Question

Impact of social media marketing on consumer buying behaviour

Answer 1

IMPACTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR. DECISION MAKING PROCESS. On a daily basis in present-day, 100,000 tweets are sent, 684,478 pieces of content are shared on Facebook, 2 million search queries are made on Google, 48 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube, 3,600 photos are shared on Instagram, and 571 websites are created (James 2012). The advent of social media has created a new landscape which lays out a new grid of personal connections. Businesses see enormous opportunities and are eager to tap into the trend, whereas consumers are put back to the center in the business world because of social media. There are many studies explaining reasons to tap into social media and to help companies to gain a better position in the transition; yet a few intends to study from the perspective of consumers, let alone those in Finland. Oftentimes, consumers feel differently from what marketers think, for instance what “brand engagement” via social media looks like to consumers may not be quite what marketers think (Sniderman, 2012). The objective of the research is to explain why, when, and how social media has impacted on consumer decision process.The theoretical framework rests on literature of consumer decision making process, social media, as well as previous studies relating to social media marketing. Quantitative research method is adapted for the purpose of this research. The empirical data was gathered by sending out questionnaire to individuals in Turku, May 2013. This research gives explanation on how individuals are attending, processing, and selecting the information on social media before a purchase. The findings indicated that individuals pursue an active role in information serach on social media comparing to mass media, yet information exposure is selective and subjective during the course of information search. Moreover, the empirical part of the research strives to provide insights to any companies that are trying to shift to or are currently participating in the new marketing trend. Findings and conclusions presented in the research are only valid within the population selection and cannot not to be generalized elsewhere due to the differences in environmental force