What is Social Commerce

Social media has changed the way we shop online. Consumers are receiving advice from friends and family and businesses through social networking sites and the majority rely on feedback from social media to guide their purchases via researching online product reviews on blogs, Youtube, Twitter and Facebook.

There is a gorgeous (you have to see it!) Infographic here from Tab Juice, which shares with you the statistics, relating to Social Commerce, check it out:

Social Commerce Psychology of Shopping (Infographic).

Wikipedia definition of Social Commerce

"Social commerce is a subset of electronic commerce that involves using social media, online media that supports social interaction, and user contributions to assist in the online buying and selling of products and services.  More succinctly, social commerce is the use of social network(s) in the context of e-commerce transactions".

Read the full definition of Social Commerce here.

The shift from e-commerce to s-commerce

Mashable report that "the shift from e-commerce to s-commerce has only just begun and reports that revenues from social commerce are expected to reach $30 billion by 2015".

To help understand how to get social commerce right, take a look at four startups that are making e-commerce social right now. 

Turning social into sales

There are a number of strategic ways you can turn social into sales, such as:

• Integrate the social networks with your site ie: 'claim this offer on Facebook'.
• Consider how your products are found in social media, web and mobile.
• Identify the demand for products, by using social networks and social media research tools.
• Acquire customers from social networks by engaging within the networks.
• Could you offer more online gifting options?
• Consider whether you and your customers would benefit from Geo location offers. 
• Review your customer retention plan in the age of customer reviews and comparison sites. 
• Gain an understanding of your impact and publicise it for ROI. 

Interesting times ahead

We all continue to watch social commerce trends with interest.  Last year Rocktime set up an internal steering group to grow our e-commerce website solutions for social commerce further.  Back in July 2011 this blog had a sole focus on social commerce, for more information on social commerce view the social commerce blog posts here.

Are you making the most of Social Commerce opportunities on and off your website. Talk to our sales team today to help you determine your room to grow.

Contact our Sales team.

Also if you find a website that is doing a great job with social commerce interactions on and off their website, feel free to leave a comment below.

Author: Sarah Griffiths

Global E-commerce Opportunities

Our favourite website for keeping up to date with the latest internet statistics, Econsultancy, shared (September 2012) the results from a Search Laboratory whitepaper which uncovers the opportunities for global marketing for a UK enterprise organisation.  The complimentary White Paper is titled "Web Magnetism: Attracting global trade online" and is a must read for any business wanting to attract more international trade online.

The bespoke research identified the need for multilingual search marketing campaigns: the importance of customer centric approach to international growth and highlights why businesses may need to look further than Google for international trade.

With Global E-commerce sales likely to exceed $1 trillion next year and as a number of our clients, new and current are talking and working with us on the opportunities available for international marketing and international expansion of their websites, we would like to share with you a few of the report's key statistics.

You can also find these on the Econsultancy website in the form of a lovely infographic.

Note: The White Paper was informed by a UK wide independent research study in Q2 2012, which investigated the prevailing attitudes amongst 350 senior decision makes within 'large UK enterprises' (companies with 200 employees or more).

Some of the key statistics from the Search Laboratory report:

93% of UK organisations have been forced to rely heavily on the global markets to maintain or grow their revenues since the recession began.

64% of businesses are missing the potential opportunities that the Internet can bring them in terms of "being discovered" by overseas buyers.

81% of respondents deemed it important to have a locally registered internet domain in each of their overseas markets.

To find out more about how Rocktime can help your website grow for International E-commerce expansion, call in and talk to a member of our sales team.  Visit our contact us page here.

Author: Sarah Griffiths

Geek Video of the Month

The Airpod has nearly arrived, the car that runs on air!  We first heard about the Airpod back in 2009 when the Guardian Environment talked about the Airpod here.

The creator of the Car India’s Tata Motors is debuting the Airpod again. Since the previous debut, they have been working closely with MDI an engineering company which has been developing zero pollution engines since the early 90s.

The Airpod isn't powered via peddle power, (AKA Flintstone Stylee!!) it is powered by compressed air, which you refill with an external pump. The electric motor on board the Airport will 'refuel' while in motion (takes 2 minutes to fill up). The Car is ideally suited for urban city folk as top speed is 43mph. It looks tiny but we have read that it will seat 3 adults and a child, plus there is room for luggage.  There is no steering wheel inside, just a joystick (The movie Total Recall springs to mind, Google "Total Recall Taxi" to see what we mean!).

The video shows the car in action, it isn’t very compelling, perhaps they need help with their online marketing.

So would you consider getting an Airpod ? let us know in the comments section below.

Author: Sarah Griffiths and Fiona Anderson.