Social Media’s Influence on Buying Behavior

Being mindful of how you represent your brand on social media can improve the likelihood of attracting buyers.

Brand Presence on Social Media

Using social media to distribute a consistent flow of information about your products and services can improve your following. An Animoto survey found that the media presence of brands influenced 75% of millennials’ purchase decisions.

But it’s important to deliver content that’s useful to your audience. Your targeting parameters should align with your company’s products and services to help you create engaging content and produce ideal leads.

Content

What type of content are you sharing on your social media? Are you using written posts, YouTube videos, blog articles or podcasts? Depending on the goal of your social posts, you may need different kinds of content.

Social posts can also includes:

• Contests: These can engage buyers and improve brand awareness. Putting an interactive contest in front of your target audience increases the likelihood of viewers moving down the conversion funnel.
• Promotions: Everyone loves a good deal. Promotions and discounts can work wonders for a brand campaign that’s designed to push a specific product or service.

Reviews

Online word of mouth is incredibly effective. According to Social Media Week, 80% of consumers are likely to purchase something based on a family member or friend’s suggestion. Sharing independent reviews allows your customers to speak for you.

Social media influencers are another good source for reviews and testimonials. They’re individuals or accounts that have a significant social media following. Depending on an influencer’s niche or industry, they can affect overall purchasing decisions with their knowledge, position and relationship to their followers.

Influencers are broken down into four categories:

Mega: These influencers are usually celebrities, athletes, musicians, etc. They have more than one million followers on at least one medium.

Macro: They’re more accessible than mega-influencers and are good at raising awareness. Macro-influencers often have 40,000 to one million followers on different social networks.

Micro: Social media users are considered micro-influencers if they have 1,000 to 40,000 followers across several social networks. They’re noted for their niche or industry-specific following.

Nano: These influencers are experts in a particular field and have fewer than 1,000 followers. However, they’re still very useful for highly specialized brands with a narrow target audience.

Where Online Users Spend Their Time

The age of your target buyers may affect which social media platforms they use to discover new products, make purchases and follow brands.

• Gen Z (ages 7-20): YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat
• Millennials (ages 21-40): Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat
• Gen X (ages 41-56): Facebook and YouTube
• Baby Boomers (ages 57-75): Facebook and YouTube

The team at TouchStone Digital can create a custom social media strategy that will address your unique brand goals. Contact us online, and we’ll help you get started.