According to a Hitwise survey, average retailers on Facebook can expect to receive an extra 62,000 visits a month even if the business has no fans. However, if they do, each fan brings in twenty extra visits a year. Mind you, bringing in a crowd on Facebook shouldn’t be that hard for most retailers, as they can just organize giveaways or use Facebook to announce exclusive deals, to keep the crowd interested.
However, the number of visits also has a lot to do with the type of business in question. Fashion ranks very high in the survey, so it appears that it all has a lot to do with brand recognition, which has to be established by other means. Despite this, social networks are becoming a rather interesting marketing device even for start-ups and small, local businesses.
More here.
