The Impact Of Social Media On Consumer’S Decision

Introduction

In today’s technology-driven reality, social media has become an associate degree avenue wherever retailers will extend their marketing campaigns to a wider range of consumers. New technology is growing very fast and digital business already plays an important role in many developed countries such as Pakistan. In past few years, new technology development has enabled people to interact with each other in a virtual environment and has completed changed the use of web services. Social media can be defined as a website or application, which allows users to participate in social networking by creating and sharing content.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube are most known website that are mostly used by our young generation these days. Nowadays consumers trust a lot of user’s review and online consumer recommendations on social media websites instead of traditional media before making a purchase decision. Social media is not only used to catch up with people or engage with friends and family anymore. In past few years, it has become a place where people, government and organizations can interact with each other.

The growth of social media has not changed the purchase decision process of customers itself. However, it has completely changed the purchasing pattern. For example, it has empowered the word of mouth by becoming a place where customers can make recommendations and evaluate the products. Social media has created an opportunity for companies to create brand visibility and make their customers become brand advocates. Brand advocates are committed customers with strong convictions about the given brand, whereas influencers show less passion for the brand.

Social media network is a tool that enables people to edit and share content. Therefore, social network is a platform n which people openly claim what they think and what they believe in. Social influence is the reason why people are so responsive to online review and online customer’s opinion. Human being is destined to live in the public eye and youngsters these days speaks to the essential age conceived since the entry of Internet, and first to experience childhood in a period of worldwide intuitiveness.

Also, they have eagerly grasped the Internet and web based life as a methods for accomplishing connectedness and overseeing associations with companions and colleagues. With the far reaching utilization of web-based social networking over the different parts of life in both our social and expert limits, it is amazingly essential for advertisers to know the parts of the online life condition to effectively speak with the young who are currently using this new, comprehensively complex stage.

Consumers have three main motives for using the internet as a medium, namely, information, entertainment and social. Social media boosts the flow of communication by encouraging contributions and feedback from everyone. The relationship between social media and consumer decision making present that social media affects attitudes, brand attitudes, and purchasing intentions of consumer. Social media influences the way youth behave during the different stages of their purchase decision-making process. It has changed the consumer’s behave in their consumptions. Social network is a platform on which people openly claim what they think what they believe in. Social influence is the reason why people are responsive to online review and online customer’s opinion.

By expanding the social border, social media networks also expands the impact and importance of social influence on individual. Maschio (2013) take note of that the improvement has absolutely affected the business brands cape, particularly mark interchanges. Effective brands in a scope of classifications are currently attempting to encourage the ascent of innovative advanced networks in which individuals contribute information, skill, and counsel on online gatherings, Facebook pages, and computerized connects to wise articles, books or dialogs about the universes that brands live in and youngsters and different purchasers can perceive new needs via web-based networking media when 'surfing' on some interpersonal organizations, for example, Facebook where they can see companions showing pictures of items they purchased or utilizing the like catch to specify brands that they like for instance.

Heinonen (2011) states that that social media, as a new component, has more sophisticated the time honored buying process theory wherein the buying attitudes are not wedged just by the normal channels however reach the web platforms. Online world has become a new kind of social communication, connecting individual to variety of online communities such as virtual communities, blog, and online social networking sites which provides a platform that influences consumer’s purchase decision. The market so, has totally different online social networking websites that has grown. Businesses have created social media a priority they has been effective at following their successes on the platforms.

A buying decision process includes problem recognition, information, search, alternative evaluating, purchase decision and post purchase behavior which a customer goes through when buying a product. It is important to understand how young online consumers perceive the factors that influence their attitudes, as this determines social media marketing communications content, and also assist in improving the effectiveness of online strategies. Lahore, Pakistan, as well is not left behind , and the Pakistani youth nowadays connect through social media to make their decisions based on social media platforms Retailers do struggles to tap the competitions in current time.

Factors Influencing Consumer Buying Decision

• Culture

Culture may be defined as the “personality of a society”. It is broad pervasive in nature , inclusive in language, customs, and tradition, norms and laws, religion, art and music etc. it also includes the interests of people., the work practices and orientation, and also their attitudes towards general and specific issue. The countries have become more culturally diverse, thus the marketing campaigns are now aiming at defining the target markets according to cultural diversity. The human societies usually exhibit in the form of social classes consisting of members who share similar values, interests and behavior. For marketers, it is important to understand characteristics of social classes, because social classes show distinct product and brand preferences in many areas such as clothing, home furnishing, leisure activities and automobiles and also media preferences.

• Social Group

The consumer interacts with their primary groups such as family, friends and co- workers. Then comes the secondary group that are religious group and professionalism that require less interaction. But in country like Pakistan religion also have a huge influence. According to many researchers the family is the most important in consumer buying reference group and the consumer is mostly influenced by family and religion mostly in Pakistan. Parents have been found that they have high influence on children especially when it comes to buying. But when it come to buying they also asks friend if they have purchased or used the product.

• Psychological Factor

Consumer psychology is an important characteristic in buying decision process. Most customers, even the most rational ones, will somehow be influenced by emotions or recommendations of peers. For instance when someone is browsing through Facebook without any intentions of buying a product and when he sees the product or a live demonstration of anything by a celebrity or a friend on social media, one would definitely think through buying decision by emotions when he looks at the features and also the review about the product.

Social Media Influences on the Pre-Purchase Stage in Buyers Decision Process

Different model and theories have explained consumer’s purchase decision process. Study of consumer behavior has shifted from why people purchase to consumption behavior. Furthermore, the important aspects of consumer behavior is market segmentation because consumers within the segment are more or less similar in terms of products needs consumer’s physical and social environments which have huge influences on consumer’s purchase decision and can make a big difference in their desire and motives for product purchase.

The buyer’s decision are affected by numerous events from their environment, the commercial environment consists of marketing activities of various firms by which they attempt to communicate the buyers. They argue that from the buyers point of view, these communications come to the buyer through either brand objects such as price, quality, service, distinctive, and availability or brand presentation through media or salesman.

Social media has a social interactive tool which is effective source to acquire information about the products at different prices and evaluate brand choices to make a purchase decision. These tools are soon as more reliable and trustworthy source as a opposed to company websites for gathering product and brand information. They are also used for passing and sharing information among users, so online recommendations and comments that are shared through these tools also create a valuable source while making purchase decision .

Conclusion

Social media has become an important tool for information search. Social media has a great influence on consumers especially when they are buying a product for the first time or specially when the product is expensive because these factors tend to make a consume search for more information. This indicates that social media can influence consumers in their information stage. If social media allows companies and consumers to have communication, consumer might trust another consumer more than the corporate.