Social Media Users Actively Seek and Share Advice

Social media is an excellent platform for consumers to both seek and share advice. It serves as a useful tool for consumers to navigate through the assortment of product choices by relying on their connections for guidance. Guidance can be a recommendation, exposure to a brand or product through an uploaded photo, or simply a reference made in a personal profile. Social media has also become a terrific channel for consumers to voice their opinions about companies and products. As a result of the large number of social media users who discuss brands on social networking sites, companies should assist social networkers during the purchase process, encourage satisfied customers to share their experiences with the social media community, and finally, monitor the conversations in order to optimize their marketing strategy.

According to our Social Media Research Services, S-Net, 20 percent of social media users say they seek advice on social networking sites prior to making a purchase decision. However, the types of products or services social media users ask about can vary. For instance, 47 percent of respondents look to other social media users when considering a home furnishings purchase (e.g. furniture, lamps, curtains, decorative items), but only 25 percent seek advice on social networking sites when contemplating an apparel purchase (e.g. clothing and accessories). Companies with customers who regularly turn to social networking sites for advice can utilize various strategies to not only assist those looking for advice, but also to make sure their company and products are part of the conversation.

Companies can assist social media users during the purchase process by making their sales representatives more accessible through social networking sites. By providing guidance to those in the purchase process, companies end up creating a more dynamic two-way relationship, similar to the in-store experience. In addition to helping consumers navigate through the assortment of product choices, customer service representatives can also help increase sales.

Companies could also assist those social media users looking for help by taking a more grassroots approach and encourage satisfied customers to connect and share their experiences with the social media community. Companies can encourage advocacy by providing users with an incentive to share their positive experience with the brand by rewarding them for tweeting/posting about their latest purchase. Satisfied customers can serve as brand advocates by virally propagating the message and the product through social media.

In addition to seeking guidance on social networking sites, social media users actively share their advice with one another. According to the data, 32 percent of social media users say they have recommended a product/company to a friend through a social networking site. Furthermore, 32 percent of Twitter users and 20 percent of Facebook members say they have recommended a company/product/service once a week or more.



It is important that companies identify whether or not their target market shares advice on social networking sites, and listens to what consumers have to say. By monitoring the conversation, companies can revise their marketing strategy and gain a better understanding about how consumers navigate the purchase process.

Companies can take advantage of the fact that a large percentage of social networkers are turning to their social media outlets to both seek and share advice. They can begin to target social media users during the purchase process by making customer service representatives more accessible on social networking sites. In addition, companies can reward customers for sharing their positive experiences with the company/brand in order to help consumers navigate through the assortment of product choices. Lastly, companies can monitor what social networkers are saying about their brand and products in order to create a properly tailored marketing strategy.