Social Media and Consumer Products
The prevalence of social media today has a big effect on the way companies advertise their products to consumers. Social media has evolved from a simple means allowing people to catch up with their friends to one of the largest marketing areas for many businesses. Research has shown that “71% of consumers are likely to purchase an item based on social media referrals”. Of the many things that social media offers, one of them is allowing users to keep up with trends and styles. Whether the links are strong or weak between the user and everyone else in his social media network, things they post can have an effect on what the user buys. Before making a purchase, many people consult their family and close friends on social media for advice and these strong ties influence their buying decisions.
However, many consumers can also share information and product reviews on social media to people that they are simply acquaintances with. These weak ties, and sometimes local bridges, still give consumers more feedback and information that ultimately affect what they end up buying. 78% of people said social media posts from companies impact their decision and studies show “human beings in general have a crowd mentality”. People form groups and within these network groups, people are convinced to buy something if their peers have already bought it. This shows the importance of social networks and how information flows to a user from all the connected nodes around him. Because of this, many companies today focus their advertising and marketing strategies on social media websites and rely heavily on consumer reviews to endorse their brand and product. When advertising their products to consumers, the company has to come across as credible and trustworthy. This is much easier to do when someone the user trusts gives positive feedback on the product. Consumers are more likely to trust and to be influenced by the nodes they are connected to than by a company that they have no relation to.