Social media influences all aspects of our daily lives, both personal and professional, and in the same way that it has changed the way in which users acquire products and services, it also significantly changes the way in which Consumers interact with companies.
The relationship between brands and consumers on social networks has been consolidated over the years. At first, when social media was born, users perceived the presence of companies on social networks as something intrusive. However, that is no longer the case.
According to the IAB Annual Social Network Study, 91% of users of these platforms follow at least one brand on social networks and 39% assure that they are excellent tools for maintaining relationships with companies.
That is to say, the user no longer avoids companies on social networks, but rather prefers to have contact with them if that means a benefit, such as access to personalized information, better customer service, discounts and gifts…
What is clear is that the 1.0 consumer, the one who was content to receive messages from companies through advertising in traditional media and had no means to raise their voice and communicate with brands, has become extinct.
Typology of consumers according to their relationship with companies on social networks
In fact, according to the consulting firm The Cocktail Analysis, there can be four new types of consumers, based on their relationship with companies on social networks:
-Outsiders: They are those consumers who have a basic or no relationship with brands. They constitute the least numerous group.
-Curious: They are the ones who follow the brands to stay up to date with trends and news in the sector.
-Customers: They are those who follow a brand because they are interested in getting to know it in depth and purchase its products.
-Enthusiasts: they are the consumers who follow the company for its philosophy and style. They consider that the company’s values go beyond the brand and they feel totally identified with it.
Most of that percentage of users who follow at least one brand on social networks could be included in one of the last three types (curious, customers or enthusiasts).
The new consumer does not want interested content or messages with a clear commercial purpose. They want to be in contact with companies, but feeling part of a community in which their needs are taken care of, which is why they demand from brands a series of values on which they do not allow negotiation, such as commitment or transparency…
It must be taken into account that, just as social networks evolve, so do users. What a consumer demands today from the brands that are present on these platforms is very different from what he requested only four or five years ago. If the company does not adjust its strategy to the changes that occur, it will be trying to provide users with something that is no longer what they want.
