3 Things You May Not Know About Social Shopper Marketing

Social media in its simplest definition is communication turned to conversation through technology. As word-of-mouth has always been one of the most (and in some cases, the most) persuasive tools in the path to purchase, manufacturers and retailers alike have cast a global-sized net vying for collective attention and trying to morph social media into earned media. What's been fascinating of late are three curious trends impacting socialized purchase behavior: the evolving role of Facebook in the shopping process, the redefinition of media influence and the way retailers are "out-socializing" brands in the mobile space.

Here are three things you may not know about social shopper marketing:

1. Ninety-six percent of people who "Like" a brand page never go back to that page. Many briefs we come across have "increased number of Facebook Likes" as a quantitative metric. However, interestingly enough, it's yet to be proven that a Like immediately translates to purchase. There have been arguments made by ComScore and others that concur that Likes on Facebook for brands increase brand awareness, affinity, loyalty and purchase intent.

However, a recent article in Mediapost explores the fact that changes to users’ news feeds make earned media like that a much tougher proposition, as only 4 percent of people return to a branded page to immerse themselves. As "social" shopper marketing can only be successful through shared engagement along the path to purchase, the dearth of return visits indicates that marketers need to post more relevant content and spend time on how to be relevant to both create and identify opportunities. More young people like Starbucks on Facebook than actually step foot in one of the chain's stores, but their "shared interest" in the brand suggests that the intent to purchase is there when they have the chance to go inside.

2. There's a defined generational gap not only in how Canadians research products, but also in the definition of media itself as an influencer. A landmark study was published earlier this year by the Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms. The research focused on the dynamics of influence on Canadians’ shopping habits, examining media influences, "circles of trust" and the impact of social media on the buying process. There's a hierarchy of influence in the average consumer's path to purchase, with Twitter as the least influential, followed by Facebook, then blogs and finally a company's website as the "go-to" source of information during the prepurchase phase.

However, all of them are outranked by traditional TV, radio and print editorial content. What was equally revealing was the emphasis younger Canadians place on various tools in the pre-search influence. It was reported that a significant portion of Canadians aged 18-34 view blogs, YouTube, Facebook and company websites as credible sources of news, even more in some cases than traditional media outlets. This suggests the boundaries of credibility between content and opinion, authenticity and credibility, and impact and influence are now and forever blurred as well as viewed differently by different demographics. Social channels are now not only gaining influence over consumers’ purchase decision-making processes, but they're also, in effect, shaping them based on a different platform of authenticity and trust.

3. Retailers are socializing the mobile space better than brands. Shopping apps are on the rise, with downloads doubling since last year. With all of the apps being developed by individual brands who are jumping on the mobile bandwagon, we're starting to see the limitations of what an individual brand can achieve in the shopper marketing space. Many branded apps are great tools — e.g., recipe builders, price comparisons, etc. But there are very few, if any, ways for people to connect with one another through the app to drive next-level purchase intent.

Canadian Tire was one of the first retailers in Canada to not only have a mobile app, but also a social tool with scanning functionality that could automatically cross-reference a UPC with a user-generated product review in-store. Wal-Mart has set up @walmartlabs, a separate division made up of acquired companies to combine social, mobile and digital with the explicit purpose of owning the landscape of retail. Wal-Mart is experimenting with mobile app building and data harvesting that will be used to give shoppers information while in-store, including what brands their friends bought on their shopping trips and how much they liked a certain product in a certain section of the store.

Many brands are leveraging real and virtual "shopper communities" to gather data, float product and pricing initiatives, and spread incentives. It's a pity that individual brand teams aren't able to harness that power and translate it into mobile apps that can help connect communities in-store or, even better, through the entire path to purchase. In a social media sense, it's definitely an idea worth sharing.

Jason Dubroy is vice president of shopper marketing at DDB Canada. Jason can be reached at jason.dubroy@ddbcanada.com.