Study: Social isn't the selling tool some thing

Social may have many benefits for brands, but increasing sales into one of those benefits. That's the takeaway from the new Social Media and Brand Purchase: Quantifying the Effects of Exposures to Earned and Owned Social Media Activities in a Two-Stage Decision Making Model study.

by Kristina Knight

The researchers, two professors at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business, found that over a year period social media helped to increase the connection between brands and their social media followers, but that connection didn't necessarily result in increased revenue.

"Exposures to earned and owned social media activities for brands have significant and positive impacts on consumers' likelihood to purchase the brands," the researchers say. "However, the results also demonstrate that the effect of one type of social media activity is not independent of the other type, and thus earned social media activity and owned social media activity actually have a suppressive impact on each other in increasing consumer likelihood to purchase."

So, what does this mean for businesses is the social space? It's another indicator that social is the place to create a relationship - through content, customer service, and even product information. Just don't expect those posts to have a direct route to the cash machine.

Tags: Daniels College of Business, social commerce, social marketing, social media trends, University of Denver