!

Other "info" in this infographic includes responses to the questions:

• How many brands respondents follow on Facebook;
• What happens when people follow a brand? (i.e., percentages of those who consider, buy, or recommend a company's product or service);
• How an overwhelming majority are influenced by their online experience with a brand;
• The top 5 most popular brands on Twitter and Facebook; and
• That a whopping 97% of respondents were influenced by an online experience in their decision whether or not to buy a product or service from a brand.

Infographics have become a quick, clear, and informative way to present statistical data in an age of information overload. Other franchise business-related infographics from Get Satisfaction include:

Fastest Way To Lose Customers
Customer Relations Fiascos
Why Does Gen Y Buy?
The Evolution of CRM (2 parts)
Feeding the Funnel with Facebook
Brands That Do Customer Service the Right Way
Customer Service in a Tight Economy
How Brands Reward Loyalty

To see these infographics (and more), visit Get Satisfaction's website or its Social Studies blog, subtitled "How To Succeed in Social Business."