E-Commerce Web Site Development and Social Media Working Together

E-commerce development strategy should include a social media effort which draws people to the e-commerce web site, and e-commerce site design which prompts use of social media

As companies scramble to gain a presence on social media Web sites, they should not forget that any social media effort should be part of a larger e-commerce development strategy. In turn, that e-commerce development strategy should be designed to support the overall marketing mix.

The result is somewhat like those Russian nesting dolls--the social media piece should fit neatly inside the e-commerce development strategy, which in turn fits inside the firm-wide marketing program. Otherwise, what a company has are a bunch of different pieces which have no real place.

The following are examples of ways a social media effort can fit as part of an e-commerce development strategy.

Deals Draw People to E-Commerce Web Sites

Its easy to form the impression that some companies are getting onto social media just because everyone else is doing it, because sometimes the effort can seem a little scatter-shot and gratuitous. However, while the tactics may need work, the intention is justified.

One study showed that 30 percent of social media users have learned about a new product or brand on social media. Fully 34% have used a search engine to find out more about a product or brand after reading about it on social media. In short, a pretty broad swath of the social media audience is attentive to marketing messages, and even moved to action by those messages. These actions can include becoming a "friend" to a brand on Facebook or MySpace, or a follower on Twitter.

Of course, while technologies and forms of media may change, some principles of marketing remain universal. One such principle is that consumers want deals. Some 44% of people who follow a brand on Twitter do so because they want to receive special coupons or notice of sales. Roughly a third of those who befriend a brand on Facebook or MySpace do so for the same reason.

So, the message is that social media can help draw people to an e-commerce Web site, but it helps if they are given an economic incentive to go there. Consumers in turn may sign up to view a companys pitches on a regular basis, which can keep them coming back to the e-commerce Web site again and again.

E-Commerce Site Design Should Incorporate Social Media

The relationship between social media and an e-commerce Web site does not have to be a one-way street. Indeed, this notion of giving consumers regular reminders to visit a site is a reason to make sure that e-commerce site design incorporates links to popular social media sites, and suggestions that people become followers and friends of a brand.

Again, there is nothing new here except the technology and the type of media. The marketing principles are those of attracting repeat business and cultivating brand loyalty. The company that gets its loyal customers to interact with the brand on social media may not only induce those customers to come back for more, but they may get those customers to draw some other people along with them.

Social media and an e-commerce Web site can be complementary, as long as social media are used to give people a good reason to visit the Web site, and as long as e-commerce site design makes it easy for customers to interact with social media.

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Sources:

• http://blog.performics.com/search/2009/11/consumers-open-to-marketing-messages-on-social-media-sites.html
• http://www.clickz.com/3635602