Facebook is fast becoming the hub of a new shopping experience.

People are voicing affinity for the brands they like, and brands are in turn fostering unique experiences for the fans who seek them out. The tangible benefits that businesses bring to people's daily lives still exist in the world of atoms, they are just now beginning to take digital form, represented with "likes", shares, and product purchases from Facebook pages.

Brand pages, with their flexible customization and closeness to consumers, are key to the new social shopping experience. Here, your brand representatives can mingle with customers and share exclusive content, information about new products, and promotional offers. With embedded applications such as Infused Commerce, your fans can even purchase products directly within Facebook.

The "liking", sharing, and forming of connections in the social commerce environment will impact e-commerce as surely as the Internet changed brick-and-mortar commerce.

Is your brand ready?

Special promotion: Launch your Infused Commerce store for free, for qualifying companies. No monthly fees until 2011. Sign up here!

Image Souce: Flickr

In my quest for a tantalizing cup of coffee, I recently asked a friend about new blends that I should try out. As you may know, San Francisco has its share of specialty coffee houses, each with a dizzying array of choices. I made a honest effort to try the house blends of the many shops to get a sense of their foundational notes, but it was time to play jazz.

My friend, Matt, was quick to respond.

"Try the mocha tesora at Philz, you'll love it."

A few days later I was there, surrounded by the aroma of chocolate-inspired dark roast as it was expertly brewed one cup at a time. There was something about the touch of a hand-crafted cup of coffee, along with my friend's personal recommendation, that held me in avid anticipation. Moments later the mocha set off a beat and melody that sang right to me.

Recommendations from friends can shape our preferences and help us to try new products and services that can delightfully surprise us. A key pillar of social commerce includes recommendations from people you know and from those who know you, shared in ways that can benefit each other. Social commerce enables this personalized sharing of an entire universe of products on social networks, just like recommending a cup of coffee.

What's a favorite product of yours that you would recommend to a friend?

We would love to hear you chime in, even if its your first time here!

 

About Infused Industries: Infused Industries enables social commerce. Their flagship product, Infused Commerce, extends e-commerce platforms — with inventory browsing, shopping cart, and checkout capabilities — directly within their Facebook pages. Additional products and custom solutions focused on enabling social commerce are available. http://www.infusedcommerce.com

While Christmas is still just over three months away, you should be thinking about your company's holiday sales strategy. What products will your company promote when Black Friday arrives? What cross-selling opportunities will expose your products to new audiences? How can your messaging be optimized across multiple communication channels? Answering these questions is essential to gain an advantage this holiday season; even if you aren't, your competitors probably are.

Your business marketing strategy may be spread across several channels: e-mail campaigns, search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), and display advertising, to name a few. However, there's one channel that's increasingly important for companies of all types to consider as an anchor in their online sales and marketing: social networks.

Thousands of companies have invested time and energy to establish their presence on Facebook, and its only a matter of time before fans expect to find and purchase products from the Facebook pages of the companies they "like".

After all, consumers follow a company's Facebook page for certain reasons. They are interested in learning about company updates, news and information, and access to discount codes for product purchases. If they are the first to hear about a new product announcement or limited-availability sale, they will be motivated to talk about your products and move quickly to make a purchase.

Here's how you can include social commerce in your company's holiday sales strategy:

1. Make your products available for purchase on social networks. A custom tab on your Facebook page can house your currently promoted products or even your entire product catalog with Infused Commerce. By embedding e-commerce functionality into your Facebook page, you set the stage for your fans to find and purchase your products in a safe and secure environment, all without requiring consumers to grant access to a third-party application or redirect to an external destination.

2. Get the word out. While maintaining the rapport that you have developed over time, highlight a promotion in a status update to let your audience know that they can purchase the product by clicking over to your Facebook page.

3. Encourage interactivity. Ask questions that give your audience a chance to share their purchases to friends and fellow fans. This provides an outlet for consumers to advocate for your brand and connect with each other, at the same time increasing the reach of your messages across the social network.

As a marketing director, you want to maximize your sales and marketing channels to make an impact this holiday season. Just as consumers will go online (especially the day after Thanksgiving) in search of products to buy, they will expect to find them where they engage with brands and interact with peers.

