Twitter Shares New Research into the Roles that Social Media Engagement Has on Purchase Activity

Twitter had conducted a new study into the impact that brand mentions within tweets have on actual shopping behaviors, and whether product discussions in the app lead to conversion.

In order to provide some deeper perspective on this, Twitter partnered with Publicis to conduct a study of more 9,600 consumers from the US, the UK, India, and Mexico, in order to determine how they view brand mentions in social media apps, and the influence that such actually has on their actions.

You can check out Twitter’s full study here, but in this post, we’ll take a look at some of the highlights.

First off, Twitter says that 92% of people surveyed actively seek out comments about brands, products, or services on social.

“More importantly, 68% said their impression of a brand was changed as a result of experiencing brand conversation.”

This underlines the power of being present within social apps, and in particular, being available where customers are seeking out information. If a customer is looking for info about your business or services, and you’ve worked to cultivate a strong community and/or presence, that can have a significant impact on consumer impression, which can influence their behavior.

The study also shows that the majority of respondents felt that brand conversation on social apps had more impact than reviews hosted on purchase pages.

Though I would suggest the wording here is relevant – product reviews ‘on a purchase page’ specifically is different to reviews in general. But even so, the data does show that people are looking to glean insight into brands/products within social apps.

The data also shows that social conversation is most impactful early in the purchase journey, underlining the value of social as a brand building tool.

The chatter around your products is impactful, and can play a big part in driving consumer action – which is why building a presence and cultivating a community is important in digital marketing outreach.

And interestingly – particularly for Twitter – the study found that positive conversation is remembered far more than negative.

Given the general consensus that Twitter can be a negative space, it’s relevant to note that people aren’t necessarily seeking out negative discussion or mentions in the app. And while criticisms and issues can still have a big impact on perception, if you can create a positive brand experience, that will likely be a more influential factor.

Twitter also says that conversations about social issues and cultural events are also powerful drivers of consideration.

“There’s big upside for companies to find their voice and take action when appropriate for their brand.”

This has been underlined in various Gen Z surveys, that younger consumers, in particular, want to spend money with brands that align with their values. An important note to consider.

The data also shows that 60% of purchasers who engaged with a brand via tweet said that it had some influence on their activity.

“This all supports advice we’ve long upheld: Businesses who establish and communicate their mission, values, and points of view are well-positioned to leverage conversation. Authenticity counts. Trustworthiness counts. Who you are – and how you show up – is every bit as important as what you sell.”

These are some interesting notes about the modern purchase process, and the value of establishing a brand community and presence to reinforce your products and services, and cultivate support and endorsement.

That’s not always easy, but there are ways to utilize social apps to connect with your target market, and those efforts can have a big impact on your bottom line, even if you can’t always make a direct connection between such.

Some valuable notes, worth considering in your approach.

You can read Twitter’s full ‘How Brand Conversation Powers Shopping’ report here.