How Brand Engagement on Social Media Influences Purchase Behavior

Social media has a profound influence on customer purchase behavior, find out how to use brand engagement to improve your customer buying experience.

The wide-spread usage of the internet has influenced almost every industry and transformed many processes. Another milestone in business transformation is the creation of social media because it changed the way people communicate and made contacting the audience directly on a global scale even easier.

However, this directness also meant that businesses needed to become more customer-oriented and create tailored solutions for their users. To comprehend just how much social media and brand engagement has influenced customers’ decision-making process, here is an overview of some key points together with some suggestions.

The return of word-of-mouth

Marketing started from word-of-mouth by housewives and craftsmen suggesting to their friends and family where they can purchase quality food and materials and has since grown into strategic machinery involving many elements and individuals. This was the original form of brand engagement; however, with the appearance of social media, businesses have recognized an opportunity to connect to their customers directly and the most successful ones have been active on their profiles ever since.

Being essentially a network of people, we can think of social media as a market place, just on a global scale so a word-of-mouth recommendation means a lot to modern consumers. If they see a person they admire has become a brand ambassador, they will hurry to that brand’s social media profiles to see what they offer and this is where the key to future conversions lies. Recognizing the right individuals to represent your brand on social media is a vital element to your marketing strategy.

I want it all and I want it now

Social media offer us a variety of options to express our opinions and emotions but has also influenced our perception of time. If you install an app to track the number of times you visited your social media profiles, you will most probably be surprised by how much time you spend there. It’s almost like you are present there all the time so it becomes natural to expect that others are there just as much.

This attitude created a need for instant reactions and communication and any brand that has a social media profile needs to be ready to respond to users’ questions as soon as possible or otherwise they might turn to another brand. However, if your brand is perceived as active and attentive on social media, you will ensure that almost everyone who asks a question transforms into a customer.

Changing the rules

Customers are single-handedly changing the rules in the business world. They have certain expectations and if they are not fulfilled, they will place another brand on a pedestal. Naturally, changing brands is not an impulsive decision but a result of strategically finding ways to overtake competition but it can come as a surprise to those who think that they can stop advancing because they reached the top.

To surpass your competition and remain on top, you need to work hard and step up your game. Social media are a perfect means to ensure visibility and customer retention so you can, for instance, organize a competition for the most original brand-related content. To motivate loyalty, make sure that each interesting photo and video get featured on your profile and that you prepared a special reward, such as a personalized prepaid visa card, which can be reloaded if need be. Your customers would definitely love the fact that they have a say in the gift they will receive.

First name basis

To create the perfect purchase experience for your customers, they need to feel appreciated. They need to feel as if every post was tailored to their wishes and that each photo reflects their own opinion and aesthetics. In the sea of people, they want a customized approach and products to make them feel their purchase contributes to your brand and that it matters.

To be on the first name basis with your customers, you need to get to know them. Pieces of information such as their age, gender, occupation, and country can all be used to create a more personalized approach and to choose the right social media channel for your target audience. If you manage to incorporate all these elements in the right manner, you will have no problem retaining current customers or attracting new ones.

Transparency is the best policy

People let other people in on their lives by sharing their everyday activities and thoughts over social media. Although it is arguable whether those are genuine or edited pieces of someone’s routine, that is still much more exposure than before. Genuine or not, baring their lives led to customers expecting businesses to accept a higher level of transparency than before.

Sharing your production processes in a video over social media, such as Dior did for their bags, will win you over many customers because they would love that behind-the-scenes approach. Also, customers nowadays demand to know when they would receive a response if that response isn’t instant, as well as transparent delivery dates. Of course, some secrets of the trades need to remain unknown but if you explain that to your customers, your brand will be perceived as even trust-worthier.

Conclusion

Being present on social media has become mandatory for any business which wants to stay relevant. The competition in the business world is harsh in any industry so it is also the question of survival. Your brand’s social media profile should reflect your brand’s identity but the format in which you will present it needs to be appealing to your audience.

Your customers’ purchase behavior is shaped by many elements and if they are satisfied with your products and the entire customer experience you provided them with, they will share their opinion publicly. However, they will do the same if they have had a negative experience so you need to dedicate some time to concocting just the right social media marketing strategy to boost your sale.