Is Social Media the Traffic-Generating Bonanza it’s all Cracked Up to Be? And do they BUY?
If you’re looking to build traffic, in order to increase
conversions — will social media traffic really do that?
I recently read an interesting article, by ETR’s Patrick
Coffey, concluding that getting exposure on social media
sites like, Digg, Stumbleupon, Reddit, Del.ico.us, Myspace
and Facebook …
Does NOT convert to paying customers.
You may get lots of hits, but limited conversions.
His definition of HITS: How Idiots Track Success. 
It’s simple really. Do you care how many people visit
your site or how many buy from your site?
He says that one of their natural health e-letter sites
got a ‘boatload’ of traffic from Stumbleupon.
But, of the 28,000 social media visitors to their site,
only 80 bought their newsletter …
That’s a whopping 0.2% conversion rate.
They are used to conversion rates of up to 50%, by using
email marketing, PPC, website ads, SEO and even direct mail.
So, in conclusion, these types of visitors are resistant
to advertising and tend to zip in and out quickly.
They don’t buy.
Maybe CPM Advertising Model Would Work?
If you had advertisers on your site, paying a CPM, then
driving this kind of otherwise useless traffic (eyeballs) to your
site may make some sense.
To me, I think the best way to think about social media
is for back links (one-way links).
To the extent your blog or article is tossed around on
other sites, you’ll get more links to your site and,
therefore, it’ll help with your SEO.
So, if Google finds you ‘relevant’ enough, with all the
links to your site, you’ll come up better in the SERPS …
which will, in turn, lead to more buyers or subscribers.
Once again, you get what you pay for, yes?
If you want targeted visitors … the kind of folks who
have an interest in what you offer … pay for effective
email campaigns, text link or solo ads and/or PPC advertising.
If you don’t have your own email list, you can rent lists.
If you need a copywriter to write your ads, articles or email
campaigns … I may know of someone to recommend.
http://www.kickasscopywriter.com
