Millennials (Can Be) a Brand’s Best Friend

Linc Wonham — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 02:30:00 GMT

Generation Y, aka “Buy”, packs a powerful punch when it comes to a brand’s online reputation. The most prolific users of social media do not take that responsibility lightly, and will just as soon share a recommendation for a product they believe in as they will publicly lambast one they consider unworthy.

Such loyalty, as much to the process of sharing opinions about brands as to any particular brands, was the most profound takeaway from a recent study conducted by Edelman Worldwide. Entitled Millennials, Their Actions Surrounding Brands, and the Dynamics of Reverberation, the exhaustive study makes one thing abundantly clear about its focus group: brands matter.

Some of the more specific findings include the following:

•    More than 80 percent of Millennials regularly discuss brands online
•    70 percent will share a favorite brand with friends and family
•    70 percent will keep coming back to a brand they like
•    58 percent are willing to share personal information with a trusted brand in exchange for coupons, etc.
•    54 percent will warn friends and family about a brand they don’t trust
•    41 percent will boycott a brand if disappointed
•    32 percent will rant on a social network if disappointed by a brand
•    29 percent will join a community of others who dislike a brand

Steve Rubel (and Edelman) on Search Engine Visibility

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:16:00 GMT

There are clearly some changes occurring in the search marketplace - namely, the process and the practice are evolving.

Steve Rubel has co-authored a fascinating 13-page position paper on Search Engine Visibility and is making it public today at the Edelman New Media Academic Summit in Washington.

Rubel argues that two new disciplines are emerging from search visibility tactics - reputational search and social search. The premise and promise of Reputational Search is that any company, NGO or brand can apply a search mindset to tried-and-true PR tactics and, in the process, influence the search results around certain keywords.

With Google and competitors increasingly prioritizing social content from Flickr, blogs, Twitter and others in result pages, it is imperative that brands build out "embassies" in all relevant networks – places where employees work to serve the interests of the community, as well as their company.

'Net Features : edelman

Millennials (Can Be) a Brand’s Best Friend

Steve Rubel (and Edelman) on Search Engine Visibility