SmallBusinessNewz

If you run an online store, and still have any doubts about how social networks can help you drive traffic, you may want to strongly reconsider as the holidays approach. Twitter and Facebook are driving major traffic to online stores as consumers reach out to not only their friends, but businesses themselves through Facebook and Twitter (among other popular networks).

According to Hitwise, the share of downstream traffic to the Retail 500 coming from both Facebook and Twitter increased 36% and 15%, respectively, on Thanksgiving from the previous day. Downstream traffic to retailers grew again on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, as many promoted sales with Facebook pages and tweets.

The top retailers to receive traffic from Facebook on Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday were Amazon, Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy and Toys R Us. Being a small business, you may not get that much traffic, but if you can build a fan/follower base and get marketing messages out to them through these social networks, there is a good chance you can drive some of their business your way as they scramble to get their holiday shopping done.

It's not only about offering them deals though. It's about staying in front of their eyeballs. You can do this with updates that will appear in their feeds. Another great part about that, is that they can easily pass attractive offers onto their friends, who may not necessarily be a fan or follower of yours. From there, it can go viral if your offer is attractive enough.

The bottom line is that if you want to increase your holiday sales for your online store, it is hard to imagine ignoring these popular channels. Facebook alone just announced that it has surpassed 350 million users. How can you ignore that?