Social Media Leads to Ecommerce Conversions

Thanks to the continued growth and popularity of Facebook and Twitter, it’s been awhile since anyone has doubted that social media is here to stay. While there’s always a small possibility that something huge could happen and those specific sites could fall by the wayside, the concept of social media has become one of the main threads in terms of how people communicate with each other online.

Because social media has become such an influential concept, businesses across just about any industry you can think of have put time and effort into developing social media strategies. Not surprisingly, the extent and effectiveness of those strategies varies greatly. As businesses have experimented with different ways of using social media, one concern that some have encountered is whether this medium is capable of generating direct results.

Although it’s a generally accepted fact that social media platforms are quite useful for things like sharing recent company news and building a stronger brand presence, not everyone believes that social media can drive actual conversions. And while it’s always smart for businesses to be skeptical before simply jumping on the latest trend, recent research shows that social can indeed drive measurable results.

New Stats About How Social Media Drives Purchases

Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter are the three largest sources of social media purchasing conversions. GetElastic recently cited the following statistics on social media drives. For Pinterest, 22% of users have purchased an item online after selecting it as a favorite or sharing it. For Facebok, it’s 29% of users, while 18% of Twitter users have made an online purchase as a result of their activity. Although it’s not relevant to every business, it’s also worth noting that for businesses with a retail presence, all three social networks drive those purchases as well. In the same order, the amount of users who have made an offline purchase because of social media are 21%, 30% and 17%.

What exactly are people buying as a result of their social media activity? If you’re in the food and beverage industry, then be sure to optimize your Pinterest search optimization, as food and drink is the biggest category on this network. For Facebook, it’s actually “other,” with tech and electronics taking a close second place. And if you’re in the tech and electronics business, then take your Twitter campaign management seriously, as these categories are nearly twice as popular as the categories which tie for second place.

Another important statistic that all businesses need to know about, is that 47% of social purchases are just “stumbled upon.” That means that if you want to maximize the number of purchases your social media strategy drives, you need to find interesting and unique ways to get people excited about your products and sharing them with others. Once your products start making the rounds, that exposure will lead to social media users ordering them.

If you’ve been hesitant to fully commit to a social media strategy because you weren’t sure it would drive the results you want, now you know just how effective it can be. Find out how we can help with your social media needs.