Opinion: Reel to Real - How social media influences buying behaviour

Prerna Aggarwal of Campus Activewear talks about how increased reliance on social media is influencing consumers' buying behaviour and how brands are leveraging this enormous potential.

Today, the ambit of social media is not limited to just networking or communicating. Its power has transcended beyond traditional boundaries as consumers are increasing their reliance on social media platforms to get an enhanced online shopping experience and make better and informed purchase decisions.

There are already over 4.26 billion social media users across the globe and the numbers are projected to reach almost six billion in 2027. With the world increasingly integrated in a digital ecosystem, businesses are more engaged via social media as they recognise the impact and influence on consumer’s purchasing behaviour. Brands are leveraging the enormous potential of social media and opportunities to be more competitive, drive sales and foster stronger relationships with their customers.

Enhancing customer journey with seamless online experience

From easing product discovery online, making purchases simple, sharing reviews, and recommendations, social media has transformed the customer journey into a seamless and hassle-free experience. It has also emerged as a powerful tool for brands to drive awareness, encourage consumers to buy products online, listen to their issues and address their challenges to expand business objectives.

With social media, customers can avail products at their fingertips, learn about the brands, listen to their stories and get more credible and trustworthy feedback from their peers or favourite influencers to make informed and better buying decisions. Additionally, the consumers are able to do better research, get exactly the product they want, compare it with other options, solve their doubts and can instantly go ahead with the purchase.   

Social media humanises brands by connecting them with their customers on a personalised level. It enables two-way communication and delivers greater consumer experiences. Post-pandemic, brands are now increasingly aware of their customer journey via retargeting ads, digital shopping journey and social media engagements. With social media, brands get to know what matters the most to their consumers, achieve more personalization in offerings and expand their consumer base for staying ahead of the curve in a highly competitive environment. 

Also Read: Opinion: Optimizing a CTV Ad campaign for a PAN-India audience

Social media influencers taking it to next level

Acknowledging the fact that social media users are interacting actively with online influencers, brands are utilizing influencer engagement to achieve their desired goals. They are partnering with content creators across platforms including Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and others to maximize their online presence, reach their target audience in an engaging manner, build brand awareness, credibility and earn customers’ trust.  

As social media influencers enjoy a large number of followers that can go into millions, partnering with them and getting them to discuss or recommend the brand and its products can result in positive outcomes by reaching out to a large audience at a much faster rate. As recommendations from a trustworthy and popular influencer are crucial in influencing purchase choices, a positive endorsement can definitely act as a catalyst to encourage sales and facilitate interaction between brands and customers. 

A recent report from Dentsu India re-iterates the fact that 70% of consumers’ purchase decisions are a result of influencer marketing, and creating brand awareness has been the primary objective for influencer marketing. The fashion industry ranks fourth in terms of utilising the power of influencer marketing (12.1%) among other industries. With the rise in adaptive and immersive technologies like AR, VR, and MR (Mixed Reality), the trend is on a steady rise, due to which social media platforms like Snapchat have also gained significant traction for marketing activities.

In today’s digital age, social media is undoubtedly revolutionizing consumer buying behaviour. No doubt, reels/short video format content have made a significant impact on consumers; 33% of people find SVF content more appealing. As the use of social media platforms increases, consumers will become more dependent on them; as consumers actively seek influencer reviews before purchasing anything. Social media provides consumers easy access to a wealth of information, reviews, and recommendations, which greatly influence their purchasing decisions. Thus, it has become an indispensable tool for brands to connect with consumers and influence their buying decisions.

This article has been authored by Prerna Aggarwal, Chief Marketing Officer, Campus Activewear

Disclaimer: The article features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the stance of the publication.