Social commerce integrates online shopping with social networking, allowing consumers to get advice from trusted sources before making a purchase. Features such as user ratings, comments, and content sharing are used to generate leads and increase sales. Marketers must talk to consumers and encourage conversations to build relationships and increase product sharing. New features, such as Facebook apps, are constantly being developed to make social commerce more effective.
Social commerce is the integration of online commerce with social networking websites. Encourages people to participate in social interactions on the company’s website to help others or themselves when making a purchase decision. Companies that offer social commerce generally offer a basic variety of features, such as user ratings, user comments, forums, content sharing to generate leads, and sharing shopping carts or wish lists.
The main goal of social commerce is for consumers to get valuable advice or product knowledge from people they can trust before making a purchase. Companies often achieve this goal by adding the ability for people to add comments and ratings to product information pages. In addition, more and more companies are including Facebook Like, Twitter Tweet, and Google Buzz buttons at the top of product pages so people can see the number of times products have been shared or recommended to others. The easier it is to share links, the more likely people are to take advantage of the opportunity.
One benefit of using social commerce is that it encourages consumers to share product information and advice within their own social networks. This is not just free advertising for businesses, but sales are more likely to increase as consumers share products they love with family and friends. For example, when someone clicks the Facebook Like button at the top of the product page, the product name and description are shared with everyone in this person’s Facebook network. With one click, hundreds of consumers who are normally out of reach of the company can view the product.
Success in social commerce requires marketers to talk to consumers instead of talking to them. This can be accomplished by ensuring that your voice, words, and tones are the same as if you were speaking to consumers in person. Marketers must also work to encourage conversations and questions in order to build and deepen customer relationships. The stronger your relationships with consumers, the more likely it is that your products, services or company will be shared across social media websites or receive positive ratings or comments on your own website.
Social commerce is constantly expanding to include new features and abilities. For example, Facebook apps are being developed by larger companies so that when their product or service is shared on Facebook, potential consumers don’t have to leave the site to make a purchase. These types of apps allow businesses to convert more referrals into sales to get the most out of social commerce.
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