4 out of 10 brand marketers think social creates new challenges for brand integrity

Social media has changed how consumers communicate with each other and has given them the ability to broadcast opinions about brands, products and services further than traditional word-of-mouth. It has also meant something that can be scary for brands: Marketers are no longer fully in control of the message.

According to a study, 40% of brand representatives worldwide felt social media posed new challenges to the integrity of their brand. More than a third said that social networking sites affected brands significantly enough to bring about changes in marketing strategy.

But with 500 million consumers reachable on the social web, the challenges may be worth it. More than half of brand representatives thought that social media gave them an opportunity to reach new customers.

However the research found a disconnect in how marketers thought about their brands and how they tried to reach out to customers on social media. The majority agreed that the most effective way to communicate about a brand was to stay true to its message. At the same time, marketers were willing to stray from that strategy—especially in the case of social media.

The report suggested that attempts to find superficial social success might be leading brands to create a presence on networks that did not fit with the brand’s personality or use other inappropriate campaigns in the hopes that one would go viral.

To learn more about social media’s influence on brand marketing, contact StreamCompanies.com