Social Media Doesn’t Drive Purchases?

I don't really think the sites they considered as social media actually drive purchases. I bought a few things influenced by some sort of “social media”, but it was either review sites (yelp, amazon), blogs of people I respect or by way of links shared on Twitter.

If you broaden the definition to encompass these things (media created by people with social actions attached to it) instead of focusing on social NETWORKS, then you might have a very different picture.

I think you've nailed it. The respondents simply don't think they're being influenced. Take TV ads, ask 100 people if they feel like their buying decisions are influenced by TV commercials and you'll likely see similar numbers. Now ask them “who can save you 15% or more on your car insurance?” and I bet they remember.

Good post. I look forward to seeing the research that compares what people think they do with what they actually do. I notice the recent Forrester B2B research showed a similar disparity: two thirds said they used social media, but they said it had very little influence on buying decisions. Would love to see someone measure this gap.

Interesting comments, Jordan. I happened to glance at the survey as posted by Knowledge Networks from the link you provided and a lot of the information is questionable. First, the survey covers such a broad demographic 18-54, not just 18-34 upon which much of the stats you provided are based. There could be a huge change in results from that range of a demographic. Also, even if the survey results were accurate for the entire demographic, social media is about communicating “with” an audience, not at an audience. It's not advertising as the survey suggests. Even if a majority are going to say that it doesn't influence their purchasing decisions, how do they validate when something is influencing them or not? Must the marketing piece have a call to action? What if the communication came from a person, not a corporate sponsor? Social media is word of mouth marketing, just via a non-traditional venue – the web. The stats on word of mouth marketing influencing purchasing behavior are astounding. Just because something is “advertised” on a social media site, doesn't make it social media. Social media is about the interaction and influence on those sites. The true measurement of social media driving purchases can be found in the analytics, not simply from surveys that treat social media as advertising via a social network. Radian6, Blog Council, WOMMA, and other organizations have great info on how social media drives sales and these findings are based on analytics, not random surveys. When businesses can see the difference between SMM and advertising, then they can more clearly define what to measure and in turn, drive more sales. Thoughts?

Nice work Jordan. Appreciate the research you've put into it.

How do you ask questions about making travel or food decisions but not include social networks that are specific to those areas. Yelp and tripadvisor should be on the list at the least.

You know, the wording on these survey questions, as well as the psychological framing of the subject before the question was asked, is hugely influential on the answers people give. I can certainly understand why <5% of those polled would answer “No” to “Do you regularly turn to these sites for guidance on purchase decisions?” What is 'regularly'? Do I consider them 'guidance'?

I'd be quite interested in the percentage of the _same_ people answering yes to the question, “Have you found information or reviews from these sites useful or helpful as part of any of your purchase decisions in the last 12 months?”

I think you'd find that people integrate the comments, feedback, reviews and opinions of their friends on social networks into their purchase choices more than this survey seems to present.