• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, September 11, 2012

When asked, most marketers are happy to explain why one social network is better for business than another. According to new data, however, different networks lend themselves to different strategic objectives.
 
“Not all channels in the social space are created equal,” according to Diane Kegley, CMO of RichRelevance.
 
Facebook, for instance, dominates as a source of traffic. Indeed, shoppers who click through from Facebook account for the overwhelming majority of shopping sessions at nearly 86%, per new findings from RichRelevance, a provider of personalized recommendations for ecommerce sites.
 
Pinterest and Twitter trail far behind with an 11.3% and 2.9% share of the driven traffic, respectively, RichRelevance finds. Pinterest appears to drive larger orders -- nearly double that of other social channels.
 
While shoppers who come to retail sites from Facebook and Twitter purchase more often, Pinterest users spend dramatically more than either: $168.83 on average compared to average order values of $94.70 for Facebook and $70.84 for Twitter.
 
Also working in Facebook’s favor, RichRelevance reports that shoppers who started on the top social network ultimately browse more -- and buy more often.
 
Shoppers who enter retail sites from Facebook tend to stay longer -- nearly seven pages per visit compared to nearly three for Twitter and just over four from Pinterest.
 
They also purchase somewhat more frequently, with conversion rates of 2.63% -- compared to average conversion rates of .93% among Pinterest users and 1.09% among Twitter users.
 
“Every social network promises a new way of connecting consumers with retailers and brands,” added Kegley. Yet what they actually deliver is often another story.
 
RichRelevance based its Shopping Insights study on nearly 700 million shopping sessions across top U.S. retail sites between January and August of this year.