Twiststl

We are well aware that we focus a lot of our blog posts on the benefits of establishing oneself as a presence on social media websites. Not to toot our own horn, but it turns out that some recent research supports our ideas about the importance of social networking sites. Facebook and Twitter are currently two of the most effective ways to generate a buzz about any number of things. It’s obvious that uses for social networking sites go above and beyond the basics of reconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones. They have become social calendars and key mediums through which people share information. But more importantly, social networking websites have become a useful way of initiating action.

Following the recent disasters in Haiti and Chile, Twitter has proven to be quite an effective fundraising tool. In other circumstances Facebook and Twitter have proven to generate action by starting conversations that move from cyberspace to “the real world.” While conversations around the water cooler used to be about the previous night’s primetime TV shows, the latest celeb tweets have become the new topics for discussion.

Companies are starting to capitalize on the action generating potential of Facebook and Twitter by creating their own pages. A new study from Chadwick Marshall Bailey reports that consumers who become Facebook fans and Twitter followers of brands are much more likely to purchase the brand’s products and recommend them to others than they were before they became fans and followers. Through social networking, the Targets and Walmarts of the world are able to forge a more interactive relationship with their customers and potential customers. And it comes as no surprise that consumers are more likely to buy from people they feel they know.

Check out Closet Factory on Facebook and Twitter. They're just one of our clients using social media to drive sales.