Social Media Equals Sales?

I've read a lot about how businesses must embrace the channels of social media. But I've also witnessed firsthand the criticism of how social media does not grow a business. I really had to think about this...and it hit me.

Social media can increase sales, but sometimes it does it in a round-about way.

Meryl Streep said it well in the movie, "The Devil Wears Prada," where she repudiates Anne Hathaway's snubbing of what seems to be insignificant decisions in fashion.

"...You think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select...

I don't know... that lumpy blue sweater, for instance because you're trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue, it's not turquoise. It's not lapis. It's actually cerulean. And you're also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves Saint Laurent... wasn't it who showed cerulean military jackets? I think we need a jacket here. And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers. And then it, uh, filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic Casual Corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you're wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room from a pile of stuff."

What may look like a "pile of stuff" to a novice (or a business owner) may really be a necessary tool into sending your business/products/services skyrocketing out of the red and into the black.

Here are some brands that are trending on the growing social media giant, Pinterest.

Nutella, RumChata, Hershey's, NYX Cosmetics and Sephora, just to name a few.

These brands, like RumChata (a rum-based cream liqueur) are now the fundamental ingredient for making "RumChata Cupcakes," which has been re-pinned over 500 times
(at last count.) Did RumChata ever think about the cupcake business? I doubt it.

INFOGRAPHIC: Pinterest Infographic via Cool Daily Infographics

In this day of recycling and repurposing, women, who make up 80% of the Pinterest market, are now scouring for the above-mentioned ingredients/products or even discarded items (old Mason jars, shipping pallets, etc.) in hopes of creating the next best ____ (fill in the blank.)

So even if businesses are not seeing direct sales increases right now, give it time, and don't discredit social media. Because let's face it, it is everywhere and its influence, although seemingly insignificant at this point, might just be your next secret weapon in growing your profit margin.

Enjoy those cupcakes, people.