Comments on: Social Media E-Commerce: Just Because It Can’t Be Measured Doesn’t Mean It Doesn’t Exist

By: Fabien Tiburce/Compliantia

Fabien Tiburce/Compliantia — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 05:44:18 +0000

I tend to agree with ChoiceStream that most people don’t have a “consumer” mindset when engaged on social networks. In fact some people find the commercialization of social-networks in “poor taste” and a reason to look elsewhere. In my mind etailers need to adjust their sales strategy to the social medium. Inform the customer first, provide links to compare products, read reviews, etc…sales will come.

By: Evan Schuman

Evan Schuman — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:46:18 +0000

On your last point, Gerardo, (people don’t think of Facebook when they need to buy a new TV) I’d disagree. People do indeed think of social media at those times. “I wonder which brand really looks best or which actually works well? Let me see if any of my friends have recently made that kind of a purchase.” Using a large group of friends and associates (and friends of friends) to get hopefully unbiased counsel on a purchase is a very popular use of social sites.

By: Gerardo Dada

Gerardo Dada — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:38:39 +0000

If you look at social media in the broader sense, there are many ways to leverage the passion and wisdom of your customers to improve E-commerce. It can be tracked, in fact. This is the whole premise of social commerce: It is about embedding social media in a way that is relevant to the customer – relevant to their interests, their context and their intent (i.e. no one thinks of Facebook when they need to buy a new TV).

By: Wanda Cadigan

Wanda Cadigan — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:48:07 +0000

I think most would agree that social media already has, and will continue to have a huge impact on e-commerce. Can it be tracked as precisely as we would hope? Not yet.

However, most retailers have at their disposal a huge assortment of content (traditional merchandising info, UGC, rich media, etc), and the trick to leverage social networks will be to develop a online content management strategy and to match content to the community. It’s all about context…

By: Julie Davis

Julie Davis — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:29:47 +0000

The key isn’t to bombard consumers where they play, but bring where they play into the shopping experience. Yes, having measurable data (that makes sense) would put the world’s social media nay-sayers to bed, but thats an evolutionary process.

By: Lori Trahan

Lori Trahan — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 22:25:57 +0000

We could not agree more that the interactions shoppers have with each other on social networks influence their shopping behavior and purchases. What the survey said is that retailers need to think long and hard about the kinds of investments they’re making in social network advertisements and product recommendations. The numbers showed that while some people do happen to make a purchase while engaging in social networks, most are not ready for retailers to push product recommendations at them.

That’s not to say a purchase isn’t influenced by the things they are seeing from friends, fan sites and brand engagement campaigns. It simply means they don’t want retailers bombarding their pages with links and ads, as is pointed out in the story. It’s our advice to retailers that they not invest in this type of marketing initiative right now, allowing consumers to engage with the brand on their own terms. For 2010, personalized recommendations and promotions are better suited where consumers are looking for them — online and mobile.
Lori Trahan, VP Marketing, ChoiceStream

By: Barry Dennis

Barry Dennis — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:06:00 +0000

Your customers may have multiple choices AND multiple motivation(s) to get to your Online site; for shopping, or for information about your products and services.
“Never look a gift horse in the mouth.”
Remember that? It just meant that when a “gift,” a customer, comes your way, be thankful.
As to helping them find the way to you, be proactive, be helpful, be relationship-oriented.
Social is a part of a Marketing Strategy, but not for every product or service.
Knowing that a marketing venue (Social) has lots of “your” customers doesn’t automatically create license to hunt; care must be exercised in the approach, presentation and “close.”
If word-of-mouth (translate Internet viral) is still the most valuable form of Marketing, then that should be the focus of Social Marketing Strategy.

By: Evan Schuman

Evan Schuman — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:12:46 +0000

Editor’s Note: If someone comes from a particular domain, it shows up in the referral logs. No link is needed.

By: Christine

Christine — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:36:58 +0000

I’m a bit confused about how you check your referral logs and match that to sales. How would a social site such as Facebook show up in your referral logs if you don’t include links in your posts?