50% of Consumers Value a Brand’s Facebook Page More Than Its Website (from Mashable and Lab42)

A recent infographic (information graphics or infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge) from Lab42, a research company out of Chicago, suggests that companies should abandon traditional informative websites in lieu of increasing budgets to social media campaigns. As both a soon-to-be marketing professional studying at KPU and self-assessed social media expert, I found the stats a little too good to be true.

First off, let us look at the sample that the research company derived their consumer opinion from. According to Mashable, Lab42 surveyed 1,000 social media users for this infographic. From the start, the sample population is biased. Of course social media users will rate Facebook profiles as more important than a website, they're already there! What about the users who choose not to use Facebook, Twitter and the like? They would obviously have a different opinion, as seeking out information would require an increased number of steps, or alienate the population entirely.

Why am I writing about this specifically? Because companies who take this information seriously can leave out a large chunk of the population (assuming over the minimum age required by most social media websites). In 2011, 62% of Canadians surveyed had participated in social media at some, while only 30% used social media daily. 80% of Canadians had regular access to internet at home, while 86% from anywhere. This is all from Ipsos Reid, studying general populations. Now, if only 30% of Canadians use social media daily, and 50% of those who use social media regularly say that the Facebook Page is more useful (a subjective term) than the website, that leaves us with a reliable ballpark of....

15% of the general population on a daily basis.

That is not to say that the information outlined in the infographic isn't useful to companies who are choosing what sort of information to place on their social media pages. It is more important to look at the opening line with a critical eye before perusing the subsequent information, which isn't Lab42's fault. That was Mashable posting the most eye-catching part of the infographic without offering equivalent important information. I will look further into the rest of the infograph for the next entry.

Cheers!

Info:
http://mashable.com/2012/09/24/facebook-brand-page-value/
Ipsos Canadian inter@ctive Reid Report 2012 fact guide