A recent study found that 75% of women say social networking sites have little influence over their purchasing decisions 1. According to the study, among all the factors that have a bearing on mothers’ purchasing decisions, price (47%) ranks the first, followed by quality (45.7%) and “other” (3.5%). The fourth highest factor was brand (2%).

From these results, it appears brands are not effectively using social media to engage female consumers. Building brand equity can focus on four areas: creating meaningful differences; making the brand relevant and close to people’s needs and wants; driving likeness and esteem; and increasing knowledge about what the brand stands for. So why are brands having trouble engaging their female audience on social networking sites?

As social media are highly interactive, if used properly they should build esteem. However, it may be that the brands have not yet become relevant for female consumers on social media platforms. Women do use sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter to interact with friends and family, but they have yet to interact with brands in a meaningful way.

See our article on Using Twitter to Build Brand Equity

1 Straczynski, S. (2009, Sept. 3). Social Net Branding Fails to Sway Women. Brand Week.