About Infused Industries: Infused Industries enables social commerce. Their flagship product, Infused Commerce, extends e-commerce platforms — with inventory browsing, shopping cart, and checkout capabilities — directly within their Facebook pages. Brands benefit from increased sales by opening up a new sales channel on the world's largest social network, increased brand awareness, and measurable return on investment. Additional products and custom solutions focused on enabling social commerce are available. http://www.infusedcommerce.com

When the holiday shopping season kicks into high gear this year, you can bet more shoppers will be flocking online to make their holiday purchases.

You would be in the company with 46.7 percent of U.S. retail executives, the number who expect online sales to grow 10 percent or more this season, according to research firm RIS.

With online-only specials, the discovery of new products recommended from others like you, and not having to wait in lines at the register, consumers shopping online will find more cheer out of their buying experience.

Retailers who wish to make the most out of the upcoming retail season will expand their online sales strategy to include social networks such as Facebook. By extending their e-commerce systems to their Facebook pages, retailers can harness the social platform to reach a new class of customers this holiday season.

About Infused Industries: Infused Industries provides a fully-functional store complete with inventory browsing, shopping cart, and checkout capabilities directly in merchant's Facebook Pages. To learn more, please visit http://www.infusedcommerce.com.

Now that your brand has a Facebook Fan Page, how can you make the most of it?

In a report from the Altimeter Group, Jeremiah Owyang and colleagues researched how brands should approach their Facebook marketing. The group received input from 34 vendors, agencies, brands, and individual experts on the best practices.

The full report is available here but summarized for you below - so you can make the most of your organization's Facebook marketing efforts.

Source: Altimeter Group

The 8 Success Criteria for Facebook Page Marketing

1. Set community expectations: Clearly articulate expectations

First, describe what fans can expect from the brand such as deals, tips, support, or just news and information. Second, brands must post what they expect from brands, and define what is appropriate or inappropriate content.

2. Provide cohesive branding: Create a holistic experience that matches the brand

As a first step, brands must complete the profile information, and upload branded logos, maximizing the real estate Facebook pages allow in profile pictures. This creates a familiar entry point for new visitors. For a more powerful experience beyond the limited default features, create custom applications or tabs that resonate with your theme

3. Be up to date: Keep interaction high with fresh, timely content

Vitrue advises to create a content calendar, "ensuring you have the right mix of conversation and promotional posts, and you are keeping the content fresh for your fans". Follow the 80/20 rule: 80% of content should be informational, educational, or have entertainment value. Only 20% of content should be specifically about the brand's product or services.

4. Live authenticity: Build trust by personalizing interactions with a "human" touch

Posts should be written in first person, using a conversational tone. Actual page administrators with names and photos can help fans develop deeper relationships with the brand.

5. Participate in dialog: Two-way dialog spurs interaction, trust, and the spread of information

Stoke dialog by publicly thanking people for being a fan, avoid flooding the wall with canned marketing messages. Remember, direct conversations with consumers cascade to their network, and that interaction is shared with an average of 130 friends.

6. Enable peer-to-peer interactions: Be efficient and enable the crowd's help

Create an environment that helps customers interact with each other - ask fans to respond to each other, showcase fan contributions, and recognize top contributors on the wall. Enable Facebook's discussion tab and participate in these discussions.

7. Foster advocacy: Foster word of mouth - the holy grail of marketing. promote advocacy, prospect recommendations organically

Start by simply asking existing fans to suggest the page to others, or "like" a wall post. Take it to the next level by encouraging fans to do something on the page that is worth sharing with their friends, such as "voting, sounding off on something, sharing videos or photos. Get creative with custom tabs or applications by tapping into contests, polls, submissions, or other means of self-expression that encourages members to invite and involve their friends. Think of Facebook as a platform for customers to tell their story to their friends - give them value, and reasons to share.

8. Solicit a call to action: Bring it back to business and provide a succinct next step

Many brands fail to deliver simple call to actions that lead from user engagement to a purchase. "The idea is to eventually sell more of one's product. Period," reminds Digital Evolution Group. Start with a simple, immediate call to action on your landing page, such as "liking" the brand, sign up for emails and newsletters, and most importantly, give them opportunities to "get to your core products" (LiveWorld).

