Brands: say something good about them or do not say anything at all?

Several marketing experts are convinced that consumers share their negative experiences with greater zeal and with more people than positive ones. This is the biggest concern when it comes to researching the web2 presence of brands. However, some say it does not matter what people say as long as they talk about a brand.

• Péter Sári Innovation manager, GfK Hungária: Early 2011 Keller Fay Group examined several hundred thousand online conversations in the US and found that when brands were mentioned, two thirds spoke of them positively. It is enough to examine how many ‘likes’ are collected by brands on Facebook, e.g. Túró Rudi has 350,000 likes. Conclusion is that the presence generated by consumers in the ‘free media’ is important and must not be neglected.

• Zoltán Csillag Key account manager, GfK Hungária: In January 2011 GfK Hungária surveyed how those who use the Internet frequently express their opinions. This ‘Digitally Connected Consumer’ research showed that 57 percent of these consumers ‘liked’ at least one product on Facebook. 48 percent of participants said they already shared their experiences about a product or service on a social networking site and 13 percent said they often do so. 56 percent of them shared both positive and negative experiences, 25 percent mostly shared positive ones and less than 2 percent only negative ones. Anything worth doing is worth overdoing: Pepsi’s sports drink brand Gatorade operates a ‘command centre’ for controlling the brand’s social media presence: within the marketing department 5 people exclusively deal with following the brand’s presence on web2 surfaces and where they think it is necessary they intervene.

• Konrád Berényi Online marketing consultant, Onlinemarketing.hu Kft.: Irrespective of the Internet and social networking sites, users have always told their opinions about brands. Internet and social media have only made these opinions more visible. As a marketing expert I think it is a good thing. We receive feedback from consumers for which we formerly had to conduct research. Therefore it is useful for every brand to work out some kind of social media strategy and be prepared for negative opinions too – if the latter are handled well consumer opinion can be turned around.