Facebook’s Influence On Future Purchase Decisions

10/11/2010

SURVEY RESULTS:  FACEBOOK INFLUENCE ON FUTURE PURCHASE DECISIONS

As marketers, we know without a doubt that social media use is on the rise and emerging as a powerful force in shaping consumer behavior.  But how influential is social media in making purchase decisions?  Is Facebook more influential than Twitter?  And what about Foursquare?  As the leading agency in the Southeast in understanding consumer purchase behavior, The Brandon Agency asked our diverse, 4,300-member consumer panel a series of questions probing social media influencers on consumer behavior.

Findings:
- 91% of active Facebook users believe that Facebook will have an influence on future purchase decisions.
- Active Facebook users are almost 10 times more likely to have their purchasing decisions influenced than moderate Facebook users.
- In terms of frequency of use, Facebook dominates among all platforms, with the majority of consumers engaging with the medium at least once a day and as often as multiple times a day.
- After Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Skype and Wikipedia all ranked in the top 5 in both purchasing decision influence and the number of engagements per day.
- A significant portion of people still found traditional media reliable and, in some cases, more reliable when compared to social media.
- A mix of multiple media is more effective than a singular medium.

So what does this all mean?  Yes, social media plays an important role in the world of marketing communications – and will continue to grow its influence.  As a marketer, you simply must have a social media strategy and a meaningful presence within the various platforms.  This evidence, combined with the fact that traditional media still plays a key role in purchase decisions, leads us to recommend that a robust, integrated marketing approach is ultimately the best for our clients.

Tune into our next “Why We Buy” research study in the coming weeks.

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