The latter need not be “pushy” – lead new visitors and existing fans to custom tabs where they can view exclusive deals, browse products, and make a transaction. Also, before you integrate existing e-commerce experiences or request a call to action, ensure your efforts are aligned with the expectations of the community – earn their trust first by following the previous Success Criteria.

Recommendations for Facebook Marketing

The eight points described above present a strategy for brands to effectively market their Facebook pages. As marketers worldwide adopt usage of their Facebook pages, be sure to follow the proceeding recommendations to fully develop the long-term use of your brand's Facebook page.

• Put aside your one-way playbook and tap into two-way social marketing: use a combination of interactive marketing to retain existing fans, and social marketing to attract new ones

• Bolster your Facebook pages with applications from third parties: because default features are limited in advanced functionality, add features from third-party applications that enhance interactions, discussions, or utility

• Connect the Facebook experience with existing efforts, like your corporate website: customers want to connect with their friends on Facebook and beyond; integrate Facebook features into your corporate website to provide opportunities for instant engagement and word of mouth

• Measure and analyze based on business goals - not by fans or "likes": while the natural reaction is to measure interaction and number of fans or "likes", brands must measure based on business goals like word of mouth, increased satisfaction, or increased traffic to e-commerce applications

• Reduce Risk: use this scorecard as your long-term roadmap; benchmark your efforts each quarter and demonstrate increased improvements, as well as that of your competitors; request that your agency used these Eight Success Criteria as a standardized method to gauge the impact of your efforts

 

How do you use Facebook to market your organization?  What best practices, or lessons learned, can you share? Your comments are welcome below!

About Infused Industries: Infused Industries provides a fully-functional store complete with inventory browsing, shopping cart, and checkout capabilities directly in merchant's Facebook Pages. To learn more, please visit http://www.infusedcommerce.com.

 

Telling signs highlight the importance for brands to establish and invest in their Facebook Fan Pages this year. According to Advertising Age:

Facebook fan bases have become their largest web presence, outstripping brand sites or e-mail programs either because a brand's traditional web-based "owned media" is atrophying or because more consumers are migrating to social media.

Consumers are connecting with brands at a rapid rate: giants such as Coca-Cola see 96,000 new consumers per day join them as fans on the social network. This connection gives brands a greater opportunity to highlight new product offerings, conduct contests, and offer coupons and promotions to interested consumers.

Among the consumers who "fan" brands on Facebook, 25% do so to receive discounts and promotions followed by learning new information and being entertained, according to the latest research conducted by Google Retail.

Source: Google Retail

So as consumer attention makes a massive shift from brand web sites to their Facebook fan pages, consumers are still largely motivated by the brand's product offering, promotional discounts all the more welcome.

Brands looking to make the most of their fan pages will make their product offerings available for purchase directly within their fan page. To learn more about setting up a store for your brand's fan page, visit Infused Commerce today.

"What do you want for Christmas?"

Don’t you remember hearing these words as a child each year? You would jump up, dance in ecstasy around the room, and shout for joy at the prospect of what this holiday season might bring.

At least...that’s what I did as a kid.

Each time I heard this magical question as a child growing up, my mind would race in different directions thinking about the possibilities. The latest toys and games would come rushing to mind and I would imagine the joy it would bring me and my friends who were sure to share with me the Best of Childhood. I would gather the colorful circulars that came with the Sunday newspaper and clip product pictures for hours at a time, completing my wish list well before the slightest hint of winter cooled the air.

Chances are, instead of rushing to the pile of newspapers like I used to do, today’s consumers will be going online in search of their holiday purchases. Product reviews, recommendations from friends, and special promotions are the order of the day.

Only, where do today’s consumers find the best information about products from their favorite brands? Considering 68% of Facebook users connect with brands and products of interest to them, social networks are of increasing importance to online retail this holiday season.

As a retailer, how can I make the most of this holiday season?

Expanding your e-commerce strategy to include social networks is certainly a smart move. After all, your potential customers (all 500 million of them) are talking with each other and connecting with brands on Facebook. By bringing your products closer to your customer, you make it easier for them to find, purchase, and talk about your latest product offerings.

