As every ecommerce storeowner knows, and as I have mentioned (and will continue to mention) numerous times on this blog, the 2011 holiday shopping season is almost here. With it come early analysis and predictions of shopping patterns, trends, and behaviors geared towards helping merchants have a more successful shopping season.
This year, mobile, tablet, and social commerce are all predicted to be big trends. The average consumer is going to be looking for social ways to shop online in the form of the ability to virtually compare prices, read reviews, and of course, seek out the recommendations of friends on Facebook before making a purchase.
In other words, people are using technology to engage in social shopping, which should come as no surprise since people, like animals, are naturally social creatures.
How can you engage your customers socially on Facebook with the ultimate goal of getting them to purchase products from your site?
Involve Your Audience
Your fans obviously share common interests (they all like your Facebook page, for one thing) so why not ask them for their opinions on topics that are relevant to them? These can range from issues in the news, to rating their favorite products in your store, and more.
The idea is to get them talking, interested, more aware of your products and brand, and more receptive to the idea of purchasing products from your store.
Make Your Website Social
Adding Facebook “Like” buttons to your product pages, as Steve Fronek demonstrated in his guest blog post, is a great way to make it easy for your customers to share their love of your products with their Facebook friends. A “Like” is essentially an endorsement, and consumers are becoming increasingly more reliant on the recommendations of social networking friends when it comes to purchasing decisions.
Studies show that consumers are 68% more likely to buy a product recommended by a Facebook friend-that’s right, 68%. That little “Like” button can be a very powerful tool.
Bring The Products To Your Fans
Since your fans are already aware of your Facebook presence and presumably, your brand and the products. why not make it easier for them to purchase products while they are visiting your Facebook page?
There are a few different ways to do this.
- Promote featured products in your page updates and include a link back to your store so that your fans can learn more and purchase featured products.
- Announce sales, promotions, clearance items, and new arrivals on your Facebook page. Again, make sure that you are including a link back to your store so that your fans can purchase products from you.
Both of these methods will help to increase Facebook-based sales and engagement, but the best, most convenient, seamless, and easiest way to use the power of social commerce to its full advantage is to integrate your Miva Merchant store with your Facebook fan page. How? In the next few days, we will be making an announcement about our new social commerce product that is designed to allow store owners to do just that.
Stay tuned for this announcement, and in the mean time, why not try some of the above tips to increase social engagement on your Facebook page. With the holiday season fast approaching, you’ll be glad that you did.
Miva