SEO

How Social Media Affects the Consumer’s Decision to Buy

Google recently came out with some research called Zero Moment of Truth that very clearly and convincingly lays out the business case for social media and how it impacts the consumer’s buying journey.

Google states that the Zero Moment of Truth is the moment when a consumer picks up a laptop, mobile phone or other wired device to research a product or serve and then decide what to buy.   The research shows that more and more, people are making their buying decisions well before they get to the store.

Recently, I’ve been telling anyone who will listen (ad nauseum, perhaps) that there’s been a fundamental shift in how consumers gather data and how they’re using that data to make buying decisions for products from new cars to ball point pens.

They are increasingly turning to online social interactions to check out ratings and reviews (which is a form of social sharing) for opinions on products and services and searching what a brand’s Facebook Pages or Twitter account has for deals and insights as to what’s new.  They’re also using sites like YouTube and Vimeo to research how-to videos or demos on how products are used. Here’s some interesting stats that highlight this behavior:

  • 70% of Americans now say they look at product reviews before making a purchase
  • 79% of consumers now say they use a smartphone to help with shopping
  • 83% of moms say they do online research after seeing TV commercials for products that interest them

All these social interactions can be quickly and easily found using search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo. For a long time the conventional wisdom was that people won’t go out of their way to research things like laundry detergent and butter but in fact they do.  Google’s research clearly shows they do.

The graphic below shows when those Zero Moments of Truth are happening:

Average purchase cycles for three diverse categories

If you don’t believe what Google’s saying, the Harvard Business Review came out with some research from McKinsey & Company that supports Google’s thinking. (See my recent article Consumer Decision Journey in the Digital Age)  They’ve actually documented this behavior in 2009 and Google backs up their assertion that brands need to be at that digital evaluation process or Zero Moment of Truth when the consumer looks for information.  If a brand isn’t showing up when consumers do their search, they are losing sales.

Where social media really makes its impact is in the advocacy phase of the consumer’s buying journey after they’ve taken advantage of a service or brought a product home and used it.  If they like it (or not) they will go on Facebook, Amazon.com, Twitter, blogs, Consumer Reports, or brand website and let you know what they think.  And for the first time in history, this word-of-mouth communication is being digitally archived making one person’s advocacy someone else’s Zero Moment of Truth.

I highly recommend you check out Google’s research (it’s free), watch all the videos and read it in its entirety.  This Zero Moment of Truth will become, if it’s not already, the most important impetus for a customer to buy your company’s goods and/or services.

Can Google’s +1 Rival Facebook’s “Like”

Looks like Google is attempting to match Facebook’s “like” with their own version called +1.  I can’t think of a more confusing name but I’ll wait to see it before passing judgment.  Google has yet to release it so here’s a brief preview of what +1 will do and what it looks like:

[facebook_ilike]

LinkedIn: The Forgotten Social Channel

linkedin logoWith all the hoopla surrounding Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube many companies seem to forget the one social channel that’s probably most relevant to their sales activities; LinkedIn. Many companies are still trying to figure out how to make social media relevant to their business and are dipping their toe in the social waters by first throwing up a Facebook Fan Page or a Twitter account. However, they’re not thinking of how they can strategically utilize LinkedIn.

What I’m finding with many of my clients is that they don’t realize all the tools available on LinkedIn and how it can actually help address their company’s objectives. In fact, I’ve put LinkedIn at the top of most of my client’s social networking priorities, as it’s been a great tool for:

  • Delivering sales leads (B2B focus)
  • Driving web traffic
  • Enhancing SEO
  • Researching competitors
  • Finding service providers
  • Recruiting employees
  • Conducting market research

I’m still amazed at how many companies never stop to consider how they use LinkedIn as an organization and how their employee’s professional connections can help them with opening doors to such things as potential clients, new employees and prospective vendors.

Consider how many people are in your company and then think about how many people they have in their professional network and you then start to realize the power of the LinkedIn. Just look at your LinkedIn Network Statistics and you’ll find how many people you’re separated from by 2 or 3 degrees. I have around 480 connections and through them I have over 73,000 2nd degree connections with whom I’m a phone call or e-mail away from being introduced. Now think about how many connections your employees have and how powerful that network can be to your business.

LinedIn Network Image

You’ve probably already heard quite of lot of buzz about how LinkedIn can help network into a new or better job but consider how it can help your company reach its overall objectives. Here are a few useful resources to get you started: