MUMBAI: How much does talking about brands and products impact sales? And how do businesses tap into this power? Over 90 per cent of shoppers actively seek out comments about brands, products, or services on social media before arriving at purchase decisions, according to a recent research study. 68 per cent of those surveyed said their impression of a brand was changed as a result of experiencing brand conversation, according to the study undertaken in collaboration by Publicis Media & Twitter. Over half of shoppers consider brand conversation on social media impactful as per traditional reviews.
Twitter teamed up with Publicis Media to survey 9,600 consumers on six social platforms across the US, the UK, India and Mexico, to understand how brand conversations on social impact consumer decision-making and sales. The study uncovered several findings that point to the power of social brand conversation. The research aims to understand how brand conversations on social impact consumer decision-making and sales.
71 per cent of people surveyed felt they are more likely to consider brand conversations before a purchase journey begins. While the data shows the influence of brand conversation is high before or early in a purchase journey, it decays over time. This indicates that always-on engagement is key and can even kick-start buying decisions.
According to the study, content and sentiment matter with 86 per cent of “very positive” conversations being considered as ‘memorable’ by respondents. Whereas only 49 per cent of “very negative” conversations are considered memorable. Three in four brand conversations resulted in more positive brand sentiment, as per the study.
The research also corroborated brand conversations on Twitter as driving people to buy, with 60 per cent of purchasers who recalled a conversation on Twitter said it made them much more likely to consider the product they bought.
Publicis Media Services India CEO Tanmay Mohanty said about the research, “In a world where interaction, opinion and communication are vital, this is the reason social media platforms are still seeing growth and can influence & shape consumer views and decisions.”
“This groundbreaking study with Twitter illuminates how consumers actively seek opinion on brands on social platforms, and how social chatter can influence decision-making and purchase and build trust and popularity for brands,” he further said.
Further insights, outlines and explanations on the research can be found in the blog post: #LetsTalkShop: How brand conversation powers shopping (twitter.com).
