Through this series on Social Marketing, we’ve explored how Social CRM efforts can drive powerful customer insights via the intelligent analysis of feedback, conversations and responses.  We’ve also pondered how Social Branding techniques are key catalysts for affinity programs, driving awareness, recall and advocacy.  With this fourth post in our series, we turn to Social Commerce.

Social Commerce has often, and rather narrowly, been focused on pure e-commerce.  For example, the Wikipedia entry ties it specifically to “using social media…to assist in the online buying and selling of products and services.”   While online transactions are certainly pivotal for many retailers’ use of integrated social media, we at Demand Media actually see broader applications for the concept.

Arguably, Social Commerce could be defined as a set of digital end user actions that help lead to conversions.  Of course, online sales transactions might be one outcome.  But a conversion could also be a registration, a download, an expression of interest, an indication of preference, or an in-store visit (ideally with a checkout).

Audiences have become highly tuned to participation in Social Commerce initiatives.  Whether driven by a desire to show expertise, or motivated by shopping, research or planning tasks, end users have consistently been willing to provide feedback and insights.  And marketers have become skilled in tactics around captivation, education and actuation to create awareness, solicit input, and reward participation.

Ratings and Reviews are generally the primary application elements of Social Commerce.  But to optimize conversion potential, a comprehensive framework is usually the smart approach. Product Forums, Expert Blogs, User Groups, Photo & Video Sharing, Badges, Points, Leaderboards, Following, Messaging, Comments, Profiles and Social Bridging (bi-directional connections to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.), optimized and tightly integrated into core owned media experiences, are pivotal.  In addition, community seeding, feedback and moderation approaches need to be managed for Social Commerce objectives.

One great example of an OMMA Award winning Social Commerce initiative is Lowe’s Creative Ideas.  Here, visitors create and share DIY projects with step-by-step instructions.  Comments with photos and recommendations help surface compelling advice.  And the projects drive (generally in-store) transactions by surfacing relevant SKUs and product details.  Hundreds of thousands of end users typically visit the Social Commerce offering each month and with search engine optimized (SEO’d) content, people easily find aligned projects and perspectives.

Another compelling showcase comes from one of the largest e-commerce sites on the planet, Southwest.com.  There, the Travel Guide section offers user ratings & reviews, forums, photo galleries, videos, profiles/personas and more, all uniquely structured around key Southwest Airlines destinations.  Want to know more about arguably the best pizza in Austin?  The Travel Guide will help you with a distinctly Southwest voice and perspective.  With hundreds of forums and thousands of active users, Travel Guide is one of three pillars of the Southwest.com site and a key element of their overall Social Media strategy.

As many have found, while placing something like a ratings app on a web page isn’t hard, the process of ensuring success associated with Social Commerce, measured by a variety of Conversion metrics, can be tricky. Fortunately, Demand Media’s Pluck team, along with our exceptional consulting and services partners, are equipped to help major brands and retailers chart a path. Whether organizations are looking to upgrade an existing Social Commerce system, expand beyond an initial project, or launch a major new platform initiative, we can help. 

Intrigued?  Drop us a line and we’d be happy to take you through best practice details of our Social Commerce blueprints, more deeply explain technology and moderation approaches, and show you more customer examples in action.  

Next up in the blog series:  putting the three pillars of Social Marketing together across your multiplatform initiatives.