Influences of social media on decision making process

Social media is a tool to influence, engage and attract customers. It is the involvement of customers in social networking activities that allows for the creation of friendships between strangers (Eid & El-Gohary, H., 2013). In marketing, the term “engagement” is widely used.

When people receive a message, they comment on it, set reactions and send them to friends.

Thus, marketers' decision to create virtual communities was based on allowing consumers to disseminate and share product information, not just read it (Agresta, 2010).

Thus, online communities are becoming more and more popular. Consumers, creating groups, shape tastes and share impressions of product quality (Solomon et al., 2010). According to Hawkins & Mothersbaugh, collaborative decisions are decisions made with family, friends, and colleagues (I. Hawkins, D., & L. Mothersbaugh, D. 2010).When choosing a particular product, consumers primarily collect information in traditional media: newspapers, magazines, television advertising (Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G. 2014). However, social media is becoming more and more popular and can influence the consumer's choice to buy a product or service (East et al., 2008).

The rapidly evolving means of communication have changed many aspects of life. In the 21st century, social media is helping people to express their beliefs, thoughts and ideas in new ways (M. Saravanakumar and T. SuganthaLakshmi, 2012). In addition, they influence the decision-making process, namely, they affect the attitude towards advertising, consumer buying intentions and attitude towards the brand. The level of consumer involvement not only influences the decision-making process, but also mediates (Taining, Y. 2012). It is needed to understand that every consumer is also an Internet user. The online consumer is more demanding, strong and practical in relation to their choice than the offline consumer (Koufaris, 2003).

People have to make many decisions every day that are related to their daily life. The buying decision-making process can be influenced not only by cognitive and emotional aspects, but also by family, friends, advertisements, idols, as well as mood and situation. Consumer preferences change with a variety of factors affecting life (Schiffman, L., & Kanuk, L.L. 2010).

Thus, Kardes, F., Cronley, M. and Cline, T distinguish several stages in the purchase decision-making process: problem recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision and post purchase evaluation (Kardes, F., Cronley, M. and Cline, T., 2011). In order to feel satisfaction from the perfect purchase, the consumer needs to go through all the stages of the process, because the stages are interconnected (Karimi 2013).

• Problem recognition: the need, desire or problem to buy something new is the first stage in the decision-making process. There are several factors that can influence problem recognition such as social, cultural, environmental, and control groups (Kardes, F., Cronley, M. and Cline, T., 2011).

• Information search: the stage at which the buyer begins to look for additional information about a product or service, showing increased attention or actively collecting information (Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G. 2014). The source of information can be both internal and external. The internal is based on existing experiences and memories, while the external is characterized by shopping, word of mouth and social media (Kardes, F., Cronley, M. and Cline, T., 2011). The Internet has become an integral part of information retrieval. Thus, search direction and level depend on the type of purchasing decision (Hawkins & Mothersbaugh, 2010).

• Evaluation of alternatives: the stage at which the collected information is used to evaluate alternatives. Consumers base themselves on the satisfaction of their needs and

desires, and also appreciate the importance and significance of the selected products (Kotler, P. & Armstrong, G. 2014).

• Purchase decision: the stage at which the consumer has made their choice and is ready to buy a product (Kotler, P. & Armstrong, G. 2014). The choice is based on certain criteria that consumers have collected from various sources. The Internet remains the most effective (Hawkins & Mothersbaugh, 2010).

• Post purchase evaluation: the stage at which the consumer evaluates their satisfaction with the purchase made. Every aspect is taken into account from the information found to the product characteristics (Hawkins & Mothersbaugh, 2010; Kardes, F., Cronley, M. & Cline, T., 2011).

A study by Fauser et al. showed that at each of the stages, marketing activities can be carried out that influence the purchasing decision (Fauser, S.G. Wiedenhofer, J. & Lorenz, M. 2011):

• There are a product overview and many applications provide exclusive offers to consumers (e.g. Twitter) on social media at the problem recognition stage. In addition, the pages of popular platforms contain content that acts as a media hub, it is encouraging the consumer to make a purchase;

• In the information search phase, blogs and wikis are the most commonly used by consumers, because these platforms generate the most information about a product or service. Useful information can also be found in fan pages of social networks or while watching videos on YouTube;

• During evaluating of alternatives, the consumer may be influenced by the reviews and ratings of other users in the social networking communities. Also, users can get an independent opinion, as well as feedback and participation in active communication, which facilitates the decision;

• At the purchase decision stage, the role of social networks is weakened, however, users can still ask a question about the product on the fan pages of companies, before the final decision;

• The most important stage is the post-purchase. At this stage, customer loyalty increases, turning regular customers into brand fans. On social media platforms, companies connect with consumers and also strengthen relationships (Fauser, S.G.

Wiedenhofer, J. & Lorenz, M. 2011)

Social media has significantly influenced the purchasing decision-making process, from post-purchase behavior to the problem recognition stage (Mangold, W.G. & Faulds, D.J. 2009).

