Automaker Social Mind Over Matter - Part 3

Found this interesting blog entry about a Forrester Automaker + Social Network study.  Social Networks Well Suited to Automaker Online Marketing.  I totally agree that car makers, like many big ticket consumer product makers, are well suited to Social Network and Influence Marketing.  But what was really interesting to me was some of the Forrester finding appear to differ from my own research.

Some of Forrester's findings include:

1. Mazda, Honda, Pontiac, Hyundai, and Jeep owners are the most active. These brands have proportionally more young customers than most of the other brands.
2. Chrysler, Toyota, Dodge, Buick, Subaru, and Saturn fall in the middle.
   
3. Ford, Nissan, Chevrolet, GMC, and Mercury owners are touched least by social media, partly because they attract older consumers. Even so, many of their owners are still active in some form of online social behavior.
   

My research, which granted is limited to Social Bookmarking, came up with very different results:

1. GM, Ford, BMW and Mercedes, all received more attention from the social bookmarking community than their market share.
2. Volkswagen is right in the middle, with a market share and level of attention that match.
3. Toyota, Chrysler, Honda, Nissan and Hyundai, did not receive a level of attention from the social bookmarking community that reflects their market share.

Please note I've not read the full report yet, so take my comparison with a grain of salt.