Social Users in Spain Split on Following Brands
Those who don’t find brand posts abusive
January 15, 2016
Many marketers are interested in how to engage consumers on social media. But not all users are interested, and even those who are can get turned off. According to October 2015 research in Spain, attitudes differ dramatically between users who do and don’t follow brands.
Nearly two-thirds (63%) of social network users in Spain who don’t follow brands think that the presence of brands is abusive, according to the survey by The Cocktail Analysis and Arena Media. They feel there are too many ads, profiles and sponsored posts.
The two groups also had significantly different attitudes about advertising and personal information requests by brands.
Some users never wanted to follow brands, but others did in the past and have been driven away. The most common reason for stopping following a brand (cited by 39% of those surveyed) is that they find the content on offer is simply advertising.
Another 37% say they followed the brand for a timely occasion—like a holiday—and when that occasion had passed simply unfollowed. And 31% said the brand makes too many posts, suggesting that oversaturation of ads is a serious concern.
In fact, advertising is the area of information in which social network users in Spain have the least trust, with only 10% saying they trust a brand's advertising a lot. A majority (53%) of respondents have little to no trust in advertising. On the other end of the spectrum, 52% of those surveyed trust the comments of their friends on social media a lot.