Social Vs Search In Driving Online Purchases

Are we potentially over-estimating the power of social media and underestimating search in driving online shopping? The answer is yes according to the latest Forrester Research report, which found that less than one percent of online purchases were influenced by social networks while organic and paid search were responsible for driving 39 percent of new customer sales.

We've spent the past two weeks in my internet and interactive marketing class talking about the importance of SEO and paid search, so while this really shouldn't come as a surprise to me, it does. I talked about the potential power of electronic word-of-mouth in my previous post regarding Myspace, but what I failed to consider was the fact that in some cases, consumers know what they want to purchase when they go online. So rather than turning to their social networks for recommendations or ideas, they turn to search. Forrester calls these individuals "spear fishers."

Utilizing SEO and/or paid search to reach consumers and drive sales online seems like such a simple, logical idea, but it certainly isn't the first thing that pops into my mind. And I imagine I'm not the only one. As marketers, advertisers and PR professionals, we can't let the flashiness of social media distract us from some of the tried and true tools we have at our disposal. Granted, each situation isn't the same, and we have to choose those tools that fit our strategy, but we really have to remember to explore all of our options--not just those with the most buzz. As Forrester's report goes to show, sometimes the flashy tool isn't the most effective one.