A Study on Impact of Social Media Marketing on Flats Purchase Decision of Consumers with Respect to Real Estate in Puducherry UT

Background: For marketing in many various fields, including real estate, social media is today a really powerful tool. This article looks at how social media marketing influences consumer flat purchase decisions in the Union Territory of Puducherry, India. Consumers' impressions of and interactions with real estate items have evolved as digital platforms have exponential proliferation. This shift has underscored the significance of knowing how social media impacts consumers' decision-making process, particularly in regard to house purchase. Problem Statement: This study intends to address the lack of understanding of how multiple social media channels-Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp-affect consumer behaviour in the real estate market in Puducherry. Given this knowledge gap, real estate marketers find it challenging to utilise their digital strategies to correctly target probable consumers. Findings: The paper 250 Puducherry residents who just bought homes or are considering doing so answered a survey using a mixed-methods approach-that is, combining qualitative and quantitative research techniques. The survey data were investigated using statistical tools including chisquare testing and regression analysis in order to find the link between consumer purchase decisions and social media marketing traits (including engagement, content quality, and frequency of exposure). Moreover, thorough interviews with twenty individuals produced qualitative knowledge of how successful social media marketing is perceived by them. Participation in social media and the possibility of purchasing an apartment show a clear favourable correlation (r = 0.67, p = 0.01). Consumers exposed to premium content (mean rating = 4.3 on a 5-point scale) and consistent social media marketing were 35% more likely to decide what to buy. Furthermore, 62% of the respondents said that social media greatly influenced the real estate brand they choose.