Abrams Research Blog

Yesterday an article on the unveiling of the Ford Explorer 2011 model came out on Inside Facebook, a site tracking the uses and changes to Facebook for marketers and developers. In the article, the author discusses the logistics of the campaign, what Ford is doing well, and what is lacking. He sites the number of fans for the Explorer-specific page at just over 3,000.

Checking in with the page this morning, that number has soared to nearly 4,000. Good news for Ford, and for marketers who want to use Facebook as a platform for disseminating information. The lesson here: If you build it, they won’t come. If you use it (with interesting content, of course) it has enormous potential.

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“‘If they’re not on Facebook or Twitter, then they aren’t in touch with the “electronic” people.’ Female 55-59″

Companies, take heed! This survey respondent knows what she’s talking about.

According to a study of over 1500 consumers by research firms Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate Research Technologies, 67% of consumers are more likely to buy products from the brands they follow on Twitter, and over 50% more likely for brands on Facebook. As favorable as those results sound, they’re not the final word.  Capitalizing on the, well, social nature of social media, it was also found that once becoming fans, consumers are 79% more likely than before to recommend their follows to a friend on Twitter, and 60% more likely on Facebook. Although Chadwick Martin Bailey did not extend its research to the purchasing power behind this “second-hand” interest, it seems unlikely that researching a brand’s social media presence would have a negative impact upon someone’s opinion.

Unless the company has no social media presence at all. read more »

I’m watching mostly-naked women jumping on trampolines. At this point, you’re probably thinking one of two things:

A. Damn, that’s hottt

B. Oh great, just what the world needs — more undernourished naked girls flaunting their “assets”

But despite your fascination/revulsion at my initial statement, I should point out that I’m not actually hanging out at some fetish party.  No, I’m merely browsing Apple’s app store.  Yes, somehow the moral guardians at Apple have let a few questionable creations into their store.

And so, today, my esteemed colleagues Lindsay and Tanvir are going to debate the merits of those raunchy iPhone apps that are either brilliant and hilarious, or useless and misogynistic.   You decide.

Welcome to the new Abrams Research blog!  Over the past several months, we have become increasingly embroiled in discussions surrounding the use of social media to advance business interests.  We’ve decided to take to the streets, in a digital sense, by publishing our musings, debates, fascinations, and best practices on this site.

We invite you to comment, criticize (in a constructive way, we hope!), heap loads of praise….

And of course, you can contact us anytime at 347-882-8227, or askodol@abramsresearch.com.