Show me the sales! How does social media drive the bottom line?

The evidence. And why this may not be the right

question to ask in isolation

1 - We pay attention to what our friends say online

83% of consumers globally are likely to visit a website recommended by a friend

on Facebook

More than half say comments posted on retailers’ Facebook and Twitter pages,

whether positive or negative, also influence their opinions

(Global Shopping habits survey)

2 - Consumer opinions online are trusted more than information found on TV or in newspapers (Nielsen)

70%

62%

61%

3 - We use social media to research what we want to buy

In Europe - over 50 percent of respondents aged 16 – 64 with access to the Internet use social

networks to assist with shopping decisions (IBM)

4 - If socially active online, we spend more

"Customers who engage with companies over social media spend 20 percent to 40 percent more money with those companies than other customers.” (Bain & Co)

A study in South Korea (a mature social media market) found that social impacts sales among moderate and heavy users.

Recommendations shared among moderate social media users increased brand sales by 5%(Harvard Business School)

5 - There is a correlation between social media recommendations and a sales uplift

6 - The biggest Facebook users spend the most money online

The top 20% of users spend $67 per quarter, compared to $27 for non Facebook users (Comscore)

7 - Though smaller than Facebook, Twitter plays a big part in fostering brand recommendations

According to a Kantar Media study in the US, 35% of social media users

say Twitter has influenced their

purchasing decisions

Twitter averages

19.04 clicks per link vs 2.87 for Facebook

(SocialTwist)

8 - It is not just about Facebook and Twitter - smaller networks can also bring commercial benefits

Radio Shack in the US found that customers checking into their stores on Foursquare spend

3.5x more than those that don't

9 - Super-fans can become an auxiliary sales team

Super fans and advocates on your social channels are 50% more likely to create content that influences a

purchase (ComBlu)

10 - The picture is the same when looking at individual industry sectors

60% of consumers say they factor other travellers' online reviews into their plans when booking a vacation / holiday (eyefortravel/ Simpliflying)

In the 'quick serve industry', consumers exposed to social

media have a 7x greater likelihood of 'higher

spend' (WPP / Ogilvy)

But - is asking ‘show me the sales’ the right question to ask in isolation?

Social media is more powerful when seen as helping to protect your brand reputation, assist the overall cycle and (ultimately) change behaviour

If you don’t catch it, negative sentiment can harm your brand - consumers increasingly go online to complain

A single bad tweet or Facebook comment can cost you 30 customers (Convergys

Group)

‘Cyber-disinhibition’ means 20% of consumers now feel empowered to lash out at

consumers online (Euro RSCG)

The importance of monitoring, capturing and responding to comments

(Source - Conversocial)

Social media doesn’t impact sales in isolation

It impacts the whole sales cycle

Social media is at its most powerful when changing consumer behaviour - one example, Movember

All the original links are on a blog post - liesdamnedliesstatistics.com/2012/01/showmethesales.html

Image credits via Creative Commons, thanks to the following:

More info and resources

Cabbits http://www.flickr.com/photos/cabbit/113614750/The Ticket Collector - http://www.flickr.com/photos/conversely/464062416/sizes/z/in/photostream/Denis Dervisevic - http://www.flickr.com/photos/denisdervisevic/4745520501/401k - http://www.flickr.com/photos/68751915@N05/6355351769/Kurt Christenen - http://www.flickr.com/photos/subcow/280962961/sizes/z/in/photostream/Whisky Gone Bad - http://www.flickr.com/photos/badwsky/2110524585/sizes/z/in/photostream/CC Harmon - http://www.flickr.com/photos/9439733@N02/2556781651/sizes/z/in/photostream/KC Toh http://www.flickr.com/photos/36000391@N07/4446929018/sizes/z/in/photostream/Acediscovery http://www.flickr.com/photos/acediscovery/4695798828/sizes/z/in/photostream/TPCom http://www.flickr.com/photos/tpcom/3246111473/sizes/z/in/photostream/HubSpot http://www.flickr.com/photos/hubspot/3111238226/sizes/m/in/photostream/Gerard Stolk http://www.flickr.com/photos/gerardstolk/5079217358/British Midland International (disclosure - Rabbit client) http://webstagram.com/n/flybmibabyben - http://www.flickr.com/photos/babyben/4757347232/Martin Deutsch - http://www.flickr.com/photos/teflon/5292940718/Hans and Carolyn http://www.flickr.com/photos/hansandcarolyn/3060606530/ehnmark - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ehnmark/463965443/Eltman - http://www.flickr.com/photos/eltman/2155938264/sizes/z/in/photostream/Zizzybaloobah http://www.flickr.com/photos/zizzy/51737298/Inha Leex Hale http://www.flickr.com/photos/sixmilliondollardan/2493495506/Thomas Quinones http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomascosauce/2478950420/sizes/z/in/photostream/