The purchasing power of social media

By understanding how consumers process product information, or more simply, how their purchase decisions are influenced, we can then plan our campaigns that reach their target audience in the places where they are influenced.

A lot has been said and written about the decline in influence of the traditional media and yet more still about the rise in online search technology, and the mass adoption of self-publishing tools and interconnected networks of individuals that have helped contribute to the traditional media’s demise.

But to what extent is that true and how does it affect a consumer?

Any communications activity should not be isolated within channels. Rather than create separate online and offline campaigns brands should create campaigns that draw no distinction between the channels deployed. Consistent stories should be told across all the media that reach your target. What you do offline should also be visible online.

When thinking about purchasing goods or services in general, how influential are these sources in helping you make your purchase decisions?

It is proven that young consumers are more influenced by the traditional media than their older counterparts. Over half of consumers under the age of 35 express a desire to interact with brands via social networks.

In Oman newspapers and magazines advertising is still more influential when making purchasing decisions. Is it because consumers do not wholly accept what they read online until they have checked the facts in the traditional media?

Online advocacy is now the most influential source of information for consumers (26%). Online advocacy is defined as online user reviews and recommendations. This is remarkably consistent across the western world, with every market citing it as the most influential source of information. Similarly, every market agreed that the second most influential communications channel on their purchase decisions was their friends and family (20%).

Online advocacy also demonstrates that consumers check out facts and opinions in print, on the radio and TV as well as the Web. Therefore a truly consistent and complementary brand story must be told across channels both ‘old’ and ‘new’.

The growth of digital media has driven consumers online to research and validate their purchasing decisions. This is an enormous opportunity for marketers in Oman to identify and mobilise advocates for their brands. I think some companies are slowly realizing it so soon we might see a “social media rush” in Oman?