Understanding consumer behaviors inspired by social media is one of the most brilliant ways to know your ideal customers. Social media reveals a wealth of insights that marketers can use to increase brand awareness, nurture qualified leads, and influence more conversions.
Here are some stats that show how social media influences consumer buying behavior: 66% of customers say that social media images from other customers have inspired them to purchase products from a new brand.
Online stores with a social media presence are more likely to draw 32% more sales compared to those that do not have one.
Facebook is the most thriving social media platform when it comes to social commerce, with almost 85% of the social media sales coming from Facebook alone.
Positive reviews can boost conversions by 133% for mobile shoppers.
These stats make it evident that staying attuned to evolving consumer behavior is more of a necessity than a luxury in today’s social media-driven world.
In this blog, we will explore five ways social media has made an impact on consumer behaviors. But first, let’s discuss what social media consumer behavior means.
What is social media consumer behaviour
Social media consumer behavior refers to how people act and make decisions while interacting with brands, products, and services on social media.
This behavior includes everything from browsing and interacting with social media content to making purchase decisions. With social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter changing how customers find, assess, and purchase goods and services, consumer behaviors have changed significantly in the modern day.
Therefore, analyzing factors like social media trends, consumer psychology, and brand perception is essential to understand customers’ brand preferences, their responses to advertising campaigns, and how they share online experiences.
5 Ways social media has made an impact on consumer behavior
Here are five ways social media makes an impact on consumer behaviors:
1. Consumers invest in social commerce
Social media facilitates product discovery by exposing users to new products through targeted ads, influencer endorsements, and organic posts. Platforms like Instagram and Facebook enable seamless browsing, allowing users to explore brands effortlessly.
This has led to the advent of social commerce, a phenomenon where popular social media channels integrate shopping features, enabling direct purchases without leaving the app.
Interactive content, user-generated posts, and peer recommendations further drive engagement and trust, making it easier for consumers to discover and buy products within their social media feeds. This ultimately streamlines the path from discovery to purchase.
For instance, Natori, the women-built luxury fashion brand, registered a 100% increase in revenue within a few weeks of them implementing shopping features on their Instagram account.
2. Consumers trust influencer recommendations
Did you know that 70% of consumers believe that influencer marketing plays a major role in impacting their purchase behaviors? When influencers endorse products, their genuine and relatable recommendations resonate more than traditional ads, thereby building trust with their followers. This authenticity builds brand awareness, drives engagement, and encourages followers to buy the brand’s products.
Content made by influencers showcase real-life use and benefits, providing social proof that influences purchasing decisions. Thus, effective influencer marketing strategies help marketers tap into influencers’ established audiences, reach targeted consumers, foster trust, and drive conversions.
For example, Blue Apron, an ingredient-and-recipe meal kit service engaged 92+ influential YouTube food vloggers and 200+ Instagram content creators to expand its reach and ended up with 7.4+ million impressions, 42k+ clicks, and 1.9x ROI on its marketing budget.
3. Consumers depend on social media for customer service
Social media has revolutionized customer service interactions. Before social media, customers would have to connect with brands via phone or email, which came with the notorious wait times for a representative to answer questions. Following the rise in usage of social media, customers can now share their thoughts and raise their concerns simply by posting on these platforms and tagging the brand.
Thus, customer success driven by social media influences consumer behaviors by providing quick, accessible, and personalized customer support on social media platforms that foster loyalty and trust, improving customer satisfaction.
Furthermore, such positive interactions and transparent communication publicly demonstrate a brand’s commitment to customer care, encouraging others to engage and purchase.
For instance, Zappos, a popular clothing and shoes brand, uses social media channels like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to empathize with customer complaints and “wow” them with their service.
4. Consumers buy based on social proof
Social media is teeming with social proof, which is an increasingly important factor in consumers’ buying decisions. Positive reviews, testimonials, and user-generated content like photos and videos from real customers build brand credibility. Seeing social mentions from happy customers, especially from peers or influencers, assures potential buyers of the product’s quality and value.
Thus, social proof reduces uncertainty, making consumers more likely to choose a product that appears well-received, driving higher conversion rates and sales.
Take Daniel Wellington, the luxury watch brand, for example. The brand showcases a customer photo wall of pictures posted on Instagram on its website. Such user-generated content is a great source of social proof, enticing new visitors to purchase the product.
