Study: Majority of Consumers Use Social Networks to Make Purchasing Decisions

Marketers, take note: a new study claims that a “majority” of consumers use social networks to make purchasing decisions. And no, we’re not talking about those small ads papering the right-hand pane in Facebook. All of our tweeting and Facebook commenting has real potential to sell stuff.

Gartner found that one in five people fall into three groups, which it dubs “Key Influencers.” These include salesmen, who, true to their name, try to persuade people that something is worth buying; connectors, who love introducing people; and mavens, those tech-savvy people always getting asked for technology advice. Gartner suggests that when companies are pitching their good on Facebook and Twitter, then, among other social networks, they should target the influencers, and not necessarily the buyers. In other words, word-of-mouth advertising is alive and well.