Facebook Offers Draw Young Shoppers to Local Businesses

August 14, 2014

This article is included in these additional categories:

Brand Loyalty & Purchase Habits | Digital | Local & Directories / Small Biz | Social Media | Youth & Gen X

G-ODigital-Youth-Influence-Local-Biz-Facebook-Marketing-Tactics-Aug2014Local deals and offers on Facebook have a strong pull with youth, says G/O Digital in a new survey fielded among 18-29-year-olds who own at least a desktop/laptop computer and a smartphone or tablet, and who have an interest in making purchases from local/small businesses. Of the various Facebook marketing tactics identified, respondents were most likely to ascribe influence to Facebook offers that can be redeemed at a local store.

Presented with 7 Facebook marketing tactics and asked which would be most likely to influence them to make an in-store purchase from a local or small business, a plurality 40% of respondents cited Facebook offers that can be redeemed at a local store, trailed distantly by:

  • Promoted posts (12%);
  • Photos/videos that encourage choice of favorite products, styles and colors (11%); and
  • Loyalty app promotions (10%), among others.

Similarly, the largest share of respondents cited Facebook offers when asked which marketing tactic would most influence them to visit the website, mobile site or app of a local/small business.

Overall, 84% of respondents said that local deals and offers on Facebook have some impact on their decision to make a purchase in-store.

Aside from offers, the study demonstrates that customer reviews and ratings are an important element when it comes to respondents’ decision to engage with local businesses on Facebook. Asked which of 5 factors they care most about when engaging with a local or small business on Facebook, 41% of respondents cited customer reviews/ratings, far outweighing others such as “featured products/services relevant to your needs” (19%) and “number of page ‘Likes'” (15%). Moreover, 8 in 10 said they would be more likely to purchase products or services in-store from a local/small business if there were positive customer reviews/ratings on the brand’s website, mobile site or Facebook page.

A recent study from BrightLocal similarly demonstrated the power of customer reviews for local businesses, finding that 88% of respondents claimed to regularly (39%) or occasionally (49%) read online reviews to determine the quality of a local business.

As for the G/O Digital study’s focus on Facebook marketing? It merits special attention, given that 62% of respondents indicated that it is the most useful social channel to research products and services before visiting a local/small business, far ahead of Pinterest (12%), Twitter (11%), Instagram (9%) and others (6%).

About the Data: The study was fielded from June 30, 2014 through July 2, 2014 among 1,000 US adults aged 18-29 who are interested in buying products and services from local/small businesses and who own at least one desktop/laptop computer and a smartphone or tablet.

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