Everyday, businesses are using social media as a tool to help increase brand awareness, engage in conversations/gather feedback from customers, and influence purchasing decisions. Businesses know that consumers are using the internet (and social media) to gather information and make informed decisions about a product or service. But the question still remains: how does social media influence businesses and their marketing strategy? Does it make a difference? According to a recent infographic by Go-Gulf.com, social media definitely influences businesses and the way that they make marketing decisions.
Key Statistics/Findings
- 27% of total online time is spent on social networking
- Social media produces almost double the marketing leads when compared to trade shows, telemarketing, direct mail and PPC
- Marketers are using social networking sites to find customers. In 2013, 53% of marketers have found customers via Facebook (with LinkedIn coming in second place at 43%, and Twitter in third place at 36%)
- When it comes to purchasing decisions, 81% of individuals surveyed were influenced by social media posts by friends. 78% made purchases based on company’s social media posts.
- The top three reasons why marketers are using social media sites are: 1) to generate business exposure, 2) increase traffic, and 3) gain marketplace intelligence.
To learn more about how social media influences businesses and their marketing strategies, check out a full version of the infographic below.
Infographic by- GO-Gulf.com