Digital American Newsletter

If you ask the average consumer how they decide what to believe on social media, they will tell you they look at the source. Is it a reputable organization? A brand they like? If so, they trust the information.

The reality is far different.

It turns out that consumers’ perceptions of trustworthiness are much more influenced by who shares the information than where it originated, according to a recent study by The American Press Institute. If a trusted friend shares a post, it’s assumed to be true—even if it is from an unknown news source. If a frenemy re-posts something from a highly reputable media organization, it is more likely to be disbelieved.

Social media users also tend to take action based on a post from a trusted friend, regardless of who generated the content. They like, recommend, and follow the friend’s unknown source at higher rates than the frenemy’s reputable source.

And remember…this all happens while consumers believe they are making judgments based on the trustworthiness of the original information source.

Sources: American Press Institute 2016, Gallup 2016, Media Insight Project 2017

Do you want to reach consumers who spend more money than average on groceries in brick and mortar stores as well as online? Then target Amazon Prime members.

(Yes, you can advertise on Amazon even if you don’t sell there.)

Prime members spend 80% more time shopping than non-members. Those extra retail hours occur in the real world as well as online.

Prime members are at the forefront of ecommerce grocery shopping. They are more likely than most to use grocery store and club store apps, and make purchases on retailer websites. 52% have purchased groceries online vs 23% of all US households.

They aren’t just buying on Amazon, either. Holiday 2016 data shows that Prime subscribers tend to shop other sites in the early fall, then focus more on Amazon after Black Friday.

Roughly half of all US households have an Amazon Prime subscription. Members skew female, higher income, and younger than 55. The majority share their subscription with others—including 22% who let another family or business use it. That means marketing to Prime members reaches "hidden" consumers, too.

Sources: Emarketer 2017, Field Agent 2017, Food Marketing Institute 2017, Nielsen 2017, NPD 2017, Supermarket News 2017

Voice search will dramatically alter digital advertising because many people do not look at their screen when talking to their digital personal assistant. Comscore estimates that 50% of all searches will be voice-based by 2020, so far fewer people will see ads and the rules for SEO will change.

Currently, 40% of adults use voice commands daily and 20% of all mobile searches are spoken. Both these percentages have skyrocketed recently with the rapid increase in devices that have voice-enabled digital assistants like Siri, Cortana and Alexa.

Consumers love voice search because it is simple, quick, and solves practical problems associated with searching while driving, cooking or using the bathroom (yuck.) With improvements in speech recognition technology, users get accurate results 95% of the time.

Asking for directions, finding contacts, and requesting action-oriented information (“I want to…”) are the top three categories of voice searches.

Additionally, roughly half of Americans who research products online say they use voice searches as part of their process. Marketers will have to find new ways to reach them with information and advertising.

Sources: Brand3 2016, Business2Community 2106, Google 2014, Venture Beat 2016

Chatbots are software (oftentimes within a messaging app) that use artificial intelligence to mimic human conversation. As chatbots go mainstream in customer service, commerce, and content delivery, here’s what you need to know.

1. 58% of Millennials have already used a chatbot, and 53% of the rest are interested in trying one.
2. 70% of users were happy with their experience.
3. Women are more likely to use chatbots than men, by a significant margin.
4. The key benefits expected from chatbots are 24-hour service, instant responses, and convenience.
5. Emergency answers, being forwarded to the appropriate person, purchasing items, and resolving complaints top the list of what consumers want from chatbots.
6. Virtually all Millennials are interested in learning about deals, products, and services via chatbots.
7. 67% of Millennials are likely to buy via chatbot, with 38% very likely to make a purchase.
8. Globally, consumers are most interested in seeing chatbots in the financial services, retail, and travel/hospitality industries.
9. Early adopters—including Sephora and Pizza Hut—are already deep into experimenting with chatbots.

         
Sources: MyClever 2016, OpenMarket 2017, Retale 2017, Venture Beat 2016 

Kellogg’s. Nordstrom. Under Armour. Uber. Budweiser. Amazon. That’s just a partial list of brands that are experiencing social media boycotts after taking stances on “controversial issues.” Some took liberal positions. Some adopted conservative postures. All suffered, at least in the short-term.

The impact of hashtag boycotts can be significant. 57% of executives believe they hurt the bottom line. In some cases, stock prices declined, employees exited, or CEOs altered their political involvement as a result of social media boycotts. Two-thirds of Americans say social posts influence how they perceive specific brands.

Why don’t brands make it easy on themselves and just stay silent? If only it were that simple. Almost half of consumers think companies should take positions on social and political issues. They see it as part of brands being authentic. Many shoppers like to understand an organization’s ethics, and a significant number buy more from brands that share their values. Consumers have been known to call out companies that stay silent on topics they believe are important.

In an increasingly polarized nation, taking a position is risky for brands. Not taking one is risky too. Which risk do you prefer?

Sources: Denver Post 2017, Mashable 2017, Washington Post 2017