One in four adult Internet users in the U.S. visits social networking sites regularly, and one in three says their purchase decisions are influenced by sites that contain social content, according to a new study sponsored by search marketing firm iProspect and conducted by JupiterResearch.
I call shenanigans. With some estimates of fewer than 10% of the internet population actively using social networking sites, and I’ll hazard a guess that most of those are < 25 years olds. I have serious doubts that 1 in 12 people use social networking sites to seriously consider purchases. When you consider their definition of social networking site was very broad and even included Amazon.com.
Again fellas…social networking is a force in online marketing…but from my experience it’s effect on commerce is negligible at this point. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be paying attention to it, or even throwing some dollars at it, but very few online retailers have reaped the benefits of much more fertile fields…ppc, seo, affiliate, cse, marketplaces…get the idea?
