Interesting data in the ForeSee Results 2010 Social Media Report. Some of the key findings in the study, which looked at nearly 10,000 visitors to the biggest e-retail websites in the United States, include:
- 56% of shoppers to top e-retail websites who interact with social media websites have elected to “friend” or “follow” or “subscribe” to a retailer on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. This is an amazing testament to customer loyalty and interest in social engagement. Shoppers are actually choosing to engage in relationships with retailers on social sites.
- Facebook is, by far, the best place to reach shoppers. More than half of everyone who shops online uses Facebook, and of those online shoppers who engage in social media, more than 80% use Facebook. However, an unofficial look at the Facebook pages of the Top 100 online retailers reveals that one-quarter do not have any formal Facebook presence. In other words, half of the top online retailers have a minimal to nonexistent Facebook presence.
- Customers mainly interact with retailers on social media sites in order to learn about products and promotions—only 5% use social media primarily for customer support—a marketer’s dream come true. Consumers want companies’ information, sales and specials; retailers just have to learn how to give it to them effectively.
Facebook Impact
In terms of pure usage, more than half of all online shoppers frequent Facebook. Facebook’s dominance is even more apparent when you look just at shoppers who visit social sites regularly. Among online shoppers who engage in social media, more than 80% are using Facebook.
| SHOPPERS WHO USE SOCIAL SITES | |
| Which of the following websites do you use regularly? (Please select all that apply.) | |
| Social Site | % Using Each Site |
| 81% | |
| YouTube | 31% |
| MySpace | 22% |
| 16% | |
| 12% | |
| Flickr | 7% |
| Other social website (please specify): | 3% |
| Yelp | 2% |
Give the People What They Want
49% of respondents who “friend” or “follow” companies through social media do so to learn about special deals and options. Close behind, 45% of users do it to learn about products. Only 5% use social media primarily for customer support. This should be exactly what marketers want to hear: they want our information, sales, and specials.
| What is the main reason you interact with this company through social media sites? | % of respondents |
| Learn about sales / special offers | 49% |
| Learn about products | 45% |
| Get customer support | 5% |
| Other reason (please specify): | 1% |
Actionable Items
If you are an online retailer and you don’t have a Facebook page then get one! Make sure you have someone to monitor it and post good, timely information. Promote it to your most loyal customers through your regular communications venues (emails, ads, stores, coupons, etc.). Use your Facebook page to post promotions and product information.
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I like your post and I agree that facebook is a great place for traditional businesses but I really think if you are going to use facebook for your business you need differentiate between your business clients and your personal friends. Business people like to see your personal side but too much can be a turnoff.
I agree with David, businesses definitely need to separate business and pleasure especially on their facebook profile. That’s one way to scare them off real quick. Thanks for the informative post. As everyone knows, businesses need to capitalize and begin using these social media sites to gain a professional advantage. If you look up a business now a days and they don’t have a facebook or twitter account it’s as if they automatically lose some of their legitimacy. The media company I work for (www.reflectmediagroup.com) has just embarked on a new Internet Marketing journey and the reviews from clients have been astounding, everyone is getting into this social networking phenomenon.
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