The Manifest: new study shows how people interact with brands on social networks

Social networks are not just an effective marketing tool for boosting sales - they also offer the opportunity to provide a high level of customer service. More often than not, service becomes the deciding factor in increasing customer loyalty.

The Manifest surveyed 537 social media users in the United States to find out how they interact with brands online.

The study showed that 74% of users surveyed follow brand pages on social networks, and 96% of these users actively interact with official brand accounts. In general, users trust what they read on social media, with 67% of them making purchases based on promotions they see in their news feeds. Information posted on social networks has a higher impact on women than men. Millennials are also more loyal towards ads on social media - 77% of them are more likely to buy a product after seeing it in their news feed, compared to 69% gen X users and 48% of baby boomers who are willing to believe ads they see on Instagram or Facebook.

There are various types of interactions between users and brands on social media:

• 51% of users like posts created by brands;
• 31% leave comments and reviews;
• 22% tag brands in their profiles;
• 20% write directly to brand accounts;
• 18% tag brands on Twitter.