Three Ways to Increase Commerce on your Site Using Social Media

Although Facebook has become the hub of commerce for many retailers, it is not a viable direct selling channel. For example, many Facebook storefronts use iFrames or Flash to show product content, which is then completely ignored by search engines. Until it evolves to support the sophisticated analytics, SEO and merchandising tactics that retailers already use on their commerce sites, it is perhaps best leveraged as a complementary sales channel. It is also a branding and engagement tool, and a traffic-driver to your e-commerce site, but it would be more advantageous to think about these ways of incorporating social media onto your own site instead.

Three Ways to Increase Commerce on your Site Using Social Media:

1. Ratings and Reviews:
Many companies still outsource user-generated content on to their Facebook page. Yet studies show that 65% of consumers prefer researching products on a retailer’s website, and a majority use search as the route to finding product pages. Despite Facebook’s sheer volume of users and abundance of user-generated content, on-site customer reviews are critical to a successful social commerce strategy. Retailers have seen significant SEO benefits by housing reviews on-site. Most companies believe that traffic directly to product pages produces the highest conversion rates, and blending product descriptions with customer reviews creates optimized content that search engines rate very highly.

2. Social Login:
Most websites present visitors with some kind of form to learn more about their shoppers in an attempt to build relationships, target or personalize content and increase retention with special offers and promotions. But most people hate filling forms! Often they will falsify information because it just seems too intrusive to lay out all their details to a faceless website. This is where Social Login becomes important. It is preferred by customers, and simplifies registration as well as providing a wealth of demographic data to the retailer. It has been shown that consumers who prefer to use their social identities to interact with sites are more valuable shoppers. They buy more often online and are more likely to rely on their social networks to influence purchase decisions., These consumers are nearly twice as likely to purchase on a site that automatically recognizes them.

3. Via Your Mobile:
The mobile phone is rapidly becoming the focus for social activity online, and now increasingly for transactions too. Shrewd retailers can harness this channel to uncover new revenue streams. A mobile “check-in” posted to a social network feed expands retail brand awareness among a consumer’s friends. This creates a form of social validation – “If my tech-savvy friend checks in to rave about a great deal on a laptop at the electronics store downtown, I may be inclined to go shopping”. Retailers also facilitate loyalty and repeat business by offering badges, virtual currency or special offers to shoppers who frequently check-in, turning their websites into powerful channels for customer engagement.

Fortunately then, with the right mix of tools, the benefits of social shopping can be extended to your e-commerce site. Social commerce is still an emerging area of focus for retailers, but don’t assume that it only needs to take place on a social network. Leverage these strategies to optimize your website and achieve maximum return on your social investment.

Embedding Content into your Website To Create a Strong Social Media Presence

Social Media Marketing has become central now to business development, irrespective of the product or service you’re offering. Media pundits tell us that customers now interact with companies in a completely different way, and expect their favoured brands to be nimble and responsive to the demands of quick, easily absorbed messages put across in a way that is attention-grabbing and contemporary. The great advantage of embedding exciting new content is that it is accessible to all and easily shared at the touch of a button. Sit back and watch your sphere of influence grow!
It is important to be aware of the extraordinary range of things that can be embedded into your website to create arresting visual images. Here’s a look at some of them:

Fourteen Things You Can Easily Embed into Your Website:

1. Embed High Quality Videos:
   Embed a high resolution video clip into your site. Explain how a product should be used, take visitors on a virtual tour of your hotel, present complex information about medical procedures in a simple way, or sell a holiday destination.
   
2. Embed MP3 Music and other audio files:
   Present a clip of a hit single, a famous speech, a podcast, or an audio guide to assembling a piece of furniture. The possibilities are endless!
   
3. Embed Photos and Slideshows or Web Albums:
   Share pictures of your factory, your stall at an exhibition, or the award your company received. Reassure customers of your credibility with pictures of smiling employees or your imposing office building. You can even embed a whole slideshow sized to fit conveniently into your webpage.
   
4. Embed Your LinkedIn Profile:
   If you wish to embed your LinkedIn profile into your blog and display it in the sidebar, site visitors can read a summary of your LinkedIn profile without leaving the site.
   
5. Embed Google Maps in Web Pages:
   Embedding a Google Map in your website is now almost as easy as adding an image. Show visitors where you’re located – clear directions make a lot of people more likely to want to set out in dense traffic to find your store, art gallery, or restaurant.
   
6. Embed Events from Google Calendar:
   Not only can you embed a Google Calendar into your webpage, but you can even customize it and choose elements that you want to display or hide in the calendar. Alert customers to important events by date.
   
7. Embed Very Large Photographs:
   To embed really large images, you can use programs which break your photographs into small tiles and you can even pan / zoom across these images, very similar to the default interface of Google Maps. Wow visitors with high-res pictures of locations, products, architectural plans, or events.
   
8. Embed Charts and Graphs in Web Pages:
   Illustrate your point clearly, and also make it easy for important information to be shared across a large number of people.
   
9. Embed Word Documents or pdf Files:
   Even Barack Obama is using this feature to upload his public documents and upcoming plans! Case Studies, User Manuals, Patient Guides, Project Specifications, everything can be easily embedded.
   
10. Embed PowerPoint Presentations:
    You can embed presentations that are either large or formatted in the form of magazines or catalogues. Use this format to treat visitors to a high-quality presentation about your business – make them feel they’re sitting in the Boardroom with you!
    
11. Embed Flash or Flash Video:
    Embedding Flash content improves the overall user experience and with the newer methods it also becomes more searchable.
    
12. Embed Spreadsheet Data:
    Embed a range of cells from a spreadsheet into a web page to capture important data in a visually appealing and organized way.
    
13. Embed Chat in your Blog:
    If you like to chat with visitors who are currently on your site, embed a widget and place it in the sidebar of your website. Visitors show up in your buddy list so you can strike up a conversation, answer questions, or just keep tabs on guests.
    
14. Embed Another Webpage into your Blog:
    If you would like to embed another website into your web page, you can do that too. Maybe you’re recommending another company or product, maybe you’re alerting visitors to a launch, or the completion of a project. Either way, the content can be shared easily, and your Search Engine rankings improve.
    

So clearly, you can embed almost anything into your HTML pages now – from Flash videos to Spreadsheets to high resolution photographs to static images from Google Maps and more. Allowing your visitors access to high-quality content that can be easily shared has never been easier!