It’s crucial that marketers get their branded content in front of consumers to generate leads and conversions. A recent poll by The Washington Post and ABC News revealed that Google is the fan favorite among tech companies, followed by Apple and Facebook.
Because 83 percent of surveyed adults have a favorable opinion about the search engine, marketers should feel confident creating branded content with Google in mind. But with a 60 percent approval rating, companies should analyze their target audiences before defaulting to Facebook.
Google’s still the search favorite
The poll found Google rated highest for all surveyed age groups, and 94 percent of people between 18 and 29 say they view the site favorably. This could explain why Google continues to sweep the search market.
According to comScore‘s April 2013 Search analysis,Google fielded 13.3 billion searches out of the 20.2 billion conducted in the United States. Its high approval rating might be owed to Google’s UX focus. The search engine continually updates and introduces algorithms to filter out spam and reward brands that publish interesting, relevant online content.
Facebook favored by young users, not older age groups
The Washington Post and ABC News poll illustrates why companies might have trouble determining which network is best for their social media marketing practices. While Facebook is still the biggest social network (Brafton recently reported 56 percent of American females and 49.5 of U.S. males are active on the site), it’s not equally popular among varying age brackets.
Facebook’ approval rating is only 60 percent for all American adults, but 75 percent of respondents between the ages of 18 and 29 have a favorable view of the site.
Facebook’ approval rating is only 60 percent for all American adults, but 75 percent of respondents between the ages of 18 and 29 have a favorable view of the site, according to the poll. Approval is lowest among those over the age of 65, of whom 39 percent have an unfavorable opinion of Facebook.
Of course, marketers must conduct research to determine where their target audiences are most active. Facebook may be the best choice for brands reaching out to younger demographics, but it could be a miss for B2B companies looking to network with industry executives. Social media monitoring can inform brands which networks generate the most engagement, produce leads and propagate conversions, so they can focus their efforts accordingly.
