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Tips to Running a Successful F-Commerce Store

It’s no secret that Social Commerce and F-Commerce are exploding in popularity as the thought of finally being able to monetize your Facebook page gets social media marketers salivating.  Before we jump into the tips to running a successful F-Commerce store, let’s take a look at the stats as to why you should have an F-Commerce store:

• The average Facebook user has 130 friends to share their shopping experience with
• 81 % of Facebook users look to receive advice from their friends and family when shopping online
• 77% of F-Commerce shoppers enjoy getting exclusive Fan deals
• 50% of F-Commerce shoppers have made a purchase based on a recommendation on social media
• 68% of Fans go to a retailers Facebook Page to keep updated on specials and discounts
• The number of transactions in Facebook stores are increasing at 10% per month

There is no doubt that F-Commerce is gaining in popularity and your business can too capitalize on this booming trend.  Here are some tips to consider to run a successful F-Commerce Store:

1)      Make sure you select and app that has a user-friendly platform – allowing for users to understand the shopping process

2)      Ensure your F-Commerce app enables social engagement and sharing – your brand will rely on the virality of your Fans sharing their shopping experience through their social networks

3)      Educate your Fans – make sure your fans know about your F-commerce store and how it works.  Consider linking to a landing page for reference or sharing a video on how it works

4)      Engage your fans – Try sharing your product images of employees and Fans wearing / using your products.  Let them know they can find it in your F-Store

5)      Extend the buzz to other social media – spread the word to your Twitter followers and Pinterest friends

6)      Share exclusive offers- Only available through your F-Commerce store

7)      Try a Flash Sale – A perfect strategy if you have leftover inventory, share this on your wall and other social media

8)      Promote your F-Store through Email- Send an e-blast to your subscribed fans to let them know that they can now shop on Facebook

9)      Get fans to unlock deals – Team based deals are a great way to create virality between social networks  and help drive traffic to your Facebook Page

10)   Track your analytics-  Monitor your analytics on a regular basis and test different strategies – once you find something that works, stick to it.

To run a successful Social Commerce and F-Commerce campaign you always need to consider the end user; if you install an app that doesn’t make life easier for your Fans, then you will be putting your brand at risk.  Always put yourself in the shoes of the consumer before launching your F-Commerce store and social commerce program.   

Social Commerce Campaign Essentials

One of the reasons why I love being in the digital marketing realm is the constant debating about social media and how it adds value to brand but in my experience my absolute favourite conversation from my boss and his boss always boils down to the Jerry Maguire, million dollar question of “Show me the money!”

If you’re like me and are trying to find ways to monetize social media to your boss, social commerce might be the tool for you.  But, before you consider running a social commerce campaign there are some important factors to consider before you pitch this concept to the boss OR implement this campaign on your own (if you are the boss).

1)   Does your business have existing social media presence?

Before you start a social commerce campaign ask yourself this question about the current state of your social media presence: If a tree falls in the woods and there is no one around to hear it fall, does that tree make a noise? This applies to your social media presence…you MUST already have an existing fan base for social commerce to work because if you don’t know one will know about it (pretty simple right?).

Whether you have 100 fans (that’s a start) or 100 000, you need a following and you need to already be engaging with those fans.  Social Commerce platforms only work if you have a solid fan base on Facebook, therefore it is not for everyone.

2)   What are your KPIs?

Every good marketer should know this before walking into a social commerce campaign.  You need to determine your KPI (key performance) metrics and how this campaign’s success will be measured.  Some considerations may include:

• Product-specific revenue
• Inventory left over from campaign (for a promotional campaign)
• Traffic generated to your e-store
• Number of comments on your products
• Click-through rates

Whichever metrics you determine work best for measuring the success of your social commerce campaign, be sure to develop specific targets before launch and make necessary adjustments as you go deeper into the program.

3)      How will you drive traffic to your app?

As fine and dandy it would be for us social media marketers to add an app to our Facebook Pages and have the traffic pour in, the reality is that we need to drive traffic to apps.  Brands such as Carrefour offer “flash-sales” on their Facebook Page to help drive traffic to their app and ultimately generate a purchase. Nine West offers special “fan-only” exclusives, which help drive traffic to their e-store and drive sales in that respect.
Some common fan engagement tips to drive interaction with your Social Commerce Campaign include:

• Fan only exclusives
• Special product discounts
• Flash sales
• Group-generated discounts

4)   Who are your Fans?

This could be one of the most important aspects to running a successful social commerce campaign as the type of content you share to generate interest to your program, will largely hinder on WHO your fans are.  Always look at the demographics of your Fan Page and now with the new Timeline, this makes it easy for social media managers to get a good idea of putting a face to your online community.

Always Consider the Facts

No matter what angle your company decides to go with for their Social Commerce campaign, always remember the fundamentals to running a successful campaign: Know your fans and what drives them to interact with your brand.  If you know these two fundamentals, you will have more success in running a Social Commerce campaign that drives traffic to your store and increases engagement with your brand.

Is Social Commerce the Solution for Fashion Publications?

A recent article from Social Commerce Today, touched on the innovative method that Elle Magazine is using to keep ahead of the curve and remain relevant in an ever digitized society.

The major fashion publication is embarking on the utilization of Social Commerce and Social Media to digitize their content and encourage interactions with their brand.  Elle has taken content from its magazine and created a “Trend Guide” on their Facebook timeline which enables their fans to interact with their favourite products and click-through to purchase those items in a 3rd party e-store.

They’ve landed some big names for their affiliate program in this initial test for launch including Gucci, Nine West, Bebe and Tommy Hilfiger. Marketing for this program will be including an email campaign notifying their fans of the Trend Guide, promotion on their website and an extensive Facebook ad campaign to help drive traffic to their app.

From various interviews, Elle’s SVP , Kevin O’Malley, explains that this initial launch is not focusing on a revenue-generating model but rather is being used as a test to see if Facebook is the right platform for Elle to generate and share revenue down the road.

“The value proposition for us is that even if we don’t make a sale, this becomes like a shopping widget that goes out on her wall where friends can see it.”

The major benefit will come to the affiliate brands who gain “free” exposure when Fans of Elle share and interact with their products, giving brands visibility throughout Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and other social tools.

In my opinion, the real test will be whether or not Elle will be able to monetize and shift the buyer behaviour of using Facebook as a source to shop.  If this test manages to go beyond the “Likes” and “Shares” and put money in their own and their affiliate’s pockets, they potentially could cause a shift for other fashion publications to follow suit.  This is a welcome change to the way publications are thinking and more companies should be looking to push the envelope with innovative ideas to help drive interactions and add value to brands.

Contact the Author:

Sandy Sykora
Digital Marketing Strategist
FansFave.com
@Sandykora
LinkedIn