How does social media influence the buying behavior of consumers?
Various factors draw attention to a particular product so that the product is eventually bought. Most producers use social networks as a promotional tool because they are the most affordable and effective way of promotion, especially if the target segment is young people. However, more and more the older segment of people are becoming users of social networks. Nowadays, more and more people shop online, through social networks or web shops of certain stores, which indicates the importance of the online environment for customers/consumers.
Social networks represent the most popular activity on the Internet and are used by almost 2/3 of the total Internet population. Social networks are divided into general and those with a profile purpose. Today, there are a huge number of different social networks in the world. The popularity of certain social networks depends on numerous factors, the main factor being age groups. Different age groups also use different social networks. In the continuation of the paper, the most important social networks in Croatia are presented.
One of the most famous social networks by far is Facebook, which attracts a huge number of users of almost all age groups.
Facebook is a social network whose basic idea is to connect people who already know each other in real life and to enable users to connect and adapt with people who are close to them and who work, study and live around them. Facebook is free to use and generates revenue from patrons and advertising.
YouTube
YouTube is the most famous video-sharing and consumption social network where users can upload, view, and rate videos completely free of charge. YouTube gathers many users who search, share, comment, and like video content. YouTube is the second most used search engine in the world after Google — and it records one billion registered users per month, 6 billion hours of video content are viewed per month, and more than 4 billion videos per day, and uploads 100 hours of video material every minute.
Twitter is a social network that sends and receives short posts called tweets that can be up to 140 characters long and include links to other websites. This social network is free and can be used via the web, various desktop applications, and mobile phones.
Instagram enables users worldwide to capture, edit and share their photos and videos with their followers. As with most popular social networks, using Instagram is free for everyone. Instagram offers users the option to choose whether their Instagram profile will be public or private. Anyone can follow users whose profile is public, but if the user has a private profile, users who want to follow him must request permission.
TikTok
TikTok is a mobile app/social network for creating and sharing short videos. It was launched in 2017, by ByteDance — and from China, and soon became the fastest-growing social network. This mobile application enables the recording of short videos of 15 or 60 seconds and offers users the option to choose between songs, and other people’s voice recordings or can record their own. Users usually choose well-known songs and trends or dances. There are numerous options offered by this application, some of which are: slowing down or speeding up the video, cutting the video, and using various filters and effects. Similar to other social networks, the recorded records can be seen by the user’s friends.
In recent years, a presence on social networks has been part of the marketing mix of almost every business that seeks direct contact with its customers. Depending on the business model and target group, companies must be active on appropriate channels and communicate with their regular and potential customers. The high level of interaction is a significant difference between social and traditional media such as newspapers, magazines, radio and television. Depending on which social platform it is, text, images and audio or video materials are used as the main means of communication.
Marketing on social networks today is an indispensable part of the communication strategy of successful companies, and it implies using social networks to connect with customers, build a brand, increase sales and many other activities that social networks provide to companies.
Advantages of social media marketing:
• two-way communication
• increasing product or brand recognition
• increase in web traffic on own pages and strengthening of e-trading
• successful launch of new products
• creation and verification of ideas
Despite the wide availability of products that today’s consumers can purchase from the comfort of their own homes, there are still some products that consumers prefer to buy in a physical store. Research has shown that most consumers prefer to buy food, paper products and cleaning products in a physical store rather than online because these are essential products. Some of the reasons why some consumers are more motivated to buy in a physical store are: trying the product before buying, enjoying going to the store, avoiding delivery costs and buying the product on the spot. However, some consumers are more motivated to buy online, and some of the reasons are: the possibility of comparing prices, saving time, avoiding crowds, reading reviews before buying a product, and convenience.
The Internet represents the fastest growing medium ever, and today it is almost impossible to imagine life without it. The possibilities offered by the Internet are countless, and for many companies it represents an excellent opportunity to promote products and services. Today, all successful businesses are present on the Internet. In addition to promotion via the website, companies are increasingly using different social networks for their own promotion.
Social networks play an important role in today’s world because they have given people a completely new way to connect and communicate. Making contacts and maintaining various interpersonal connections has never been easier thanks to the massive use of various social networks. There are few users who do not have a profile on at least one social network. Social networks are the most popular activity on the Internet and are used by billions of people around the world.
In addition to entertainment, communication, and connecting with friends, social networks have become the base for many businesses as most of the business world events take place online. Advertising through social networks represents a very dynamic marketing area because they offer numerous possibilities and various ways a company can communicate with the target group. Each company has the task of choosing a social network that fits its business model, pipelines, mission and target group. In addition, it is important to define the audience and create exciting content that will attract them and provide useful information. A high level of interaction and the ability to target the audience are just some of the many advantages that this type of marketing provides, and this is exactly why advertising through social networks is much better and more effective than classic forms of advertising, both for the company itself and for the potential audience.
Literature
- https://ligsuniversity.com/blog/the-impact-of-social-media-on-consumer-behavior
- https://www.clootrack.com/knowledge_base/how-does-social-media-influence-consumer-behavior
- https://www.nosto.com/blog/how-does-social-media-influence-customer-behavior/
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2022/04/28/how-social-media-impacts-consumer-buying/?sh=6662af95337d
- https://www.searchenginewatch.com/2020/11/20/how-social-media-influence-71-consumer-buying-decisions/
- https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-consumer-behavior/
- https://www.clootrack.com/knowledge_base/how-does-social-media-influence-consumer-behavior
