Study: Consumers View Social Marketing As Invasive

Marketers often tout social media as a channel that allows them to reach consumers with messages seamlessly tailored to their interests and social interactions. But nearly two-thirds (64%) of people say they “hate” when a company targets them through their social networking profile, and 58% agree that social media marketing is invasive, according to a new study. At the same time, findings from Insight Strategy Group showed a majority of those surveyed (55%) believe social networking sites are the best way to give a company feedback and that posting about a product or service on a social site can have a strong impact on a brand. In short, people like being able to provide feedback to marketers via social media -- but they don’t necessarily want to be followed by them.