The Influence of Social Media
The influence of social media is extremely powerful. I have bought three products online that my friends have recommended. I wanted to write a post that could apply to everyone, and not just do a product review of the items iv’e bought. In this post, I’ll share how social media influences purchasing decisions and how you can use that as a lesson on how to enhance your social media strategy.
To date I’ve bought a Pebble Smart Watch, an iPad Keyboard (via Groupon) and mot recently, a subscription to dollar shave club all because of what my friends posted on social media. I put high trust in what my friends say and I’m more likely to purchase something they recommend rather then something I see/hear an ad for. I can ask them questions about how they like it, and if it’s worth buying. I also feel a sense of camaraderie because my friends and I can talk about the product. How can you apply this notion to your social media campaign?
Let’s use SociallyGold as an example. My target audience are those looking to enhance their social media strategy. If I can incentivize my fans to post about me on their social media pages, their friends will be more likely to read the blog if they fall into my target audience. The influence of social media will convert them into a fan. Another example will be if students of my social media course post on their social media pages how much they learned. The influence of social media will cause their friends to sign up, more so then if they saw it in a Google or Facebook Ad.
Dollar Shave Club is a fairly new concept that I heard about on the radio listening to Howard Stern, but didn’t pay much attention to. A friend of mine posted that he is a member, and long story short, I signed up because of the influence of social media, not the radio commercial. Now him and I can bond over our smooth faces and cheap razors. If you shave and want to save money, check out the Dollar Shave Club.
I work for an apartment management company and we use this strategy quite often. We ask our residents to write on their Facebook page about how much they love living at the community. The idea is to get their friends to see it and ask those that posted what it’s like to live there. We use the “Friends Make The Best Neighbors” campaign to get our current residents to use the influence of social media to refer their friends.
Featured Fans Section is how I am going to use this the influence of social media for my blog. I have had a lot of people tell me that they have learned something, but I want to capitalize off of that. Those that have learned something can write a paragraph about what they learned and include a link to their website (which incentivizes them). Once posted on my blog, I’ll ask them to share it on their social media channels, which will influence their friends. Contact us if you are interested in being a Featured Fan.
Has the influence of social media encouraged any of your purchasing decisions? Let us know in the commets.
See Also:
3 week online social media Course
How to optimize Facebook Events
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Facebook