The social life: Brands have failed to engage

Jacqueline Ireland of Comar Brunton.

If you run a brand then you may need to rethink your social media marketing. A survey in New Zealand has found Kiwis don't tend to follow brands in this way.

Social media is full of brands keen to capitalise on a captive market. From the likes of Nike and McDonald's to Kiwi brands Whittaker's and Farmers, if you like these brands then you may already follow them online.

A recent Colmar Brunton survey on the social media habits of New Zealanders, however, showed the number of Kiwis who follow brands on social media has plummeted from 41 per cent in 2013 to 27 per cent this year.

Colmar Brunton chief executive Jacqueline Ireland says while the number of Kiwi social media users continues to increase, they are predominantly using it to stay in touch with friends and family rather than brands.

"The out-take from this is that brands have not yet learned the rules of engagement on social media and they need to work harder and smarter to be noticed," Ms Ireland said.

She cited the proliferation of advertisements as an example of how some brands and companies are getting it wrong on social media. "It is seen as spamming or gate-crashing and is a big turn-off. In consumer minds, brands need to earn the right to engage and be engaged with on social media."

There are some great social media campaigns run by business, but then there are some that backfire.

A couple of weeks ago, Jetstar received some free publicity thanks to a fake promotion. A competition promoted by a fake Jetstar Facebook page fooled thousands of users, despite being too good to be true. In a fake Jetstar Australia Facebook page competition, 200 free airfares and five-star accommodation for two weeks in Fiji alongside $4500 in spending money was promised. To enter the page claimed all users had to do was like and share the photo posted on the page.

Although there were many telltale signs the page was a fake, it still managed to attract 18,000 "likes" from Facebook users in less than 24 hours.

Do you follow brands on social media? Tell us online which ones you like.