How Social Media Affects Buyers Decisions [INFOGRAPHIC]

Is social media really important to your business? Is it a strong channel from which you can engage with an audience or does it simply make no difference at all? Get the results from a consumer survey conducted in the US showing how social media affects shopping decisions.

Two key stats shared here instantly grabbed my attention –

1. 37% of consumers visited a brand using their mobile phone.

2. 73% said that Facebook contributed to their buying decision

This re-enforces my current business advice for local business owners that mobile marketing and Facebook business pages are essential for brand awareness campaigns and for growing audiences.

I know it seems there is much hype surrounding social media right now, but with the rapid integration of technology and business apps, it makes no sense to sit there dragging your heels or pretending it won’t affect your business or doesn’t apply. With over 55% of people ‘liking a brand on Facebook’ and 27% checking in from their mobile phone, it makes sense to integrate social media into your marketing strategy right away.

While I’m not saying you need to be on there every hour of the day posting offers and status updates, I think it’s really important to present yourself as a well rounded company and claim applicable social media channels and vanity urls and ensure your customers can find and reach you if they want to.

If you’re finding it difficult to keep on top of posting and updating your channels, try making a social media marketing plan – start with one post per week and gradually increase your updates as you become more fluent with your approach and your audience grows.

This infographic by empathica shows US consumer use of social media to make purchasing decisions.

Source: INFOGRAPHIC: How Facebook Factors Into Decisions On Retail Purchases, Restaurants – AllFacebook.

How are you using social media for your business?

Does your business engage and encourage social media during the transaction with your customers or are you still holding back and waiting for the social media hype to die down?