04 Apr Social Media Engagement Leads To Purchase

Active social media engagement leads to purchases. That’s what global marketer Epsilon’s new research proves, after surveying 2,800 consumers.

It is no surprise that the shopping process is shifting towards mobile and social digital tools. In the past few weeks, we’ve been sharing more and more news about the latest updates and features throughout the different social media platforms. Twitter launched a Product and Places page that lets users discover, review and buy products through the same application, and Pinterest now has “buyable pins”. Let’s not forget that Facebook also announced that it was introducing a “Call Now” button for Local Ads, that lets customers call businesses straight from their news feed.

Nowadays, there is no need to drive to the mall or even visit a retailer’s website, when you can buy anything you want or need through social media and on mobile. This not only saves time, but it accomplishes two things at the same time: it provides the shopper information and reviews about products, and also influences them through social media marketing techniques.

Part of the changing shopping process is due to millennials, and their constant use of social digital tools–social media is the best way to reach them. According to the research, what has the greater impact on shoppers is the retailer’s social media activity, and not the retailer’s website. The retailer’s social media account can be thought of as the digital voice of the retailer/brand, if you will. Having active engagement on the platforms, and interacting with users creates a more intimate relationship with the consumer. If this is not reason enough to invest in active engagement with fans via social media, you should keep on reading.

Social media has the ability to influence trial of new products and brands. Shoppers say that Facebook is the most influential platform to their shopping decisions, followed by Pinterest and Google +. Twitter, although not so influential during the shopping process, Millennials say it is still influential in other aspects.

“Social as part of the shopping journey improves the experience and informs the purchase decision,” said Kim Finnerty, senior vice president, research and insights at Epsilon.

This research is just another reminder for marketers to maintain their social profiles active, not only sharing information about their products and advertising upcoming sales, but constantly engaging with their followers…the potential shoppers that are waiting to be influenced into buying your products or services.

To read more about Epsilon’s Digital Shopping Tool Impact Study, visit retailingtoday.com.