Surprise: social media has become an important tool for increasing e-commerce conversion rates. Whether you choose to follow social business practices or not, this is a fact. AddShoppers, a leading social marketing organization, has found that consumers who find products via social media are spending more than those who arrive at sites via other digital routes.
How much more, you ask? Well, according to AddShoppers’ latest report, there’s a sizable 8.2% increase in spending. To put a dollar sign on this percentage, consumers who click through to your site from social media sources spend an average of $126.12 on a site within a 30-day period. On the other hand, non-social online shoppers spend only an average of $116.55 on the same site, within the same time frame. Sure, ten dollars isn’t a vast amount, but over time those 40 quarters will affect the bottom line.
If you’ve never heard of AddShoppers, you can be sure it’s no small fish. The social marketing vendor – which integrates social tools and buttons onto your site, then tracks buying behaviors and conversion rates through analytics over a 30-day period – has gathered its data from over 10,000 retail clients in 2014. Their technology is compatible with Facebook, Email, Polyvore, Pinterest, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Wishpot, Google Plus, Wanelo , Tumblr and more.
Before we take a deeper dive into the numbers, it’s important to remember that no two social networks are the same. One that may drive tons of traffic or conversion for a certain vertical might not drive nearly as much for another. This is fairly obvious, but important to note nonetheless.
Anyway, here’s the hard data.
What’s a Social Share Worth?
This category, especially, is contingent upon what you’re actually selling. For instance, apparel, health and beauty items are much more ‘share-able’ than medical goods.
- Email – $12.41
- Google Plus – $5.62
- Other – $3.46
- Twitter – $1.03
- Facebook – $0.80
- Pinterest – $0.67
And the Conversion Rates?
Like each share’s worth, these depend on your inventory and which platforms your target audiences are using the most.
- Email – 9.39%
- Google Plus – 3.7%
- Facebook – 2.66%
- Other – 1.27%
- Twitter – 0.62%
- Pinterest – 0.45%
Great. But Which Platforms Drive Revenue?
Facebook. It is still a giant – take advantage of its offerings and you could experience gains. I mean, just look at the numbers: Facebook is leaps and bounds ahead of other social networks.
- Facebook – 69.10%
- Twitter – 12.11%
- Pinterest – 7.73%
- Email – 6.42%
- Google Plus – 2.56%
- Other – 2.06%
But Does Facebook Also Drive the Most Traffic?
You bet it does. And it drives way, way more than any other social network on the list. The following numbers were recorded on a clicks per share basis.
- Facebook – 1.10 per Share
- Twitter – .97 per Tweet
- Pinterest – .87 per Pin
- Email – .31 per Email
- Google Plus – .21 per Share
Okay. But Is There a Difference Between a Facebook Share and Like?
Indeed, there is. Put simply, a share is more valuable than a like – in both a social and capital sense. To get a better idea, here’s how AddShoppers defines the difference: “Facebook doesn’t seem to care about driving traffic to off-Facebook Liked content anymore. The worth of a share was 3.4x more than a Like and the share conversion was 5.44x more than a Like.”
So Is Facebook the Most Popular Social Network?
Again, the answer is an overwhelming ‘Yes.’ From 1 to 6, this is a ranking of the social networks drawn from AddShoppers’ data.
- Facebook (73.68%)
- Twitter (10.10%)
- Pinterest (9.87%)
- Other (5.53%)
- Email (0.44%)
- Google Plus (0.39%)
Likewise, some things are easier to share, or more ‘fun’ to post. To get a better idea of what it is social shoppers like to share with friends and family, here’s a list of product and store types that are most often shared across social networks. The results aren’t spectacularly surprising:
- Apparel & Clothing
- Entertainment & Media
- General Merchandise
- Electronics
- Home & Garden
In Conclusion…
The common thread throughout this entire explanation has been that success of sharing products on social networks is dependent on your vertical and your clientele. There are no two way around it.
So, if you’re looking to increase your brand’s social presence – while simultaneously driving revenue, traffic and conversion – make it easy for shoppers to share your products with convenient buttons and tools. See the full, interactive AddShoppers report here.