Should Businesses Abandon Facebook and Twitter?

Recently, an interesting study has generated some hubbub in the SEO/social media world. The study compares the visitor-to-lead-generation ratio between social media platforms. The author, Rebecca Corliss, finds that LinkedIn has a visitor-to-lead-generation ratio that is nearly three times as high (2.74%) as Facebook (.77%) and Twitter (.69%) in a study involving 5,000 businesses.

Since this ratio is different by an order of magnitude, does this mean that businesses should consolidate their social media efforts to a single platform?

The short answer is a resounding “no.” While the study is certainly revealing, I have to wonder how valuable it is without further consideration. For example, I think it is critical for businesses to compare the sheer number of leads generated by each platform. While the study demonstrates that LinkedIn has a much higher ratio of visit-to-lead-generation, is that what most businesses value? Most marketers know that the active users on Facebook and Twitter easily exceed the number on LinkedIn.

As of today, Facebook has more than 750 million active users in comparison to LinkedIn’s mere 135 million. If we apply the volume of active users to the lead-gen ratio in the study, we see that Facebook generates 5,775,000 leads compared to LinkedIn’s 369,900. That means that Facebook generates 64% more leads than LinkedIn. I think the study would have been more balanced if this had been considered.

Nonetheless, the study is very interesting and further supports what most marketers know: LinkedIn is a powerful tool that is designed to build professional connections. My advice to business owners and marketers: don’t read this study as a reason to ditch Facebook.