How much impact does social media have on a shopper’s decisions? It turns out not very much.

A recent study from Ipsos OTX and Ipsos Global @dvisor found that only 22 percent of people are influenced to purchase something based on whether their friends on social media like or follow that brand.

While it’s good to see that company’s social media efforts are having some effect on shoppers’ decisions, 22 percent is a small segment of the overall Internet population, and it has to make companies wonder whether their money could be better spent elsewhere.

For instance, shoppers might be more likely to respond to a targeted text campaign than a stagnant Facebook page. That’s because consumers like being engaged, and unfortunately, a lot of companies don’t know how to properly interact with their customers on social media.

There are some companies that will benefit more from using social media than others. Companies that cater to younger consumers are on of them, as the report found that 23 percent of those under 35-years old are likely to buy something if a friend likes the product on social media. That’s compared to only 21 percent of those between 35 and 49-years old.

In addition, companies that sell products targeted toward females will have slightly better luck on social media, as the report found that 18 percent of women are likely to buy something because of social media activity, compared to 17 percent of men.

That means if your company is going to invest time and money on social media efforts, you should know who your audience is and who is most likely to pay attention to your presence on those sites.

It also means that you should then cater your social media efforts to the people most likely to purchase your product because they saw your company on Facebook or Twitter. That will help customers feel more engaged and make them more likely to share the fact that they like your company or your product, creating more potential business.

But if you’re one of the companies seeing little return from your social media efforts, you can try one of two things: either figure out a way to better capitalize on your social media presence by interacting more with consumers, or turn your efforts elsewhere.

If social media just isn’t working for you, there are other options out there, such as text messaging campaigns, email blasts, direct mail, and many others.

Citations:

• Image via Microsoft Office

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