Why social media sites are more than a branding medium for retailers
Social networking websites are no longer just advertisement boards for retailers; they are fast emerging as drivers of growth for both online and brick-and-mortar stores.
With people increasingly taking to social networking platforms—nearly 55% of the Internet population is on Facebook today with mobile sharing also picking up at a faster pace —brands have started using fan base, number of website visitors, comments, feedbacks and new launches on social websites as tools to gauge their success.
In the last three months, online food delivery company foodpanda.com has increased traffic to its website by 60% while fashionandyou has managed to log 20% month-on-month growth on a subscriber base of 1.3 million, data from the companies showed. Similarly, online fashion store Jabong reached the three million subscriber mark last month and is growing at 10% per month. For FabFurnish.com, social networking accounts for around a fifth of the company's overall revenue, the online store said.
"They help us reach out to a large audience for products and special offers, help build brand image and install more product information by showing product utility in comprehensive ways," "In short, it works in our favour to make the brand stand out. Word of mouth on social media holds a big impact and we've seen it work great to create a loyal customer base."
"Not only has social media got more entrenched in everyday lives of consumers, there has been an evolution in ways of engaging with it as well. Social media is increasingly influencing and inspiring retail purchases in many more ways with innovations like 'social shopping' etc,"
But is it beneficial for e-tailers (physical stores) also?
"Yes, we have been able to reach out to more people and showcase our collections, which generate interest," "We get a lot of enquiries for products, pricing and store location information that helps us direct people to the stores. Customers can also locate our stores on google maps."
Social media can be tapped by both e-tailers and brick & mortar formats. While it is easier for etailers to do so, brick & mortar formats can tap into its potential in the following ways: - Identify target consumers and their preferred social channels and create buzz to increase instore traffic - Encourage social engagement in the store - this will be based on the store and its product category e.g. A retailer used Pinterest fan base to identify popular products, which were then promoted in store
You can visit my resources: http://www.mogicons.com/ http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/201410-31/news/55631253_1_social-media-socialcommerce-social-shopping
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