Social Media Commerce For Dummies

Introduction

Trying to target the new media customer these days is getting increasingly hard. Customers and clients are online, sharing and exchanging ideas on products and services. They seek information from reviews and comments on multiple websites. This shift has changed shopping from a solo exercise to a social experience and is the key element to the growth of social commerce.

In addition, the new media customer has a growing distrust of traditional advertising and marketing methods. In 2010, the Altimeter Group (www.altimetergroup.com) heralded an enterprise conference on the groundswell of social commerce:

It is not about you! It is not about the brand. It is about the collective wisdom of the community, who share insight from people that the buyer trusts. This is a marked change for a product-centric company that has built a living on push-based advertising about their brands. For now, it is not about your website, your fan page, or your sponsored communities. The shopper is a skeptic. They are the most likely to buy based on posts on third-party websites.

Shoppers want to connect with the companies and people with which they do business. They want to feel important. They want their opinions to be respected and their feelings to be understood. They crave a buying experience that puts them in a place of influence. The power is shifting to the consumer. By using social media commerce effectively, you can bridge the gap between you and your customer while you build your ...