Selling in the Age of Social Media: Survey of 250 Consumers

Social media is increasingly touching every facet of our lives, from how we share stories to how we network with business colleagues. This article from Field Agent examines how social media impacts consumer purchase behavior. But instead of addressing the question generally, we specifically asked 250 U.S. adults how social media has influenced their purchases of OTC medications. From the best social media platforms for reaching customers to the role of word-of-mouth in social media marketing, we trust you'll find the results interesting and informative. 

Social media has undoubtedly changed the way America lives, works, and plays.

But what about the way consumers buy...and retailers and brands sell?

Some studies have painted an underwhelming picture of social media’s influence over purchase decisions. According to a 2014 report from Gallup, 62% of respondents answered “no influence at all” and only 5% answered “a great deal of influence” when asked, “How much does social media influence your purchase decisions?”

But, of course, not all social media messages and platforms are created equal. Some messages come from family and friends, while others are promotional messages sponsored by companies. And some social media platforms—whether Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram—are perhaps better suited for influencing consumer purchases than others. Moreover, it may be true that some product categories “sell” comparatively better through social media.

Field Agent recently surveyed 250 social media users to explore the impact of social media on their purchases of over-the-counter medications. We also asked questions to understand the role of different types of social media messages and platforms on consumers’ medication purchases.  

Last year, U.S. consumers spent approximately $40 billion on OTC medications (source: IRI). That’s a big pill to swallow. And provided the sheer size of the OTC market, it certainly makes sense to ask, “Does social media hold meaningful sway over the OTC purchase decisions of Americans?”

Getting Social with OTC Sales

We begin with perhaps the most fundamental question: Are social media messages effective at selling medications?

Field Agent asked our 250 respondents to identify how often, if ever, they’ve been influenced by company-sponsored social media advertisements and posts to purchase certain medications. Most fell in the middle, with 34% answering “sometimes” and 33% responding “rarely.” And while 27% said they have never been influenced by a company via social media to purchase a specific medicine, only 6% said it has happened “often.” There are, results suggest, certainly occasions when social media marketing proves effective at selling OTC medications, but, for marketers, this success may be comparatively hard earned.  

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Of course, not all marketing is done by companies. Sometimes, as with word-of-mouth, consumers “sell” to one another—through personal recommendations, opinions, and stories. Consequently, we also asked respondents how often they’ve been influenced by social media messages from friends/contacts to purchase certain medications.

The results were somewhat different from company-sponsored social media, with 42% answering “sometimes” and an additional 9% responding “often,” meaning that more than half responded at the upper-end of the scale. 23% said they’ve “never” been influenced by the social media messages of personal contacts to buy certain medicines. Given these results, it seems appropriate to consider the word-of-mouth potential of social media in greater detail.  

The Word on Social Media

As the most basic course in marketing teaches: There’s power in word-of-mouth. Consumers who don’t trust paid advertisements may very well listen to the suggestions and opinions of family and friends.

Word-of-mouth, of course, thrives on conversation. But today much conversation has moved online, to various social media arenas.

To gauge the word-of-mouth potential of marketing and selling OTC medications via social media, we first needed to know: Are consumers even willing to talk about sickness over social media?   

We asked our sample of 250 how often they’ve used social media to tell people they’re feeling sick. 45% responded at least “sometimes,” and only 27% answered “never.” At the upper end of the scale, 4% indicated they “always” report, and 14% they “often” report, on social media when feeling sick.

So, yes, conversations about sickness are taking place over social media among a meaningful number of consumers. But do these conversations ever lead to discussions about specific medications or even product recommendations?

Excluding those who answered “never” to the previous question, we asked all other respondents, “When you report sickness on social media, how often do friends/contacts recommend medications?” Notably, only 9% answered “never” for this follow-up question. All other respondents indicated that, at least once, someone in their social media network responded to their initial post with a recommendation about a particular medication. 18% responded at the upper-end of the scale (“always” and “often”), while 27% answered “sometimes.” 

Taken together, it’s seemingly apparent that enough people are having social media conversations to make a noticeable difference in OTC medication sales.  

But Field Agent also sought to understand which social platforms are perhaps most ideal for influencing the OTC purchase behavior of consumers. For each question we asked, far and away, Facebook came out on top. For instance, we asked qualifying respondents to tell us which social media they had used in the past to inform their networks about their poor health. 93% had used Facebook for this purpose, followed by Instagram at 26% and Twitter at 25%. No other platform (Google+, LinkedIn, Vine, Flickr) amassed more 4% for this question.

See also: Mobile Audits: Slay the Ugly Monster of Limited In-Store Vision

We also asked the full sample which one social media platform they feel is best suited for influencing their medication purchases. Again, Facebook took top prize, garnering 81% of responses. No other platform achieved more than 5% on this question.  

Information Please

Finally, our study also determined in general how consumers obtain product information on OTC medications, to further help us understand in context the role and potential of social media. 

Whether Facebook, Twitter, or some other social media program, just how likely are consumers to seek information about OTC medications through one or more social media outlets? From a list of seven options, ranging from doctors to search engines, we asked the full sample to identify all the sources from which they have derived information on OTC medications.

Of all options, social media (23%) came in last, behind doctors (72%), family/friends (70%), search engines (58%), and pharmacists (48%). Even health apps (30%) and visiting websites directly (28%) were slightly more popular than social media for obtaining information about OTC medications.   

Concluding Thoughts

Altogether the results from this study suggest that, although social media is not necessarily an optimal means of marketing and selling OTC medications, it is certainly not without merit. Whether through company-sponsored posts and advertisements, or through organic word-of-mouth conversations among friends, it is not, as shown, uncommon for social media to influence the OTC medication purchases of social media users.

The leader in mobile audits and research for over five years, Field Agent answers companies’ most pressing questions with location-specific in-store information and consumer insights. We harness the combined power of mobile technology and crowdsourcing to offer audit and research solutions faster and more affordably than conventional methods. And we never skimp on quality. So whether cough/cold, football kickoff, the holidays, or some other critical Q3/Q4 shopping event, rely on mobile audits and research from Field Agent to win the day.