Assignment

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EFFECTS OF SOCIAL NETWORKING ON MARKETING

Effects of Social Networking on Marketing

Consumer purchase intentions

Social networking has changed the relationship between marketing of brands, and consumer purchase behaviors. Nearly all brands and products are available for customers on the social media stage. This twenty-first century technology provides purchasing options for consumers, because it allows them to control how they purchase goods and services from “brick and mortar” corporations.

Through the social media platform companies create strategies to analyze, and understand their target market. Studies conducted by DEI Worldwide (2008), reveal “seventy percent of customers refer to social media sites to obtain information, and forty nine percent of consumers make purchase decisions based on information obtained from social media sites.” The same study suggests sixty percent of consumers use social media to transfer information to other individuals, and forty five percent who searched for information on social media sites are involved in oral advertisements. Social media has therefore transferred power from firms to individuals, and can greatly have an effect on the popularity of a commercial brand (Kim & Kou, 2012).

The majority of consumers obtain information about the products, goods, and services they use on social media. Therefore, firms must identify consumer purchase intentions, and the influence of social media. As a result of the significant influence social media has on the purchase of goods, organizations who discount social media’s strategic marking prominence are not reaching a growing consumer nugget.

Factors which influence consumer purchase intentions include, product purchase value, communication rate of the product on social media, and product brand (Wei & Wang, 2012). Each factor is studied independently with relation to purchase intention, because of the distinct influences it has on consumer purchase intentions.

References

DEI Worldwide (2008). The impact of social media on purchasing behavior. Engaging Consumers Online, 1. Retrieved from http://www.deiworldwide.com/files/DEIStudy-

Kim, A. J., & Ko, E. (2012). Do social media marketing activities enhance customer equity? An empirical study of luxury fashion brand. Journal of Business Research, 65(10), 1480- 1486.

Wang, X., Yu, C., & Wei, Y. (2012). Social media, peer communication, and impacts on purchase intentions: A consumer socialization framework. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 26(4), 198-208.