In his Brands-Only Summit Pre-Conference presentation, ShareThis' Andy Stevens measures and quantifies the monetary value of different forms of recommendations. Using scientific methodology, he shows the value of social recommendations relative to brand and price in determining consumer purchase intent.

1. The return on a share:
Quantifying the monetary
value of social sharing
ANDY STEVENS
SHARETHIS
OCTOBER 2729, 2014 ORLANDO SOCIALMEDIA.ORG/SUMMIT2014

2. Andy Stevens
VP Strategy Research
ShareThis
@AndrewStevensUK

3. SHARING IS THE CONNECTIVE THREAD OF THE SOCIAL WEB
With the growth of the social web, we turn more often to friends and strangers for
recommendations on where to go, what to eat, and what to buy.
2

4. 3
THE
IMPACT OF
SHARING
IS WELL-DOCUMENTED
73% of survey respondents process
information more deeply, thoroughly, and
thoughtfully when they share it.
70% of people trust consumer reviews they
found online.
38% During a four-week test, Starbucks’
Facebook fans and “friends of fans” were
38% more likely to make a purchase.

5. 4
BUT HOW DOES IT
ALL TRANSLATE TO
MONETARY IMPACT?

6. SHARETHIS COMMISSIONED THE FIRST STUDY OF ITS KIND
TO MEASURE THE IMPACT OF SHARING ON THE
PURCHASE PROCESS
PURCHASE
INTENT
RECOM-
-MENDATION
PRICE
PREMIUM
BRAND
LUXURY
GENERIC
ECONOMY
TYPE
STRENGTH
Excellent
Good
Moderate
Bad
SOURCE
Family
Friend
Acquaintance
Stranger
Professional
In-person
Social Network
Trade Publication

7. CONJOINT METHODOLOGY USES STATISTICAL MODELING TO
DETERMINE THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF VARIOUS
FACTORS AFFECTING THE CONSUMER PURCHASE DECISION
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING TWO PRODUCTS ARE YOU MORE LIKELY TO PURCHASE?
BRAND
PRICE
TYPE
STRENGTH
SOURCE
RECOMMENDATION
6
Premium Brand
10% higher
Facebook Post
Friend
x
Economy Brand
10% lower
Car Driver Review
Professional
Sample conjoint survey screen

8. RECOMMENDATIONS ARE MORE
IMPORTANT TO THE CONSUMER PURCHASE
DECISION THAN BOTH BRAND AND PRICE
7
Recommendations account for 57% of the consumer
purchase decision:
RECOMMENDATIONS
57%
PRICE
28%
BRAND
15%

9. 8
SIMILAR PATTERN ACROSS DIFFERENT
VERTICALS
58%
34%
CPG Electronics Autos
Recommendations
8%
56%
24%
19%
56%
25%
19%
Price
Brand

10. ONLINE SHARES ARE NEARLY AS VALUABLE
AS IN-PERSON RECOMMENDATIONS
9
6.3%
7.3%
9.5%
10.6%
Consumer Ratings
Consumer Reviews
Online Shares
In-Person Recommendations

11. 10
RETURN ON ‘EXCELLENT’
RECOMMENDATIONS
Highly positive shares yield a return of 9.5%
6.3%
7.3%
9.5%
10.6%
10.2%
Consumer Ratings Consumer Reviews Online Shares In-Person
Recommendations
Professional Reviews
6.0%
6.2%
11.2%
13.2%
7.1%
7.6%
8.1%
9.3%
10.5%
5.7%
8.1%
9.2%
9.3%
10.0%
CPG Electronics Autos

12. 11
NEGATIVE RETURN ON ‘BAD’
RECOMMENDATIONS
Negative shares lower purchase intent by 11.0%
(11.3%) (11.2%)
(11.0%)
(11.2%)
(10.2%)
Consumer Ratings Consumer Reviews Online Shares
In-Person
Recommendations Professional Reviews
(13.1%)
(13.1%)
(12.5%)
(12.9%)
(10.6%)
(10.6%)
(10.5%)
(10.6%)
(10.5%)
(10.2%)
(10.0%)
(9.9%)
(10.0%)
(9.9%)
CPG Electronics Autos

13. 12
THE SOURCE OF THE SHARE IS
IMPORTANT
Strangers Acquaintances Close Friends / Family Professionals
8.0%
7.7% 7.5%
12.7%
8.5%
9.0%
14.0%
9.6%
10.5% 10.7%
11.7%
CPG Electronics Autos

14. 13
FOR AUTO BRANDS, AN EXCELLENT
SHARE IS WORTH $3,708
Consumer Ratings
Consumer Reviews
Online Shares
In-Person Recommendations
Professional Reviews
$2,312
$3,277
$3,708
$3,766
$4,702

15. 14
FOR ELECTRONICS BRANDS, AN
EXCELLENT SHARE IS WORTH $25
Consumer Ratings
Consumer Reviews
Online Shares
In-Person Recommendations
Professional Reviews
$22.09
$23.56
$24.91
$28.76
$32.44

16. FOR CPG BRANDS, AN EXCELLENT
SHARE IS WORTH $0.92
That’s how much more consumers are willing to pay for the average
supermarket product if it was positively shared about by someone in
their social network.
$0.42
$0.44
$0.92
$1.05
15
Consumer Ratings
Consumer Reviews
Online Shares
In-Person Recommendations

17. 16
Key Findings
Recommendations have more impact on a consumer’s
decision-making process than brand or price

18. Recommendations have more impact on a consumer’s
decision-making process than brand or price
Highly positive online shares generate a 9.5% increase in
purchase intent, while negative reviews can decrease intent
by 11.0%
17
Key Findings

19. Recommendations have more impact on a consumer’s
decision-making process than brand or price
Highly positive online shares generate a 9.5% increase in
purchase intent, while negative reviews can decrease intent
by 11.0%
Online sharing has a measurable effect on a product’s
prices, driving incremental value by as much as $9,623.74 for
luxury automobiles
In fact, online shares are nearly as valuable as in-person
recommendations
18
Key Findings

20. 19
WHAT DOES IT ALL
MEAN?

21. DRIVE EARNED MEDIA SUCCESS WITH
SOCIAL INSIGHTS
VIEW CURRENT CUSTOMERS AS MARKETING PARTNERS
ENABLE CUSTOMER EVANGELISM
MONITOR YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE THROUGH SHARING
ADDRESS NEGATIVE REVIEWS OPENLY AND HONESTLY

22. UNLOCK THE VALUE OF SHARING WITH PAID MEDIA
IDENTIFY
Use social data to identify users who shared relevant content
TARGET
Align messaging with sharers’ interests and deliver media on the content
with which they engage
OPTIMIZE
Use social signals to determine where and when to spend media dollars
Heavy-up deployment around key
events to drive conversion when
conversations are abuzz
Monitor sharing trends in real time and
capitalize on user intent as quickly as
possible throughout the purchase funnel

23. 22
THE VIRTUOUS CIRCLE OF SHARING
SHARING
INSIGHTS
OPTIMIZATION
EARNED MEDIA
LARGER AUDIENCE

24. THANK YOU

25. Learn more about past and
upcoming events
SOCIALMEDIA.ORG/EVENTS
OCTOBER 2729, 2014 ORLANDO SOCIALMEDIA.ORG/SUMMIT2014