There is a new and direct way to engage online customers: social commerce. For years, many businesses have used social media to increase sales. Now it is possible to link your social media strategy to the point of purchase. New apps and infomediaries are creating marketing potential by honing in on the items your customer likes and those items your customer will even share with friends. Not only do you have the chance to cinch the deal; more and more of your customers may begin to advertise on your behalf.
What’s New in Social Commerce
Three new trends in social media campaigns are beginning to take shape. These are:
- e-commerce apps for social media
- social apps for e-commerce
- social infomediaries
Adding an e-commerce app to your Facebook page allows a customer to both make a purchase and share your product with Facebook friends. Likewise, adding social apps to your e-commerce presence allows the online community to share the news about the goods or services you offer. The social infomediaries are a relatively new, but promising presence. For instance, Pinterest is an online billboard that allows people to “pin-up” photos and information they want to share. Another example is Catalogue, an app that stores all your catalogs so that you can scroll through them whenever you wish. These sites offer new ways to understand customers’ interests and values. They also offer even more ways for information to be shared.
Businesses Taking Action
Businesses are moving forward quickly to make the user’s experience more apt, convenient and downright social. Social media strategies include engaging with customers based on how they relate to your business and giving customers incentives for sharing information or deals. With storefront integration to Facebook, businesses can target customers based on what they like or share. Through the use of widgets, small applications that can be installed on a web page, businesses can launch sales campaigns remotely across many different channels.
E-Commerce: Looking to the Future
E-commerce is not only here to stay; it’s on the rise. In 2010, Cyber Monday (the online equivalent to Black Friday) ranked as the number one online shopping day of the year with over one billion dollars in sales. In 2011, Cyber Monday spending rose by 30%. Where there is potential, there is also competition. This means the benefits of social media campaigns in e-commerce solutions will be fully used and exploited. Whether your business is large or small, make sure your Facebook and Twitter accounts are attractive, fresh and timely. Use them to offer exclusive deals in order to socially advertise. Use visuals as much as you can (videos and photos) in order to keep the interest of your social followers.
Social media strategy can be low-key or complex. It can be about offering deals to your “friends” or widening your outreach by encouraging people to share information about your business. In decades past, word-of-mouth was seen as one of the most effective advertising approaches. As social media has evolved, new opportunities in online sharing of information allow the e-commerce world broader applications of that basic standard. Now is a great time to dive in, stay alert and creatively utilize the social horizon.
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