Heavy Social Media Users Spend More Money Online

June 9, 2010 Jillian Koeneman ecommerce, online retailer, social media blog

It’s a core belief I have that businesses cannot afford to not engage in social media. According to a new study that is especially true if you are an online retailer.

A new study shows that heavy social media users spend more $$$ online than the average user. According to eMarketer,

Research from comScore shows that visitors to Facebook and Twitter spend more money on the Web than Internet users. On average, Web users purchased less than $50 worth of goods online in Q1 2010.

On Facebook, the visitors who spend the most time on the site also spend the most dollars on online shopping, with an average of $67 in spending for the top 20% of visitors.

Notably, Internet users who did not visit Facebook at all bought significantly less online than average, spending only $27 during the quarter. Not only are retailers on Facebook targeting above-average spenders, but the audience missing from the site is also worth much less in revenues.

Holy cow. Could it be that social media is not a gigantic waste of time? Could this mean that social media is the perfect way for companies to target their very best customers, the customers most likely to spend the most money $$$?

Sarcasm aside, social media holds HUGE possibility for marketers.

Think about it. By engaging in a targeted social media campaign you are identifying and focusing your resources on the select group of customers who can make you the most money and become loyal advocates.

I like to think of social media as the fly fishing approach to marketing, as opposed to the commercial fishing approach. Bear with me for a minute.

By chartering a fishing boat and using a gigantic net you are guaranteed to catch some fish. The problem is you catch fish that you don’t want and have to throw back.

With the fly fishing approach you think about the type of fish you want to catch. Then you carefully select the right bait, the right location, the right time of day and you make your move (I am no fisherwoman but I am told this is how it works ). Your chances of catching the exact type of fish are pretty high.

And let’s face it, fly fishing is a heck of a lot cheaper than a fishing charter and a net.

So I have to ask, what are you waiting for? Heavy social media users are looking to spend their money $$$ online and wouldn’t it be nice if they were spending it with you!