Ecommerce is a new way of buying and selling. Social media is a new way of networking. Ecommerce is new. Social media is new. Both can gain from each other. Both need each other.
As you can see today, I am in the mood for sweeping simplifications and extreme generalizations.
But jokes apart, I truly think that the marriage of eCommerce and social media is made in heaven. The fact that both these online worlds are progressing at a rapid clip underlines the latent demand that each of them is fulfilling.
The amount of time that millions of people spend on Facebook every single day is staggering. Likewise, the number and dollar volume of eCommerce transactions is shooting up to double digits every single year, even in a weak economy.
And these are not merely co-occurring successes. I think that one can fuel the other, but let me not jump the gun. Let us get down to the basics.
Social Presence for Ecommerce Business Does Not Mean Creating a Facebook / Twitter Account and Updating it Regularly
I do not usually create such long headlines as the one above, but I think it was warranted this time around. There are just too many articles that seek to help eCommerce businesses set up a Facebook (or Twitter, or YouTube, or Google+, or…) account. And as if that was not already social utopia, these articles will give you sage advice by exhorting you to update the accounts with regular status updates!
Really? That is all it will take to make customers loyal? That is all it will take to get the crowds rushing in?
Case Study
John Doe makes a purchase at the-ecommerce-website.com. On the website as well as in email communications, John notices clickable buttons that command him to “Follow” or “Like!” I have a question: why? Why would John follow or like this website? Right here the entire social strategy could come to naught.
But we will be kinder on the eCommerce website. Let’s assume that John likes and follows the eCommerce player. Occasionally, John finds that there is a status update by the-eCommerce-website that informs John about something new that is taking place on the website. I have yet another question: why should John care?
You Can Make John Care About Your Social Media Messages
I do not want to sound like I am not a believer in the power of social media — quite the contrary. I am not mad because social media does not work for eCommerce businesses. I am mad because most eCommerce professionals do not spend any real effort in figuring out at least the basics of social marketing.
In the above case study, my entire point was that eCommerce businesses often merely go through the motions when it comes to social media. Instead of seeing social media as a source of near zero-cost marketing, some eCommerce businesses seem to merely pay lip service to social media. That would be akin to believing that advertising brings business, regardless of where you advertise and how you advertise.
If you were to design an ad that would be viewed by a large number of people, would you not spend some time and effort in creating the best ad that you can create? Then why would you not do likewise for your social messages? I think you get the idea, right?
Give Them a Reason to Truly Like and Follow You
It isn’t really about getting the customer or visitor to click the “Like” or “Follow” button. It is about getting them to genuinely like what you do. It is about getting them to keenly follow your posts. What will happen if you have a vision in your eCommerce business and your social presence reflects that vision.
What Elements of Social Networking Can Propel Ecommerce?
What Do Ecommerce Websites Do?
The simplest way to think about an eCommerce website is to think of it as an online store. Using various marketing methods, an eCommerce business attracts visitors. Then, using the medium of text, images, and video, an eCommerce website creates demand for certain products. The shopping cart and payment gateway help process the transaction, and that triggers the fulfillment end of the eCommerce process.
What Does a Social Media Platform Do?
Once again going back to the basics, a social platform allows users to connect and interact with their personal and professional network. The interaction could be one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-one, or many-to-many. In the late nineties, no one would have been able to guess the tidal wave that social media would turn out to be. But with the advent and growth of the likes of Facebook and Twitter, there is no doubt that “social” is one of the strongest forces that we are exposed to.
How Do We Marry Social Networking Behavior to Ecommerce?
Let us consider specific examples so that this article does not end up being one of merely academic interest:
People Trust Websites That Their Friends Trust, and Vice Versa
If your friend narrates a good (or bad) experience that they have had with an eCommerce business, you are quite likely to expect that your experience might be similar. In classic marketing, marketers would try to get customer testimonials or, for that matter, expert testimonials. These have largely lost relevance in the era of online social networking.
The lesson for eCommerce merchants is that they can create software mechanisms for customers to share their experiences with their social networks. This can be done in two ways:
Getting customers to share their opinion on the eCommerce website and trying to invite the customer’s network to visit
Getting customers to share their thoughts on popular social media websites with embedded links directing their social networks to the relevant page on the eCommerce website
People Are Interested in Knowing What Their “Friends” Have Been Up To
Though I run the risk of ruffling some feathers here, not just do people want to know what their friends have been up to, they also want to mimic what their friends are up to. So, if they see that their best friend’s spouse is using a particular gizmo in a rather interesting fashion, they will be likely to consider that gizmo to be the gift of choice for their own spouse’s next birthday (Aside: I think that is how I ended up getting an iPad 4 as my birthday gift from my wife a few days ago).
The Lessons for Ecommerce Websites
The idea here is actually quite simple, though effective implementation would require a deep understanding of your customer. To successfully incorporate social networking into your eCommerce website, you have to figure out what elements of a social media platform are relevant to your eCommerce offering. Here are some examples:
Pinterest allows you to share images with your networks. People love to share images. If your offering is in the space of apparel, fashion, or other visually-oriented merchandise, you could allow Pinterest-like image sharing boards on your eCommerce website.
Facebook allows people to “like” something that their “friend” posted and also comment on it. I guess you know the drill by now — if relevant, allow similar posting, liking, and commenting features.
There are many more examples I could come up with, but the idea here is not to rip off social websites. Instead, focus on what would be of interest to your specific customers. Since this functionality will only be a fraction of the functionality that full-blown social platforms offer, you can actually improve these features by customizing them to the needs of your specific customers.
