Social Analytics in Hedonic and Utilitarian Companies

Many consumers communicate through social media channels. A positive product review may be as persuasive as a well-designed picture advertisement. Recent research suggests that advertisers should place more emphasis on pictures and visual components and less weight on verbal elements (McQuarrie & Phillips, 2008). On the other hand, consumers, especially younger consumers, are reading product reviews, blogs, and other social media resources to gain information useful for making product decisions. Communications structured as narratives can be more persuasive than analytical presentations of product features (Escalas, 2007). Most consumers live in a world of narratives in which they encounter stories—and write their own stories—through there consumption patterns (Pace, 2008). Students researched their own online communications in a YouTube video, “A Vision of a Student Today” (2007). They determined that in a single year the average college student wrote over 500 pages of emails through social media. What this student-conducted research reveals is the value of online resources. Refusing to utilize this information can place a company behind the curve by neglecting the next generation of consumers. The present study may assist managers as they attempt to create social media strategies.