Social Inhibition on Facebook

An international study published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology finds that #Facebook users are largely unwilling to recommend brands and products via Facebook because they fear how this might look to their broader circle such as work colleagues. The researchers suggest that social media marketers might reconsider their focus on forcing people to share about products and instead helping to make social media a safer place to share opinions with trusted networks.

“Social media websites such as Facebook have completely revolutionised the way we share information and communicate with each other. However, our report shows that when it comes to sharing recommendations on products and services on these sites, users tend to stay quiet. They would rather communicate via word of mouth because many users don’t want to embarrass themselves online as work colleagues or acquaintances may not endorse or appreciate the same products that they do. Our report could influence how businesses spend advertising budgets on social media websites.”

Story: http://buff.ly/1ntZLK8 Image: Duncan Hull http://buff.ly/1MPdm9T #socialscience #socialmedia #facebook