Shoppers stop Facebook brand interaction
More than 40% of Americans use social media to shop – the equivalent of some 95 million social shoppers – and that number continues to rise. In fact, when asked how often social media is used to shop today compared to one year ago, almost three-quarters of respondents to the Leo Burnett/Arc Worldwide SocialShop study confirmed they are using it more frequently.
But brands need to work out what social shopping behaviour is all about.
“People assign a different purpose and expectation to each social media channel they use,” says Masha Sajdeh, strategy sirector at Leo Burnett/Arc Worldwide. “Once marketers understand how people use social to shop, they can hone their marketing strategies and cater to different shoppers’ needs to drive engagement now and in the future.”
For brands, using social media in the wrong way can have a negative impact – 44% of social shoppers say they have stopped interacting with brands on Facebook due to lack of relevant or valuable posts.
“It’s no secret that social media is top-of-mind among brands,” says Sajdeh. “What isn’t widely known is how brands should use social media to serve the needs of shoppers.”
“Fifty years ago marketers figured out that broadcast media drove awareness and print media added depth of communication,” says Nick Jones, head of retail Marketing for Leo Burnett/Arc Worldwide. “Now we have all of these new social communication channels but no one has identified the optimal role of each.”
