Social networking on consumer's side

Social networking has become not only a way of online communication but also a trustworthy source of information for products.

Social computing technologies are being widely used by people of every age. They have become a vital part of consumers' lives helping them to make the right decisions when purchasing products. The easiest way to form consumers' opinion is to use blogs and online videos to publish product reviews. Product reviews are written by those who have ''consumed'' the product and can easily lead opinions on it. In other words, social networking sites help people to find other like-minded people online. In turn, as consumers interact, they tend to place less and less trust in messages and advertising delivered by merchants.

The whole ''game'' has isolated consumers from merchants regarding product recommendations; with 36% of consumers don't trust information even from their favorite retailers while 68% claimed family and friends were their top influencers. This shift- if managed wisely- can be leveraged by merchants to build successful businesses.

Nevertheless, what matters eventually is not whether customers talk about your brand but it's how and where. If merchants want to join the conversation, they should be aware of the risk they are being sidelined.

What should be taken into account though is that social computing can easily be a cost- effective means of driving conversion and acquisition. Merchants only need to beware of what is the ''news'' spread over online communities.