THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Abstract

Social media introduced a new, complex and uncontrollable element in consumer behavior presenting a new challenge to marketers. Mass media and interpersonal communications are considered as the cornerstones of information collection, a function of significant importance in the consumer decision making process. Consumer behavior focuses on “consumers’ information processes mechanism, mental process, storage, retrieval and use of marketing information in the decision making process”. Social media platforms have completely changed the nature of interaction between their customers and directly impacting the consumer decision making process. Nearly 1 in 5 minutes online is spent on social networking. Thus this paper focuses on the impact of social media on consumer behavior and about how companies can create a strong social media.