NEW YORK – Consumers are spending more time than ever online and on social media, but companies (and their marketing teams) are still struggling to find the most effective way to reach them through these channels.

As reported on a Wall Street Journal blog, according to new shopper marketing research from WPP's Geometry Global, 40% of Internet users across the world don’t see any point in “friending” a brand online. In the U.S. and the U.K., that figure rises to 55% and 63%, respectively. Interestingly, consumers in emerging markets were more open to being brand-“friendly.” In India, only 31% of consumers would not consider friending a brand. The study was based on more than 9,000 interviews with Internet users above the age of 15 in a dozen countries.

These latest stats don’t mean brands should move their marketing away from social, however. There’s plenty of evidence that consumers are willing to engage with a brand online as long as they get something out of it. For example, the WSJ blog explains that the majority of shoppers in the study said they are open to receiving an ad or promotion from a brand on their mobile device that’s tied to their location.

The WSJ reported that about half of respondents in the study said they are interested in brands sharing other users’ brand or product experiences with them and 42% said they want brands to help them make better product choices. Forty percent of survey respondents said it was important that brands let them choose how and when to communicate with them. More than half of consumers want to interact with brands to solve service issues and 37% want brands to respond to their comments and feedback, whether positive or negative.