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Is your target audience online? In a new syndicated research study, Knowledge Networks has found that consumers are increasingly using social media to make purchase decisions.
Teens and adults who are social media users in 2011 reported high levels of influence as follows:
- 23.1 million discover new brands or products through social media (up 22 percent from 2010)
- 22.5 million use social media to learn about unfamiliar brands or products (up 9 percent)
- 17.8 million are strongly influenced in their purchase decisions by opinions in social media (up 19 percent)
- 15.1 million refer to social media before making purchase decisions (up 29 percent)
Going mobile
Social media has also become a wherever-I-am option as consumers integrate social media use with their mobile phone activity more and more.
In 2011, 40 percent of social media users are accessing it through a mobile device and more than ever, marketers will look at location in thinking through product strategies. Among the study’s findings:
- 27 percent of users compare or check prices through social media
- 24 percent of users refer to reviews for brands, places or services
- 16 percent (23 percent of Boomers) of users use social media to find coupons or other discounts for local businesses
“Tying consumer interactions back to brands and purchase decisions is essential for marketers, in social media no less than in any other platform,” said Patricia Graham, Knowledge Networks’ chief strategy officer.
How do you measure the impact of social media in influencing your target audience?
