Are Social Sites Becoming More Efficacious Than Traditional Word of Mouth?

Dr. Jas Raj Bohra, Mallika Bishnoi

With the growth and evolution of social networking sites, electronic peer-to-peer referrals have become a vital phenomenon. In contrast to the days when social media strategy was all about getting more fans, companies now see it as an important marketing tool. The recommendation on Twitter, Facebook referrals or a picture on Instagram largely affects the consumer behavior these days. Social media is now everywhere and almost everyone with internet access has an account with one of them. This study is just a small attempt to investigate and compare the reliability of recommendation made through social networking and traditional word of mouth. In this study, the data was gathered by online questionnaires, observations and personal interviews. The study shows that the social media facilitates the trust and intension to buy of the consumers. It is also observed that perceived usefulness of the site is also an important factor that contributes the buying behavior of the consumer. The paper discusses the findings and suggests ways for the marketers to drive the existing opportunity of social media in India.