Your company may have hundreds or even thousands of “friends” on Facebook and “followers” on Twitter, but does this really translate into real dollars and bottom-line results? A deeper dive into the realities of social media marketing may surprise you. Let’s do the numbers.

A recent study by Marketing Sherpa found that the average visitor to a site is 20 times more likely to purchase than someone coming from a social media site; and the average visitor to a site is 50 times more likely to place an order than someone coming from either social news (Twitter) or social bookmarking origins (Digg).

So if they’re not spending, what’s the value of investing in social media? The reality is consumers are very weary of brands that try and sell in a space reserved for friends and socializing. However, if done correctly, the real value of social media is building brand awareness, and creating an authentic dialogue with your customers.

For many brands, online opinion has turned into a kind of virtual currency that can make or break their products in the marketplace. Now there are a handful of solutions that allow you to monitor blogs, news articles, online forums and social networking sites for trends and opinions about your company.

The bottom line: If you’re using or planning to use social media, put it into perspective and listen to your customers. Look for opportunities to engage in a smart dialogue with your fans and detractors and ultimately improve your brand perception. Social media outreach combined with a strong SEO (search engine optimization) strategy is the fastest path to conversion.