Three in four consumers say they rely on social networks to guide their purchase decisions, this infographic notes.
This particular statistic is noteworthy because it demonstrates just how influential social media can be to how consumers decide to spend their hard-earned money. It also makes sense when one thinks of how recommendations by friends can influence what products one considers for his or her next purchase.
Nonetheless, this infographic does not only concern itself with testimonials or shares of people of products they like, it also says a lot about video reviews. YouTube can be considered a social network and according to Fedelta, user-generated video reviews can play a vital role in purchasing decisions.
According to this, 75 percent of consumers said that watching user-generated video reviews helped them make a purchase decision. However, the infographic stresses that this decision is either for or against a product or brand.
A lot of people are also watching these types of reviews, as 64 percent say they have watched a user-generated video review. A lot of people, 81 percent, listed the ability to see the product in action as their favorite thing about video reviews.
People are not just watching too as 27 percent report a 5 to 10 percent increase in spending due to usage reviews. Seven percent report a 20 percent or more increase in higher spending due to usage reviews.
Nonetheless, social media managers may want to be wary of the content being posted by people on social networks as 83 percent of social savvy consumers walked away from a purchase after a negative customer service experience compared to 49 percent of other consumers.
A user-generated video review it seems is a double-edged sword.
What should one take away from this? Managers cannot control what people post on social media and the best strategy against negative reviews is to provide the best service or product backed by outstanding customer support. One can manage customer relations via social media so no matter how one looks at it, social media can be a great boost for a business.
Meanwhile, Fedelta also lists other statistics entrepreneurs can use when thinking about using social media to boost business. If one needs further convincing that social media does affect sales, the infographic says that in the UK, a visitor coming from a social media site is 10 times more likely to purchase online that an average visitor (7 percent vs 71 percent).
Furthermore, the infographic reveals that 34 percent of customers choose social network sites over a traditional e-commerce site.
What other things do people want to get by using social media to connect to a business? According to this, 83 percent want deals and promotions, 70 percent want rewards programs, 58 percent want exclusive content and 55 percent want feedback on new products.
Even businesses are recognizing the importance of social media to driving growth. Nearly three in four brand marketers say they saw an increase in website traffic after investing just 6 hours per week on social media. Furthermore, 62 percent of marketers say social media became more important to their marketing campaign in the last six months.
A more concrete example of how social media drives sales is this: 44 percent of marketers say they acquired customers through Twitter. 57 percent of marketers say they acquired customers via blogging.
As one can see from all of these, social media does affect a company’s bottom line. It makes sense to have a social media plan for a business especially since use of these sites drive sales and influence.
Learn more including what social media sites people share online purchases, general statistics for social media, statistics for online shopping and mobile shopping, internet and social network usage, and social commerce in Australia from the Fedelta infographic below.
