Source:  http://www.prweekus.com/Study-finds-social-media-equally-influential-to-conventional-outlets/article/126482/

excerpt

The “Tech Decision Maker” study found that decision makers consider their personal experience (58%) first when short-listing tech vendors, followed by word-of-mouth and industry analyst reports, tied at 51%.

But a nearly equal number of respondents cited user-generated media (28%) and traditional media (27%) as most influential in purchasing decisions. Advertising (17%) and direct marketing (21%) were listed as the least important information sources when short-listing vendors.

continue reading about the impact of social media

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examples include Amazon (reviews of reviews) and MyFaveThings Facebook app (users show what they have and what they want so their friends can simply “buy what he bought”). The concept is simply that modern consumers turn to their peers (instead of advertisers) to get ideas (awareness), advice (consideration), and recommendations (choice) during their purchase process. This can come from direct friends, from experts, or from collections of total strangers. The social actions of these groups help move the potential customer closer to the purchase expeditiously.

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social-intensity

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social networks – the places where people go online to socialize

social actions – the act of socializing on social networks

social intensity – the frequency and quantity of social actions; this can/should be a new KPI (key performance indicator) for marketers to assess whether digital marketing efforts are working and yielding positive results against business objectives

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social networks – the places people go to socialize like Facebook, MySpace, etc.

social actions – the things people do when they are on social networks

social marketing – the act of stimulating more social actions that yield awareness, purchase, and advocacy/loyalty for brand advertisers

social media – it’s NOT media, so stop using the word media! (see Social Networks Aren’t Mediahttp://www.clickz.com/3631391 )

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