There is just no way to escape advertisements these days. We all know that Apple is implementing the new iOS 4’s iAds feature (expect to see more of this once the whole antenna debacle has toned down a notch), but aside from the more obvious advertising features, there is one other factor that tends to influence consumer’s decisions: social networking.

We all know how effective word of mouth advertising can be. While the average person does not need to listen to the recommendations of his or her friends, a few words from a choice individual among peers who a person truly admires or respects is more than enough of an endorsement to give a purchase a reason.

Now imagine that scenario on with the element of social networking on your mobile phone. Receiving a quick message or Tweet from close friends saying how nice it is to visit a certain establishment or to purchase a certain product will be a very strong influential factor for many people.

This is not just a one sided influence either. As effective as social networking can be, it is the accessibility that smart phone technology (as well as WiFi and 3G network access) gives that makes this a very potent element for marketing. And of course, the social network gives the messages more potency than standard mass forwarded content on mobile phones. After all, receiving spam messages on a mobile phone is never good, but reading about updates directly from friends is considered enjoyable.

Research firm Gartner has been gathering data on how people’s social networking habits tend to influence and affect their purchasing decisions. This influence is a crucial factor that has to be considered by marketers if they want to successfully advertise a product in this day and age. The study covered about 4000 consumers across various territories in the world during the last quarter of 2009.