A study was commissioned to understand the influence social media exerts on buying decisions of prospective customers. This study is likely to help digital marketing agencies to better position their efforts over platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. More than a quarter of respondents across Europe confirmed that they are likely to be influenced strongly on their purchase decision by social media. However this figure varied per product category. The percentage was barely 15% for utilities but around 40% for travel. What was also understood is that social media itself is less powerful unless backed by strong influencers. Most successful marketers though needed a mix of digital and traditional modes of marketing to reach the final customer. Offline recommendations still exert substantial influence on prospects.