Ten years ago, Facebook wasn’t even a word, much less a verb. Now, it’s the largest social networking site in the world, with more than 500 million users worldwide. With such incredible statistics, one would think Facebook would be the prime place for businesses to brand themselves and sell products. According to Facebook, it is, but Forrester Research analyst Sucharita Mulpuru has something else to say.

In her study “Will Facebook Ever Drive eCommerce?” Malpuru concludes that having a Facebook presence does little for businesses, even when people “like” their page. While an email marketing campaign boasts an 11 percent click-through rate and 4 percent conversion rate, Facebook only has a 1 percent click-through rate, with 2 percent converting to actual customers.

It all boils down to the reason people come to Facebook in the first place. “You go to Facebook to find other people, not to find a product,” Mulpuru said in a Wall Street Journal interview.

Surprisingly enough, the folks at Facebook don’t agree with Mulpuru. According to Dan Rose, Facebook’s vice president of partnerships and platform marketing, Facebook serves as the perfect place to promote businesses as it bottles up the benefits of word of mouth.

“When I raise my hand and say, I like Einstein (Bros.) bagels, and then one of my friends sees that ad, they’re going to see my name in that ad,” he said. Through Facebook’s own study with media-research firm Nielsen, “we found that when my friend’s name is in an ad, I’m over 60 percent more likely to remember the ad, and I’m over four times more likely to purchase the product.”

What do you think about Facebook and eCommerce? Are you a customer of the businesses you “like” on Facebook? Or if you are looking for integration with eCommerce systems click here. Does seeing a friend’s name in an advertisement push you to buy the product? Leave a comment with your thoughts!