The Results Are In: Social Media Increases Sales

Yesterday, I suggested that social media is just media. Today, I want to share proof that, whatever you call it, it works! According to comScore, a digital marketing intelligence company, the graph below shows a marked increase in the number of discounts and special offers made by retailers on Black Friday (and ten days before and ten days after Black Friday) this year, as compared to in prior years.
According to comScore, retailers's desire to lure shoppers early in a lousy economy explains this increase. For example, last year, online holiday sales spiked on Cyber Monday. This year, they spiked 3 days earlier on Black Friday.Not only was there a spike, there was an 11% increase in online sales on Black Friday, as compared to a 1% increase on the same day last year.

But the super duper interesting information in comScore's data is that there is a marked increase in the number of retailers that are using social media to market their products online. Not only that, 28% of consumers surveyed said that social media is influencing their 2009 holiday online purchasing decisions. Quoting comScore:

Consider that Twitter had 19 million site visitors in October of this year, up 12-fold vs. a year ago. In that same period of time, FaceBook’s visitor base has more than doubled, rising from 45 million monthly visitors in October 2008 of 2008 to 97 million today. That’s an incremental 52 million people using the service in only one year! With this kind of reach, it’s clear that social networking can play a prominent role in any retailer’s communication programs.

You simply cannot ignore this data. While I'm not suggesting that you throw bowls of social media spaghetti at the wall and hope something sticks, I am suggesting that you incorporate social media and social networking into your existing marketing program in order to positively influence your sales.

Do what you can this year, but be sure to come to one of my intensive training sessions in early 2010 so you can get the hands-on training you need to take advantage of this amazing shift in consumer buying behavior.

Come to one of my workshops in Atlanta (save $100 on early bird registration by December 21!), Chicago, San Francisco or New York! Let's prepare for next year's Black Friday together!

Question: What did you do to take advantage of social media this year? Will you do anything differently to increase you success in 2010?