THATBlog

The opportunity to drive sales with social media is huge. However, the opportunity to waste a lot of time and money is equally as large if you don’t understand what consumers want from brands on social media. This goes way beyond the type of content you publish. Brands are always under a microscope and can sway buyers with a single post. Let’s find out how!

Brand Behavior Influences Buying Decisions

Everything a brand does on social media has a certain level of impact on the buying decisions of the digital consumer.  A recent study shows that 48% of consumers prefer buying from brands that are attentive and responsive to their customers via social media.  Willingness to digitally engage helps instill trust which makes consumers more likely to buy.  There are a few other interesting insights from the data that are worth reviewing.

• 48% of consumers are more likely to buy from brands that are responsive on social media
• 46% of consumers are more likely to buy from brands that offer promotions
• 42% of consumers are more likely to buy from brands that publish educational content
• 38% of consumers are more likely to buy from brands that share interesting visuals
• 36% of consumers are more likely to buy from brands that are funny
• Only 10% of consumers are more likely to buy from brands that trash-talk their competitors

The key takeaway here is that your brand is more likely to positively influence sales if they publish content that has value, is educational, is visually appealing and they offer a high level of customer service.

Consumers Have Little Tolerance for Bad Behavior

People are bombarded with so much content from so many sources on social media and will disconnect with brands that rub them the wrong way. Over half of people in a recent study said that they will immediately unfollow a brand that irritates them.

• 51% of consumers will unfollow a brand that irritates them
• 27% of consumers will mark annoying content as spam and block the brand
• 26% of consumers ignore the content and take no action
• 23% of consumers will boycott an irritating brand
• 22% of consumers will post a negative reply to the content
• 21% of consumers will share the experience offline
• 19% of consumers will share the experience online

Digital consumers have so much content coming at them and they will not hesitate to disengage with brands that offer annoying or offensive experiences.

Understanding what consumers want and how they react to experiences is key when trying to drive sales with social media. While most marketers will say social media is a place to connect and not sell, the reality is that we are all battling for attention to convert impressions into sales. If you can find the sweet spot between offering valuable experiences and a solid sales proposition, you just might increase business with social media!