After all, social networks are not only advertising, but also the connection between the user and the brand, which is established through communication (Vinerean, Cetina & Tichindelean, 2013; Mersey, R., Davis, Malthouse E. & Calder B., 2010). Such a connection is two-way, because it is created between the company and the consumer, allowing the transfer of information or a product, and also to receive feedback (Leeflang P., 2014). More and more consumers are turning to social networks for information about new brands, products, promotions (Kunz, M.B. & Hackworth, B.A., 2011).

The buyer can solve the arising problems with goods or services with the help of feedback in social networks. Comments and responses create a brand image in which other people make a purchase decision. In this case, every detail is important, because the purchase decision depends on it (Sema P., 2013).

Figure 5: Most popular product categories in Russia and Europe in 2018, by category

Source: Statista, 2018

Figure 5 shows that in 2018, the largest sales volume was in the clothing sector, the indicators were comparatively the same in both Russia and Europe. The top three in terms of sales also included beauty products and electronics. In Europe, in addition to demand for clothing, there was also a demand for books and shoes, respectively (Statista, 2018).

2.2.1. Impact of social media marketing activities on consumers

In the vastness of social networks, people connect with each other, creating a consumer group (Trusov, M. Bucklin, R.E. and Pauwels, K., 2009). Social media marketing is attractive because brands can influence consumers. It was social networks that opened up the possibility of direct communication between the brand and the consumer (Brandz, 2010).

Gruber notes that one of the most effective marketing tactics today is social media marketing (Gruber, F., 2014). 88% of marketers say social media use is “very important” or “somewhat important” (State social, 2019). Statistics show that 78% of consumers make a purchase decision based on social media posts (Saleh, K. 2018). While 54% of those surveyed use social networks to get information about products (Beer, C., 2019).

Haque, Khatibi and Mahmud have identified the main factors that drive consumers to shop online:

• Internet marketing environment: attractive interface and variety of platforms;

• Product characteristics: the presence of product characteristics that meet Internet criteria: appearance and sound.

• Brand familiarity and confidence: determine customer satisfaction from the purchase made;

• Promotional offers: inform the consumer about the existence of the brand in the market, as well as about possible discounts and promotions (Haque, Khatibi and Mahmud 2009).

The presence of the above factors has a positive effect on consumer buying behaviour, increasing brand loyalty (Haque, Khatibi and Mahmud 2009). Moreover, people perceive product information better in two-way communication. Consumers not only receive a message about the product, but also establish a connection with them (Gruber, F. 2014). Companies receive inquiries, complaints and compliments about the brand, which they process and respond immediately. Feedback is a good opportunity to be closer to people and communicate with them faster (Melbourne 2019; Kaushik, R. 2012). Another integral part of marketing is honest reviews and brand evaluation (Smith, K. 2020). Products and services can be described with different characteristics, but customer reviews and comments are likely to attract the most attention (Evans, 2008). Therefore, it is very important for companies to treat any comments professionally, this will lead to a positive reaction from the buyer (Smith, K. 2020).

Moreover, engaging in social media content creation has a positive impact on consumers. They are part of the marketing efforts because they create, edit and share information about products and services. Believing that their information is more trustworthy than messages generated by companies. Thus, consumers who interact with social media respond better to social media marketing because they feel belonging and involved (Ziyadin, S., Doszhan, R., Borodin, A., Omarova, A., & Ilyas, A. 2019; Akar, E., & Topçu, B. 2011). Therefore, the number of subscribers on social networks, reviews and “likes” allow consumers to find all the necessary information about the product and to be involved in the process (Fauser et al., 2011).

Social media marketing can measure customer satisfaction. Thus, companies have to constantly monitor market trends in order to assess the quality of their marketing campaigns. Companies track reader growth, click-throughs, and time spent on a page. Table 3 presents social media metrics across different social networks. All these indicators can be measured by analytical tools StatCounter or Google Analytics, which indicate the effectiveness of the interaction of marketing strategies (Brown, E. 2012).

Table 3: Social media metrics

- Number of URL click-throughs - Range of Influence – your people who

follow your followers

Facebook

- Number of page fans (people who like the page)

- Number of topic discussions - Number of comments / likes YouTube

- Number of views

- Number of channel subscribers - Number of comments

Despite all the benefits, it is needed to be careful when using marketing. One cannot deny that, today people are overloaded with information. They receive messages from private, government and non-profit companies. The media, social media and online blogging are making their mark. (Peter Ling, Steven D'Alessandro and Hume Winzar, 2015). On the one hand, companies strive to create attractive advertising on social networks and attract as many new customers as possible, creating all the conditions for comfortable communication. On the other hand, aggressive marketing and invasion of privacy have negative consequences for people (Bolotaeva, V. and Cata, T., 2010).