I like to think of social media as a chameleon. Over the last few years it has shown us how unique it can be yet still be adaptable to almost any situation we utilize it in. Print magazines are now found online in blog format, blogs are now used for SEO, microblogging for social sharing and customer service, live streaming to bring behind the scenes, local and non-local events directly to you and social networks to build relationships with customers. I'm talking social media from a business perspective, of course, and now more businesses are looking to incorporate the ability to sell direct to the consumer. Not just tweets from @DellOutlet with exclusive deals, I'm talking jumping onto Facebook and seeing more than "We just launched a new lipstick" on your favorite cosmetics brand's fan page. Instead you find actual storefronts set up making it easy to read about said newly launched lipstick and simply clicking a tab to purchase it...all without ever leaving the Facebook fan page.
I think it's safe to say that many companies still do not understand how to operate within social media because they continue to think exclusively pushing product will land them the sale. There are several things that need to happen before you launch your webstore on Facebook (and needs to continue well past landing sales):
- Have true engagement with your existing consumer base.
- Update on a daily basis.
- Have a solid fan base with steady growth each week.
- Be willing to listen to consumer feedback, even when it is less than positive.
- Mix things up now and again to keep your fan page from going stale.
- Be solution oriented not sales oriented.
The convenience of hosting your online store on your fan page can also come with the increased risk of fans posting about negative experiences with your company. Be sure to have a strategy in place to handle these situations to avoid it turning into a PR crisis.
Smartbcn.com has been blowing my mind lately. They offer companies the ability to host their digital catalogues and online stores direct on Facebook. Take BODUM USA for example, you can turn the pages of the catalogue like a digital magazine, search the catalogue and buy directly from the fan page without ever leaving Facebook. While some companies may see this as detracting from fans going directly to the website, I see it as just another opportunity to build buzz around your products while your fans/customers are dually publicizing your fan page/products in their newsfeed. The potential for exponential growth both in number of new fans and sales is something that should really get you motivated to build those very important relationships with your customers so that you can forgo the department store middleman all together.
What do you think? Will more Facebook users be inclined to buy directly off the fan page or will they continue to buy direct from the website or department store?
Posted by Shannon Nelson on June 2, 2010 4:17 PM
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