Retailers are starting to use the best social strategies to increase ecommerce. I came across the infographic below by ShopSocially which highlights the tremendous growth in social commerce on online retail websites. Data released by ShopSocially shows that embedding social engagement modules on ecommerce websites has resulted in impressive gains in incremental revenue, referral traffic, and new customer acquisition. The study also found a high correlation between social sharing and SEO rank. Recently, search analytics provider Searchmetrics provided compelling evidence of what we’ve suspected for some time, that is: search engine ranking positions are influenced significantly by social signals, rather than traditional forms of SEO.
Lauren Indvik writing in a Mashable article says:
“Social commerce is still in its infancy. None of the major social networks — Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest — have yet figured out how to bring transactions directly to their platforms, instead directing retailers to use earned and paid media to bring customers to their online storefronts. Online retailers, too, are continually experimenting with new models and marketing methods to allow for greater peer-to-peer and group-based interactions, aware that recommendations from friends (and to a lesser degree, strangers) can play a powerful role in shopping. According to Gartner, 74% of consumers rely on social networks to guide their purchases”.
The infographic highlights the most effective on-site and off-site social commerce strategies. Social Couponing, Product Polls and Purchase Sharing were found to be the most effective on-site social modules. The infographic also highlights Flash Sales with built in virality as the best off-site social commerce strategy. While attempts to create full-fledged ecommerce stores on Facebook have produced underwhelming results, time sensitive flash sales have fared well on social channels. Adding a ‘sharing gate’ to unlock the deal can help these flash sales go viral quickly.
The research also shows that quality matters more than quantity when it comes to Facebook fans. High quality fans are 14.7 times more engaged and convert at a 3.2 times higher rate than low quality fans.
A deeper analysis, shows the logical reasons behind the success of these strategies. Social interactions on ecommerce websites leverage the existing high purchase intent of users and combines it with the power of social signals. This results in higher engagement, word-of-mouth referrals and ultimately revenue. In contrast, social media browsing lacks purchase intent and therefore an element of urgency needs to be established in order to get users to pull out their wallets. Flash sales are perfect for that.
“Most brands equate social commerce with their ability to generate sales on social channels. That’s just plain wrong,” said Jai Rawat, CEO of ShopSocially. “The true power of social commerce is in adding social elements in the commerce flow and not the other way around. It is criminal to send a hard-acquired visitor away to Facebook for social validation. You must use embedded social modules to keep her on the website, to convert her to a sale, and to get her to refer her friends in the process!”
image credit: ShopSocially
Hayden Richards is Contributor of IntelligentHQ. He specialises in finance, trading, investment, and technology, with expertise in both buy-side, sell-side. Contributing and advising various global corporations, Hayden is a thought leader, researching on global regulatory subjects, digital, social media strategies and new trends for Businesses, Capital Markets and Financial Services.
Aside from the articles, interviews and content he writes for IntelligentHQ, Hayden is also a content curator for capital markets, analytic platforms and business industry emerging trends. An avid new media explorer Hayden is driven by a passion for business development, innovation, social business, Tech Trading, payments and eCommerce. A native Trinidadian, Hayden is also a veteran, having served with the Royal Air Force Reserves for the past 10 years.
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