A July 2012 survey of Facebook users in the US by social commerce service provider 8thBridge found that while a substantial number of respondents did not share info about products at all on social media, those who did were heavily predisposed to doing so on Facebook. In fact, 63% said they used Facebook to alert their friends and family to products, compared to 25% who did the same on Twitter. Clearly, the results in this case are heavily weighted toward Facebook, as the sample drew solely from Facebook users, but the data does demonstrate that a majority of those on the social network are willing to create awareness of products.
The most popular motivation for those sharing products on social media was users’ desire to share their personal tastes with their networks, cited by 38% of respondents. That was followed by a desire to share a product or experience that made a user happy (35%) and then by receipt of a discount or reward (30%). Interestingly, users were less interested in any remuneration they might receive from a brand than they were in personal expression when sharing products.
