Can your social media drive sales?

According to a recently released report social media rarely leads directly to purchases online. The report, a collaboration between Forrester Research and GSI Commerce, showed that during last season's holiday shopping season, less than 2% of orders were the result of shoppers coming from a social network. 

Fiona Dias is executive vice president of strategy and marketing for GSI Commerce. She says, "... buying things from retailers is maybe 10th on the list of things they want to do on Facebook... from a retail and commerce perspective, social media seems to have no effect..."

What does seem to work, says the report, is more traditional online marketing, including email and search advertising.

• Most consumers are exposed to some form of marketing by the retailers before they made their purchase.

• 70%-82% of transactions occur after an interactive marketing tactic.

• 5% to 7% of purchases are influenced by social media outreach about short-term deals and opportunities.

The report found that consumers are exposed to online advertising early in the purchase funnel, with display ads as the first touchpoint. While organic traffic is the most cost-effective way to attract shoppers, it is also difficult to achieve because most buyers simply do not arrive at a site directly.