Social Commerce
Buying decisions now take place in a social context, with consumers and businesses making decisions based in part on what they read online and what others say about your services and products. A social commerce strategy can drive revenue and create competitive advantage.
Implementing a social commerce strategy means more than putting a “Like” page on Facebook. That creates awareness; it does not create sales.
Social commerce encompasses online activities that involve getting people to talk about, recommend and buy your services and products in a social setting. Case in point: Pottermore.
Pottermore is the website of author J.K. Rowling for fans of the Harry Potter series of novels. It’s more than a place for fans of the novels’ heroes to gather and talk about what they have read or the popular movies based on the books.
Rowling owns the digital rights to the entire series. She excluded them from her book deals. She can sell digital versions of the novels to the growing number of owners who own Kindles, Nooks and the like. She has turned social media into social commerce.
Your business or professional practice benefit from social commerce in a number of ways:
- Direct sales. Your website can be the place where people congregate. Make it friendly like a Starbucks and people will bring their friends, too.
- Greater exposure. Social commerce is about sharing information, and as customers and clients share their good experiences with their friends, website visits — and revenue — can grow.
- Marketing opportunities. Social commerce includes giving feedback about what works, what doesn’t, and what people would like to have. Those ideas can translate into new services and products.