Can
Social Media Help You Sell?
There are very few Internet users who are interested in buying based on
product promotions on social media sites. While 83% of the Internet
population (ages 13 to 54) participates in social media – 47% on a
weekly basis – less than 5% of social media users regularly turn to
these sites for guidance on purchase decisions. A new report by
Knowledge Networks reveals this on May 20.
According to the report, only 16% of social media users say they are
more likely to buy from companies that advertise on social sites.
With
similar findings
research firm
IDC says ads on social networking services
(SNS) have lower click-through rates than
traditional online ads and they also
lead to fewer purchases. IDC
expects that lower-than-average ad effectiveness on SNS will continue to
contribute to slow ad sales unless publishers get users to do something
beyond just communicating with others.
Even
YouTube, a seemingly popular social media site for
video sharing, is struggling and costing the owner Google
$1.65 million a day. The revelation comes from Internet Evolution that
discusses the future of Internet.
"Social
media use" was defined by Knowledge Networks as having visited any one of 27 social sites or
having used social features on other sites. Participation in social
media is indeed widespread among those 13 to 54; but when Knowledge
Networks asked users whether they regularly turn to these sites when
trying to make a purchase decision, the highest percentages among nine
categories were 4%, for travel and banks/financial services. Responses
for clothes/shoes, restaurants, mobile phone services and five other
categories ranged from 1% to 3%.
Here’s
proportion of users who turn to social media when making purchase
decisions (Figures in % “Regularly” and “Sometimes” turn to social
media):
-
Travel or travel services (4 and 24)
-
Banks or financial services (4 and 10)
-
Clothes or shoes (3 and 23)
-
Eating out or restaurants (3 and 21)
-
Cell/mobile phones and service (2 and 21)
-
Personal care products (3 and 15)
-
Cars or trucks (2 and 15)
-
Groceries or food (2 and 13)
-
Prescription or OTC drugs (1 and 10)
"How
often do you refer to social media websites or features as a resource
for information, reviews, or recommendations when in the market for
(category)?" Base: Social media users (N = 418)
The
study, How People Use Social Media, was produced as part of The Home
Technology Monitor, a service that provides views of which media
technologies people own or have access to, as well as how they are
integrating those technologies into their everyday lives. The research
was conducted from March 10 through 16, 2009, among 502 members of
KnowledgePanel, an online panel based on a representative sample of the
full U.S. population.
Almost
two thirds (63%) of social media users agree that ads are a "fair price
to pay" for use of these sites and features; but a much smaller
proportion (16%) say they are more likely to buy from advertising
brands. "Staying connected" – to friends and family, as well as meeting
new people – is by far what is "most liked" (54%) about participating in
social media.
The
study also shows that:
- 34% of social media users
report using these sites or features more often now compared to a year
ago, while 18% said they use them less
- just 1% of the total
online population – and the same proportion of social media
participants – uses Twitter once a week or more
- 60% of social media
participants say they only access these sites and features at home
The
report covers topics such as how social media use affects media choice,
feelings about advertising on social media, and differences between
users and non-users of social media.
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