Infused Commerce makes it easy for you to open up a store on Facebook, ensuring your business can make the most of this holiday season. Requiring little more than your product data feed and payment gateway information, your business can leap ahead of your competition and reach more customers this holiday season.

What do you want for Christmas?

As more consumers once again hear those magical words this holiday season, retailers who are embracing social commerce will be best prepared to make the most of this shopping season.

Find out more about opening a new sales channel on the world’s largest social network. Visit Infused Commerce today to learn more about putting your brand in the center of your customers’ conversations and holiday wish lists. You’ll find one more reason to shout for joy this holiday season.

A Facebook Page is a single page for celebrities, bands, and businesses to establish an online presence and connect with fans on the social network. As a business, you have the opportunity to update your fans with news and information about your company, learn more about your customers, and offer your fans special deals. In other words, Facebook Pages are a great way to update your company’s digital presence and stay in touch with your customers.

Sounds great, but what if my company doesn’t have a Facebook Page?

Not to despair. This post walks you through the process of setting one up so that your business steps out ahead of your competition and into a network of fans.

 

1.  Go to http://www.facebook.com/pages

2. Click "Create Page"

 

3. Answer a few basic questions, such as the type and name of your business.

Note: You must be an official representative of the business for which you are creating a Facebook Page.

 

4. Customize your newly created page. Upload your company logo and provide information about your business.

Okay, my business now has a Facebook Page. What next?

Now that your business is online with a Facebook Page, you have a world of tools available to connect with your fans and promote your business. Here are a few ideas to get you going in the right direction:

 

Find your fans. Your fans are out there, how will they find you? Start off by suggesting your newly created Page to your network of friends. Find the link to "Suggest this page to friends" under your profile picture. Let your network know the news that your business is now on Facebook...and don't be shy about asking them to become fans!

You can also promote your page with an advertisement. Advertisements are visible on the right sidebar as users browse Facebook. By promoting your page with an advertisement, you have the ability to target your intended audience by age, interests, and even geographic location to attract new fans.

Add content. Build your content by updating your Fan Page wall with the latest news and information about your business. Tell your growing community about a new product or service that you have recently added. Post a limited offer that is available only to your Facebook fans. Ask questions to fans that help you learn ways you can improve the shopping experience for your customers.

Start selling. While Facebook gives your business tools for marketing your business online, social commerce providers such as Infused Commerce give you tools for selling your products directly in your Facebook Page. Merchants can open a branded store within a custom tab on your Facebook Page. The stores are complete with a product catalog, shopping cart, and on-site checkout -- so your fans can become customers without leaving the page!

 

Facebook Pages are a great way to connect with your fans and keep them updated on the latest happenings around your business. In this post, we walked through the process of creating a page and next steps for providing maximum value to your fans.

Facebook has become a prominent online destination for hundreds of millions of consumers around the globe.

With the recent announcement of their 500 millionth user, there's no question about where people spend much of their leisure time online -- connecting with friends, family, and the world around them through the world's largest social network.

Moreover, major brands have dedicated resources to growing their presence on Facebook, and why not? Along with the ability to connect directly with potential customers and keep existing customers up-to-date, Facebook has given businesses the opportunity to use Facebook Pages as an informative, interactive, and fun marketing platform for companies looking to connect with their community online.

Let's look at how some major brands are using their Facebook Pages to engage with their customers.

1. Starbucks

Starbucks has the largest fan base for a business on Facebook with almost 12 million fans. This brand provides an updated page that promotes their current line of products: Starbucks Ice Cream. The page defaults to a custom tab that invites visitors to take a quiz to find out "Which flavor are YOU?", matching the visitor's personality to one of their introductory ice cream flavors. This personalized interaction not only promotes awareness of a new product, but also helps fans to identify with the brand's product.

2. Red Bull

The Facebook Page for Red Bull, the energy drink, shows a compelling graphic that directs the user's attention with an immediate call-to-action: to get visitors to click the "Like" button. By clicking the "Like" button, visitors socially connect with the brand. This action cascades to the news feeds of the user's friends, providing further exposure for Red Bull -- and with each user having an average of 130 friends, this type of brand advocacy elevates a user's personal preference into coveted word-of-mouth.

