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Everyday millions of women flood social networks and frequent blogs and if you’re a good business owner or internet marketer you have noticed this and hopefully take full advantage of this knowledge when it comes to creating online marketing campaigns. I just finished reading an article that provided research that may be causing marketers to rethink those efforts, which prompted me to write this blog entry.

According to the “Women’s Survey,” despite more than one-half of women active in social media visiting social networking sites at least daily, 74.8% reported not being influenced by social networks when it came to purchase decisions. Those female internet users polled said their purchasing decisions were affected by coupons, product ratings and review Websites.

So what does this mean to you, trying to reach a demographic that is responsible for a high percentage of purchases? Do you throw in your Facebook page and delete your MySpace account? Absolutely not! In short this information (which like anything should be taken at face value), means two things to me, 1) There are a lot of women using social networks and 2) They respond to coupons, discounts and reviews. If you have been depending on social networks and blogs to try to connect with these decision makers, your marketing efforts through these tools should include discount offers, coupons, testimonials by way of positive comments on your profile pages and blog comments. This does take some time and effort, and will need reciprocation to get the positive comments flowing but I do not think you should by any means throw in the social networking towel!

Think this doesn’t apply to you because your target market isn’t women? Think again. Women are what’s under the hood of the economy, driving close to 80% of consumer spending in the United States alone. Even in industries thought to be traditionally male markets, such as the automotive industry, women buy more than half of all new vehicles and influence 80% of all automotive purchases.

So next time you’re on your Facebook or Tweeting that you just finished breakfast, don’t forget to take advantage of these status feeds by including promotional messages about your product or service that help establish you and your products in your customers minds. Status updates are front and center on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace and highlighting a discount or deal can generate a decent amount of interest. Oh, and make sure to include direct links to your website while you’re at it. The main purpose of Social Networking for your business should be to drive traffic and potential leads back to the meat & potatoes – your website. Posting to your immediate network usually has the pass-it-on effect also know as “viral marketing” and we know how women love to spread the word on a great deal or discount. Do this on a frequent basis and you’re bound to get a good response from the ladies.