It’s no surprise that word of mouth and recommendations drive purchases. Since people began shopping, they have asked friends and family for their recommendations on products, brands and services. The difference in today’s world is that individuals are just as likely to turn to the internet for those recommendations as they are their neighbors and family. In fact, 74% of consumers rely on social media to influence their purchasing decisions.
Social influencers are making an impact on shopping decisions each and every day. Who are they and what do you need to know about them? Social influencers are those with an online presence that consumers trust and turn to for information on products, services and brands. Social influencers can be found on blogs, Twitter and Facebook.
Bloggers can be a powerful force because their followers are willing to invest the time to read more than 140 characters and to really listen to what they say. Blogs with small but loyal followings are found to produce significant results in consumer influence studies. In fact, blogs are known to influence 31% of internet purchases. The importance of blogs on consumer online purchases ranks third behind only retail sites (56%) and brand sites (34%).
Influencers on Twitter are those who share, reply, link or generate compelling content that draws retweets and responses from their followers. On Facebook, the information these social influencers share gets liked, inspires comments and can be shared among groups.
What studies have found is that marketers are doing a poor job of reaching out to social influencers. One recent study found that 60% of marketers are expecting to raise their digital budgets by 40% or more this year.
So, how do you find and reach social influencers? Search those people who are following your social media sites. Reaching out to engage your most influential followers can help to increase your brand awareness. There are online tools that can help you to mine your followers making it easy to find social influencers relevant to your brand. Once you have identified the social influencers in your social sphere engage them. Your most passionate fans can be your biggest ally.
Planting seeds via social media and social influencers can impact consumer shopping decisions before they ever see your offer. Social media is a powerful force; use it to your brand’s advantage.
For assistance with social media monitoring and social media marketing, contact Qiigo today at (404) 496-6841.