3. Coca-Cola

The world's most popular and best-selling soft drink has crafted an interactive experience that shows this brand knows social. In keeping with their classic style, visitors are directed to a custom tab with the iconic red and white bottle top showing an unmistakable call-to-action: click to enter. In entering Coca-Cola's custom page, users connect with the brand (exchanging their profile information) to give them access to a custom, community-focused site. Here the brand features photos that showcase the spirit of Coca-Cola as taken by fans: drinking from a signature glass bottle, vintage signage spotted in a Latin American country, and a large heart arranged from red and white Coca-Cola bottle caps. By showcasing contributions of self-expression from fans, the brand fosters a deeper relationship with their community.

Major brands, including those above, are using their Facebook Pages to connect with their audience in a new way. Brands are finding that keeping an updated, informative, and engaging Facebook Page helps to develop and sustain relationships with their fans, leading to new business opportunities later on.

Does your company have, or plan to have, a Facebook Page?

So the Social Commerce revolution is upon us, and every retailer with an online presence will be forced to become a part of the movement or fall by the wayside.  But questions remain.  Questions like: How do I get on board?  What technologies are worthwhile and which ones will rapidly become obsolete?  Do I go it alone or hire a third party firm to handle my social commerce presence?  And like most issues, there isn't a one-size-fits-all answer.  The best thing you can do, is to become aware of what's available. 

I'd like to introduce you to Infused Industries, Inc., an east coast startup out of Raleigh, NC.  Infused Industries, Inc. came on to the E-commerce scene in 2009, with its Infused Palermo Distributed Commerce stores.  More recently, Infused industries has adapted its Infused Palermo stores to work with Facebook, positioning the company as an up and coming force in the Social Commerce space. 

Infused Palermo stores are fully functioning, transaction capable stores.  So as a Social Commerce platform, Infused Palermo allows clients to setup a Facebook shop with complete inventory browsing, shopping cart development, and unlike other Facebook store providers, such as: SortPrice, Volusion's SocialStore and StorefrontSocial,  Infused Palermo stores allow shoppers, or company "Fans", to actually checkout from within the Facebook store.  This is a big step because it makes it very easy and unobtrusive for consumers to reference and purchase a company's inventory when a merchant is featuring a specific product, releasing a new product or offering discounts and rebates through the fan site.  Users can even continue their chat sessions while they shop, keeping their friends involved in their shopping and bringing them closer to the "traditional" Social Commerce experience, which is kinda the point of the whole movement! 

As a Distributed Commerce tool, merchants can provide affiliates with Infused Palermo stores as a replacement for standard banner ads.  Infused Palermo stores can be positioned in any, IAB standard, 300x250px display ad location, so there shouldn't be an issue with finding available real estate.  When the stores first load, a consumer will see an expand button, some initial products and categories, a search bar and their cart information.  Interacting with the store in any way will trigger it to grow into a larger portal, over the top of the host page content. This gives the viewer access to:

• browse through a merchants full product line
  
• narrow down a search by category
  
• search for specific products
  
• view product details
  
• select sizes and colors
  
• add the products to a shopping cart
• and finally, checkout with the full purchase content, including credit card and shipping information

A customer places their order right from the store, and receives a confirmation message as the store minimizes back to the standard 300x250px ad size. Customers then continue reading about the latest fashion trends, news updates, blog posts or any other content on the publishers site.

Another innovation worth mentioning, is the unique administrative interface.  If you did become a client of Infused Industries, Inc. you would get full control over how your stores function, what they look like and where they show up.  All of this is managed through a single interface which is about as easy to use as an email account.  This could be the feature which sets Infused Industries, Inc. apart from its competitors in the Distributed Social Commerce arena.

If you're a retailer and are still wondering what social commerce is all about, I highly recommend stopping by the Infused Palermo site: http://infusedindustries.com.  There is a live interactive demo on the home page, which by itself is worth the time it takes to stop by the site.  Infused Palermo stores make a great first step or next step.  Expect to see these store with frequency in the near future.