A surprisingly high percentage of women claim that social media marketing doesn’t influence their purchase decisions, according to a recent market research study cited by WebProNews. In the study, conducted by ad:tech Chicago and Q Interactive’s “Women Channel,” 75% of women stated that social networking sites have only negligible influence on their purchasing behaviours.

I would caution readers against accepting the conclusion that social media marketing does not work on women . Rather, I’d go as far as to suggest that, to the contrary, this study actually proves that social media marketing is working on women.

While I have not reviewed the actual study’s data and have relied on press reports regarding its conclusions, I note that marketing success can only be measured in relation to predetermined objectives.

Appropriate objectives for a marketing campaign would, necessarily, leverage the way the medium was intended to be used. In the case of social media, as the name implies, the medium is intended to be social.

Therefore, if a social media marketing campaign proves to be social, it is a success.

Let’s consider the social media marketing and women market research study results in relation to what we know about traditional tactical marketing (i.e. marketing programs designed to drive short term sales):

How many businesses can claim that their customers read their flyers at least once a day?

How many businesses make fans out of over 50% of the people they cold call, as just one obvious example of tactical marketing?

This is not insignificant, given that a very successful direct mail campaign would normally result in a 3% return. It demonstrates a trend toward real product engagement by women who receive marketing via social media.

It is a common misconception to presume that in order to be successful, social media marketing must have the same direct relationship to short term sales as traditional tactical forms of marketing (coupons as one example). Rather than driving short term sales, social media marketing is most properly intended to generate brand awareness and brand engagement, both of which are absolutely invaluable in terms of their ability to establish loyalty and referrals over the long term.

Despite the finding that 75% of women claim not to be influenced by social media marketing, the conclusion I draw from this market research study is that the opportunity to engage women with social media is virtually unparalleled as compared to traditional marketing vehicles.

Moreover, it is an opportunity that appears to be virtually untapped.