5. Consumers seek brands that embody their values
The new generation of consumers, i.e., the GenZ, are particularly concerned about a lot of important social causes, such as environmental sustainability, ethical labor practices, animal welfare, and more. This presents forward-thinking brands with a unique opportunity—talk about the values they pledge to on social media to create a memorable impression upon brand loyalists as well as new customers.
For instance, Nau, a Portland-based apparels company, portrays a commitment to creating versatile, functional, and durable clothing for men and women using sustainable materials like 100% recycled polyester and organic cotton. Nau also donates 2% of each sales to partner organizations, including EcoTrust, Mercy Corps, and People For Bikes. With campaigns such as #NauGiveback and #NauSustainability, the brand garnered thousands of impressions on Instagram and boosted their brand value and loyalty.
Bonus: How Keyhole can help you track consumer behaviour?
Keyhole is a social media analytics and social listening application that lets users monitor accounts, hashtags, and keywords on many platforms.
It mainly helps marketers, agencies, and brands, who want to tap into social media consumer behaviors to improve their social media strategies.
Some of Keyhole’s standout features include:
1. Social Media Listening
Keyhole lets you tune into global conversations, letting you know what people are saying about your brand, products, and competitors. This includes —
- Recording every brand mention and industry hashtag relevant to your business.
- Enabling you to spot trends in seconds by monitoring industry leaders, competitors, and opportunities to ensure your brand remains agile and relevant.
- Tapping into your audience’s emotions about your brand using sentiment analysis and thus, monitoring your brand’s online reputation effectively.
Keyhole’s campaign insights also help brands source top-performing influencers, track multiple campaigns, and access critical data in real time, thus allowing brands to refine their social media strategy for better engagement.
2. Social Media Analytics
Keyhole provides an all-in-one keyboard to track campaign performance and create comprehensive reports for Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn in minutes. This includes —
- Monitoring essential engagement metrics across all your social media accounts in real-time, understand the impact of your posts, stories, and hashtags.
- Maximizing your social interactions using the insights you gather so that you may post at the perfect time, craft content that best connects with your audience, and repurpose top-performing posts to drive better brand visibility.
- Customizing your social media reports with your own branding elements and exporting as Google Sheets, Excel spreadsheets, or a simple link with custom URLs to your dashboard.
3. Historical Insights
Keyhole reveals historical social media data, offering a full-picture view of what your audience thinks and wants.
This includes —
- Spotting market trends worldwide and how they integrate into unique local dynamics to help brands deepen their consumer understanding.
- Staying ahead of shifts in consumer trends and anticipating market needs.
- Empowering brands to create better-performing campaigns, collaborate with the perfect brand-fit influencers, and meet and exceed customer expectations with product innovation.
Final thoughts
Social media has completely changed the way consumers engage with brands and make purchasing decisions.
While consumers may now use social media to discover new products and gather information that helps them make informed purchasing decisions, brands who understand this impact may use social media to their advantage to stay ahead of the competition, increase conversions, and foster long-term relationships with their audience.
Thus, both consumers and brands may interact and learn about each other more readily.
Following the strategies highlighted in the blog can help brands listen to what matters to their audience and optimize their marketing and sales efforts. To stay relevant to the changing patterns in consumer behaviors, leverage a social media listening tool like Keyhole today!
Author Bio
Sapna Singhal is a Freelance Content Writer who specializes in writing data-driven blog posts around B2B Marketing and SaaS. She has over 5 years of experience in content writing and marketing. When she’s not writing, you can find her chit-chatting with her sisters or reading books!
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Frequently Asked Questions
1. How does social media influence purchasing decisions?
Social media influences purchasing decisions by helping consumers discover products, read reviews, and get recommendations. Brands use targeted ads, influencer partnerships, and engaging content to aid consumer research and decision-making.
2. What are the common behavioral trends among social media consumers?
Common social media user trends include a preference for short, visually engaging content, the rising influence of micro-influencers, the popularity of short-lived content like Instagram Stories, and a growing demand for social responsibility and authenticity from brands. Consumers also tend to follow trends and participate in viral challenges.
3. What role does user-generated content play in consumer behavior?
User-generated content (UGC) significantly influences consumer behavior by offering authentic and relatable customer experiences. Reviews, photos, and videos build trust and credibility for a brand, encouraging purchases based on real-life usage and testimonials from peers and influencers.
4. How do privacy concerns impact social media consumer behavior?
Data privacy concerns make consumers cautious about sharing personal information and engaging with brands on social media. Users may adjust privacy settings, limit interactions, or avoid platforms if they feel at risk. Brands must prioritize transparency and security to maintain trust.
