Facebook Influences Buying Decisions More Than 7 Other Social Media Platforms Combined

Despite a spate of privacy gaffes in recent history, people still turn to Facebook more than any other social media platform to inform their buying decisions, according to a survey from The Manifest, a business news and how-to website. This trend occurs even though anti-Facebook sentiment, such as the #DeleteFacebook movemen continues to gain momentum.

The research found that consumers are more likely to make purchases from companies they follow on Facebook (52 percent), than on Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, and Reddit combined (48 percent).

Some digital marketing experts attribute this to Facebook' status as the largest social network. Worldwide, Facebook had more than 2.41 billion monthly active users (MAU) as of June. This is an 8 percent increase year over year.

This comes as a surprise to me, because I know far more people who have abandoned Facebook in the past few months than who have joined it, but stats are stats, and who am I to argue with them?

"Facebook is a legacy social media platform that many generations go to, and the formatting of posts probably attracts those with a higher intent to purchase because it tends to feature long-form content," said Andrew Clark, marketing strategist at Duckpin, a digital marketing agency.

But that is not the only business case for establishing a strong social media presence. Regardless of the platform, social media as a whole makes it easy for people and businesses to communicate and presents businesses with the opportunity to establish authentic connections with consumers. As a result, 67 percent of people have made a purchase after seeing an advertisement on social media, The Manifest's research found.

"Social media makes people feel closer to a brand, and it makes people trust a brand," said Scott Levy, CEO of Fuel Online, an SEO and digital marketing agency. "The whole idea is not to use social media as a selling platform but to provide value to people."

Companies, therefore, should cultivate a strong social media presence by creating advertisements and connecting with influencers.to help them increase brand awareness and attract new customers, researchers suggest.

Most consumers interact with companies on social media by liking posts (51 percent), leaving reviews (31 percent), mentioning brands on their own profiles (22 percent), direct messaging companies (20 percent), and tweeting at companies (18 percent).