If Social Networking Fans Were Rewarded, Would They Share More?

We recently undertook a survey of social networking fans to see who shared cool stuff with their friends and who would do so more if they were rewarded. On behalf of Referr.co, the survey wanted to find out the type of stuff people would share for rewards and what they share already for free!

More People Share Online Than We Think…

A surprising number of SurveySeat participants already share links, reviews and surveys with their friends on a number of social networks. Facebook and Twitter seemed to be the most used networks, although many people still share things with their friends via e-mail too. A small number of these people had ever received a reward for sharing stuff with their friends, meaning that many do it just to get the word out! Those who had shared for a reward had done so for a competition, vouchers or even money. What is more surprising however, that even those who did not share links on their social networks would click on a link from their friends. This is the power of ‘word of mouth’ advertising.

What if social networkers were rewarded?

Referr.com rewards people for sharing links on their social networking sites, so would people share more if they were guaranteed a reward? A lot of survey participants would be more inclined to share something with their friends if there was an incentive to do so. With a cash reward for every link shared online, there would be an apparent increase in people willing to talk about a company or product. When asked the type of things social networking fans would share for rewards, many people agreed that competitions, freebies and vouchers would be among the main links they would post on their profiles. It is obvious that people want to help their friends get discounts, free stuff and prizes whilst making money themselves! And who wouldn’t?

The Next Step in Social Networking

There has been a lot of talk in the social networking World about the web leaders introducing more ways for advertisers to promote their business and make money. With websites such as Referr paying people to share links, it seems as though this is a natural progression for the social network giants such as Facebook and Twitter. There are already ‘promoted’ posts on Facebook and Twitter, but do these really work? Many people are much more likely to trust their friends and family recommendations than a promoted link that they know has been paid for. This is a move forward for word of mouth advertising and social networking, working together for businesses and their customers!

Conclusion

Although it seems that many people share already, could this grow even more for companies? There is still a long way to go in terms of using word of mouth advertising on social networking, but companies such as Referr are improving this area all the time. The issue is, if everyone gets involved then perhaps we will lose the trust we have for our friend and family recommendations? If we know they are getting paid to post then how do we know their recommendation is genuine? It is a fine line to work with, but only time will tell if this is the next step for social networking sites.