3 Things You May Not Know About Social Shopper Marketing

Social media in its simplest definition is communication turned to conversation through technology. As word-of-mouth has always been one of the most (and in some cases, the most) persuasive tools in the path to purchase, manufacturers and retailers alike have cast a global-sized net vying for collective attention and trying to morph social media into earned media. What's been fascinating of late are three curious trends impacting socialized purchase behavior: the evolving role of Facebook in the shopping process, the redefinition of media influence and the way retailers are "out-socializing" brands in the mobile space.

Here are three things you may not know about social shopper marketing:

1. Ninety-six percent of people who "Like" a brand page never go back to that page. Many briefs we come across have "increased number of Facebook Likes" as a quantitative metric. However, interestingly enough, it's yet to be proven that a Like immediately translates to purchase. There have been arguments made by ComScore and others that concur that Likes on Facebook for brands increase brand awareness, affinity, loyalty and purchase intent.

However, a recent article in Mediapost explores the fact that changes to users’ news feeds make earned media like that a much tougher proposition, as only 4 percent of people return to a branded page to immerse themselves. As "social" shopper marketing can only be successful through shared engagement along the path to purchase, the dearth of return visits indicates that marketers need to post more relevant content and spend time on how to be relevant to both create and identify opportunities. More young people like Starbucks on Facebook than actually step foot in one of the chain's stores, but their "shared interest" in the brand suggests that the intent to purchase is there when they have the chance to go inside.