Connecting Social Media to Offline Buying Behavior
It’s increasingly clear that consumers’ behavior offline is influenced by their behavior—and that of their friends—on social media. A study ROI Research Inc. last year showed that most social network users are at least somewhat likely to take some kind of action when a friend posts a message about a product or a brand on a social media site. After following a brand themselves, 53% of Facebook users said they would purchase the brand or recommend the company or the product. And 58% of Twitter users said they would buy the brand or product.
Activities of US social network users after following a brand on Facebook or Twitter
| Activities | Twitter users | Facebook users |
| Talk about the company or product | 61% | 49% |
| Recommend the company or product | 59% | 53% |
| Purchase the brand/company’s product | 58% | 53% |
| Link to an ad for the company or product | 54% | 42% |
| Attend a promotional or sponsored event | 47% | 34% |
Source: ROI Research Inc., “S-Net: The Impact of Social Media.” Respondents were age 13+ who follow at least one company.
This study suggests that brand followers are influenced by not only by brands, but also by what their friends are saying. Clearly, marketers need to focus on both their own brands’ reach—for example, expanding followers and likes—and the broader influence that their followers have on their own networks of friends and contacts.
Marketers are reacting to these new developments by changing the way they think about how media work together to influence consumer behavior. For example, online video, which was at first viewed as a competitor to television advertising when it comes to media budget allocation, is now being seen as a complement to television advertising efforts. New research from Digiday suggests that advertisers and agencies are not so much shifting dollars out of television advertising to invest more in online video ads. Instead, the increased investment is coming from other online media, like display advertising channels. We can thus conclude that marketers view online video as an extension of television, and a fresh way to engage customers.
Offline still rules for marketers
But fresh research this year showed that, no matter how influential social media can be, most consumers are not talking about brands on their social networks. AYTM Market Research found that 58% of US Facebook users have not mentioned a brand on Facebook. When they do talk about brands, most of the comments are favorable (25%) or mixed positive and negative (16%). (Only .5% said they write nothing but negative mentions of brands on Facebook.)
Furthermore, the fact is that consumers still find out about brands primarily through traditional offline channels. Their top source is TV, radio and offline print media, which 16% of consumers say is the place where they first learn about new brands, according to the AYTM study. Next are word of mouth from friends and family, with 14.1%, and physical stores with 9.2%. Only 6.5% of consumers said that social media is the first place they find out about products and services.
Chart: Ways that US Internet users first learn about new brands
| Source | % Most frequently | % Often | % Sometimes | % Rarely | % Never |
| TV, radio and print | 16 | 34.9 | 31.8 | 13 | 4.2 |
| Word of mouth | 14.1 | 34.8 | 33.1 | 14.1 | 3.9 |
| At stores | 9.2 | 31.6 | 37.6 | 17.3 | 4.4 |
| Online media, like news sites, blogs | 9 | 22.6 | 35.4 | 22.9 | 9 |
| Online shopping sites | 8.6 | 21.8 | 30.7 | 22.1 | 16.7 |
| Social media like Twitter and Facebook | 6.5 | 17.6 | 26.5 | 23.4 | 26 |
| Online advertising | 5.7 | 25.1 | 36.2 | 24 | 9 |
Source: AYTM Market Research, “Brands and You in the Digital Age,” December 2011.
It appears we are swiftly moving toward a more fully integrated age, where social media are not just another online tactic, but are viewed as a regular part of a larger marketing mix, along with TV, print and outdoor campaigns. In this new marketing world, brands will apply each medium to its best use, and manage the entire mix as a whole, to acquire and retain customers.
One famous example of this integrated approach is the deodorant Old Spice, which has been running a hugely successful viral YouTube video campaign for over two years now. Its newest iteration, “Smell is Power,” features the former NFL player Terry Crews whose head literally explodes as he explains how Old Spice Body Spray will “blow your mind.” The same theme started running in television ads a few days after the YouTube launch, giving fans an early peek at an upcoming campaign, and sending thousands of fans scurrying to share the news with their friends online.
In this new world of integrated marketing, very likely broadcast advertising will be used for building awareness among new prospects, and social media will be used to build brand engagement, word of mouth and loyalty. In short, offline and online media will merge, and we will all be better off as a result.