Social media has changed the shopping experience for everyone—brands, retailers, and consumers. Social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, Vine, Snapchat, Tumblr, and others are now a constant and significant influence on what, where, and how often consumers buy.
When we speak about the path to purchase in this article, we’re talking about influencing consumers before, during, and after their purchase—specifically in the social media sphere.
Stats are always a good place to start:
- 36% of the population use social media with their grocery shopping
- 80% of these users are CONSUMING (looking for coupons, deals, etc.) but only 20% are CREATING (generating content, commenting, posting videos, recipes, etc.)
woman_pushing_cartNot to diminish incentivizing fans and followers, but why so much “CONSUMING,” vs. “CREATING”? Brands are always talking about how they can better facilitate more engagement with consumers. But what they find is that the majority of consumers engage and respond primarily through promotional efforts. Here’s a shocker…consumers are not necessarily to blame for this. Shoppers have been conditioned by both brands and retailers to respond to what’s being pushed at them (promos, offers, coupons, etc.), instead of engaging, inspiring and conversing with them. Which would explain why the overwhelming majority of these people (92%) use Facebook—a place where they know they can find these offers.
This makes a case for more meaningful content. Sure, Facebook and Twitter are great venues for quick communication. But, other social platforms such as YouTube, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Instagram are better suited for more meaningful content. And emerging platforms such as Vine and Snapchat provide even higher levels of consumer interaction.
Some brands and retailers are using social mediums like Vine to effectively engage consumers with short, fun videos that provide shoppers with information and insights. Snapchat is being used to connect with younger shoppers on the go. And Tumblr is certainly emerging as a major player in the social space.
Remember, great content is relevant prior, during, and after shopping—inspiring recipes, relevant product information, cooking techniques, dietary trends, entertaining, events, and news— people love to talk about food. Give them the right venue to do so
