We are leaning into the largest social commerce holiday season ever. Big brands are quietly placing their bets on social commerce and the time to put a social commerce plan in place is now. Brands that wait will miss a tremendous opportunity. Here’s why:
We have been watching online behavior change over the past several years as social networks have matured. As the aggregation of data becomes more convenient through sources like Facebook and Twitter, people are consuming more content from a central hub. A recent report from Nielsen says: Social Networks and Blog sites rule Americans’ Internet time, accounting for 23 percent of time spent online, more than twice the amount of time spent on the #2 category, Online Games. To further put this into context, time spent on the 75 “Other” online categories combined only accounts for 35 percent of Americans’ total Internet time. Nearly ONE QUARTER of all time online is spent on social networks and blog sites…and the number continues to grow.
Gartner Research reports: By 2015, companies will generate 50% of Web sales via their social presence and mobile applications. That’s a big percentage that companies need to prepare for now by testing social commerce. Gartner Research also points out that Social media ranks in the top four action points for retailers through 2013. This is in response to “empowered consumers” — which includes social media trends — and is their top concern.
Booz Allen forecasts that today the social commerce oppotunity is worth $5 Billion and by 2015 it will be worth $30 Billion (a 600% increase!). There is a lot of money to be made by brands who introduce social commerce to their communities now and grow with them over the next several years.
HOW TO DELIVER SOCIAL COMMERCE HO-HO-HO’S
In our ebook, The Fan Brand’s Guide to Facebook Commerce, we talk about social commerce as a rewards tool to thank fans for publicly saying they like you. Giving a first look at a new line of clothing, or sharing an exclusive offer is easy to do. With social commerce, you can enable your fans to transact without leaving the site they are browsing.
We think this is a big, big deal. This holiday season, train your online communities to expect to shop inside their social stream. Teach them how to share storefronts and tell their friends about it – social commerce drives community growth. Here are some take-away tips for getting the most out of the holidays: Plan ahead. If you haven’t, sit down now and create a calendar of offers and promotion dates.
Start to hint in your social media marketing that special offers are coming inside the social sites and your fans should keep an eye out for your updates. Open shop November 1. Holiday shopping will be in full swing, so if you haven’t already started planning, set a goal to be selling by the end of the month.
Take a page from Marketing 101 and use creative promotions such as: 1. 30% off your best-selling items for 2 weeks 2. Free shipping for a day 3. Black Friday sale 4. Cyber Monday – discounts throughout the day 5. Shipping day count-downs Sign up with Moontoast and start selling socially in a matter of hours (shameless plug, but hey…we’re just trying to help) You are probably already using similar promotions in your eCommerce plans. Why should social commerce be any different? Social commerce is an extension of your ecommerce strategy. Push offers into Facebook, Twitter, and blog networks to reach consumers with timely and relevant ads, generate social buzz for your brand, grow your social community, and generate a new revenue stream.
The time to start selling socially is NOW.