Your customers are more connected and more informed than ever before. They are spending more time engaging with friends and companies through social media channels and this is influencing their buying behavior.  Social Commerce is about influencing their buying decisions through social channels.

The following are some tips for success with social commerce

1.   Ratings and Reviews

Provide all your customers with the option of creating ratings and/or reviews about your product or service.  We are very heavily influenced in our purchase decisions based on ratings/reviews.  Just ask Amazon why they do their best to include ratings and reviews for all of their products!

2.   Social Sign-On and Sharing

 Increasingly online retailers will provide you with the ability to sign on to Facebook through their website and then make it easy for you to share content online.  If you want social sales you’ll need to get more social!

3.   Provide Incentives

If you want your customers to share out your deals/offers then you should consider providing them with an incentive for doing this.  Sometimes virtual rewards can work just as well as monetary awards!

4.   Bring the products to your fans

Websites are not as interesting to customers as they used to be so you cannot always bring your customers away from other sites to your website.  Consider having a portable shop where you can put the shop on Facebook on your website and other areas.  Check out the Irish companies Owjo or VendorShop for a Facebook shop.

5.   Create exclusive deals

 If you have a group of Fans on Facebook, Followers on Twitter, etc, then offer them exclusive deals.  For example, a deal that is exclusive and is only available for the next 24 hours and has X% discount.

6.   Involve your audience

Social Media is a great way of getting feedback directly from your customers.  Why not get their feedback on what other products/services they want and then deliver them.  By getting them involved in the process they are more likely to buy and also recommend.

7.   Refer a friend

 Introduce a “refer a friend” scheme and make it available through all your online sites.  As part of this provide rewards and/or incentives for people who do it.

8.   Don’t Swap e-Commerce for f-Commerce

Don’t put up a Facebook shop and just give up on the shop on your website.  You need both.  E-Commerce for traditional customers and F-Commerce (shop in Facebook) for your social fans.

9.   Use Pop up Stores

Pop up stores are temporary stores you set up for a specific events or flash sales.  For example, you may create a pop up store for Christmas goods and then shut it down after Christmas.  Great for generating a bit of buzz and some sales!

10.   Don’t sell all the time

  Social Commerce is not all about direct selling.  You need to have a group of interested and engaged potential customers and then lead them to a sale rather than chasing them for one!

What is your opinion of Social Commerce?  How will this affect shopping online?  What can you do to benefit from this?