7 tips for retailers: How to make your mark in Facebook Commerce (F-commerce)

[Doron Simovitch is co-founder and CEO of shopping search engine and Facebook e-commerce solutions provider SortPrice.com.]

Some say Facebook commerce is just a passing fad.

Don’t believe it for a second.

Three years ago, the concept of shopping on Facebook was still in its infancy. Since then, merchants and F-commerce solutions providers have navigated through uncharted territory and created what is essentially a new industry. How big has F-commerce become in that short period of time? The 1,500-plus merchants using my company’s Store Application alone listed nearly $3.8 billion in merchandise on their Facebook stores last year, and that number is expected to at least double this year.

Make no mistake: With a user base approaching 800 million people worldwide, Facebook offers enormous potential to retailers and they know it. Merchants are no longer asking, “Should we be on Facebook?” What they’re asking now is, “How can we enhance our Facebook presence to separate ourselves from the pack?”

Retail success on Facebook comes down to two simple things: engagement and incentives. They have been the cornerstones of F-commerce strategy from the beginning, and they are even more important now in light of a crowded social shopping landscape, where more players come into the fold on a daily basis.

Here are a few ways retailers on Facebook can incorporate those two critical concepts as part of a strategy to stay ahead of the curve:

1. Engage users creatively (and consistently). Attention spans are short and users’ news feeds get crowded awfully fast. So don’t limit wall postings to sale announcements and the like. Running items such as riddles and jokes, or simply posing open-ended questions to your Facebook fans about current events or pop culture on a daily basis ensures you stay on their mental radar.

2. Provide exclusivity. We’ve found that the biggest reason people Like a retail brand on Facebook is the hope they’ll get a good deal out of it. So oblige them! Offer promotions, discounts and sales that are exclusive to your Facebook fans and they’ll keep coming back for more.

3. Attract new fans with added incentives. Maintaining relationships with existing Facebook fans is important, but bringing more on board is how you’ll grow. Give a one-time promo code, coupon or something like discounted shipping to anyone who Likes your page. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how quickly word of such specials spreads to others.

4. Solicit input. F-commerce relationships are a two-way street, and your fans provide a great resource in helping shape your Facebook presence. Ask them directly how you can improve that presence and employ the best ideas, if they’re feasible. This can only add to the quality of your relationships with fans.

5. Make Facebook a PR tool. Use your wall to post news articles about your company or to announce charitable and community service initiatives you’re involved with. Given the rather skeptical view most consumers have of business in general these days, positive public relations items go a long way towards solidifying your status as a quality company.

6. Incorporate Facebook into Customer Service. Several companies outside the e-commerce industry are already experimenting with this concept to varying degrees. The idea is not to replace your existing customer service options but supplement them through Facebook. Allow customer product reviews on your wall.  Encourage fans to share their shopping experience with you. If the experience is a good one, thank them. If not, publicly address the problem on your wall and offer a solution. By providing full transparency, you’re signaling to current and potential customers your commitment to their satisfaction. A first-time visitor to your Facebook store and fan page who sees you properly addressing a customer complaint will feel much better about doing business with you.

7. Keep an eye out for new features and tools. As new components like flash sales and contests become available on F-commerce platforms, take a look at each and figure out how best to use them. These are designed, in part, to make the F-commerce experience more social and fun, which is the whole point anyway!

It’s safe to say that F-commerce is now in a second phase of development and that its basic strategies and resources are already well established. As a result, simply opening a Facebook store, even if you have fantastic merchandise and great prices, is no longer enough. Retailers who make a commitment to both engagement and customer incentives from here on out will be the ones that attract the most potential customers and reap the benefits.

You can follow Doron Simovitch on Twitter at @doronsi.

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Tags: e commerce, F-commerce

Companies: Facebook, SortPrice.com

People: Doron Simovitch

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Google+ Pro Tips Round Up: Week 5

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Last week’s round up was all about third party services that sprang up to fill any Google+ voids. This week, I’ll let you know how to keep up with the latest Google+ updates, and give you some great tips for interacting with your followers.

Although Google+ updated its naming policy—with some clarification from VP of Google+ Bradley Horowitz—people’s profiles are still getting suspended. The latest victim was +Blake Ross, current Director of Product at Facebook and cofounder of the Firefox web browser. Luckily, his profile was quickly reinstated, but such stories are not uncommon. To protect yourself, make sure you are using what Google deems acceptable as a “common name”—a name like “Bob Smith” is fine, but a pseudonym or handle like “iamthegreatestever” is not acceptable, and you’ll quickly find your profile suspended.

Stay on Top of Google+ News

Want to try out new Google+ features before they launch to the public? You can sign up for the Google+ Platform Preview mailing list here. If you prefer YouTube, subscribe to Google’s videos or keep updated by checking the What’s New in Google+ page.

The best news? Google+ for Android has been updated. Check out this video from +Punit Soni for details. The release notes detail a bunch of improvements, such as improved notifications, clickable links in huddles, the ability to hide one-on-one huddles, and more.

Still waiting for a feature to get implemented? Add your Google+ feature requests here.

Track Yourself

If you want to know what’s going on in your own Google+ world, the easiest thing to do is to add yourself to SocialStatistics, or any similar site that provides ranking and tracking data for Google+ profiles. PlusYa is another site that does the same thing. All you need to do is provide the site with your Google+ ID number, and you’re set.

If you’re so popular that you can’t keep track of all the + mentions of you, create a circle dedicated to those mentions. +Alida Brandenburg suggested this creative circles use as a way to keep track of how people are talking about you, for trend analysis, or reflection for your next posts. 

Interact

Want to make your Google+ posts a bit more fun? Start a poll with the +1 button in your comments. All you have to do is ask a poll question in your post, and then provide the voting options in the comments. Ask your followers to +1 the option they agree with. This tip, from +Ahmed Zeeshan, works best if you disable comments. But if you’re looking for more nuanced opinions/open comments, provide an option such as: “None of the above, and I’ll tell you why in comments”.

Side note: +Ahmed has helpfully written a bunch of useful, in-depth guides to Google+. They’re all worth reading if you’re a power user.

+Michael West suggests using the +1 button for lists, as a method for other people to provide their opinions. You could create a list of your favorite books and ask people to select their favorites. People can pick multiple options using the +1 button.

You know that you can tag people with the + or @ keys. But sometimes it’s a bit slow to show up, and sometimes for whatever reason, the wrong person with a similar name gets tagged. Getting around this issue isn’t exactly a shortcut. From +Manuel Viet, find the person’s Google+ profile, copy the URL or paste the + sign and the numeric Google+ ID, and paste it into your post. You’ll have to share your post before you’ll know if it worked or not, but if it didn’t, you can go back and edit your post.

Google+ Shortcuts

• https://plus.google.com/me/edit takes you to the edit mode of your profile, so you don’t have to edit your privacy settings one at a time.
• https://plus.google.com/notifications/all shows you everything your red notification box informs you of, from who shared your posts to who circled you.
• https://plus.google.com/notifications/myposts provides notifications on your posts, such as who’s commented and who’s shared your posts.
• https://plus.google.com/notifications/otherposts provides notifications on posts you’ve commented on.
• https://plus.google.com/notifications/mentions is a list of everyone who’s mentioned you.
• https://plus.google.com/notifications/circle is everyone who’s added you to their circles. From here, you can hide or block users. You can also add people to your existing circles or create a new one.
• https://plus.google.com/notifications/phototags lets you know when you’ve been tagged in a photo.

Photo by KEXINO

Via Google+ Pro Tips Round Up: Week 5 on googleplus.wonderhowto.com.

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