Capitalizing on Social NetworksDuring the web explosion of the 1990s a man decided to test technology and society by isolating himself in an empty house with only a computer and an internet connection. The test was to buy everything he needed to survive online. Of course this was just a publicity stunt then, but his past is now our easy reality. Customers are simply spending more time online, for a variety of reasons, and less time shopping outside the home. Recent data also shows that customers and advertisers are turning their attention away from traditional ad and newspapers. Instead of focusing on how traditional advertising is losing ground retailers should get creative and focus on finding out where people are spending their online time.
Take a quick look at the Alexa traffic rankings to see the most popular websites in the US (or any other country for that matter). Currently the top ten sites include three notable social networking sites, or opportunities for retailers; Myspace.com, YouTube.com and FaceBook.com. This provides a huge clue to retailers as to what customers are doing online; networking with groups and friends. It should be noted that the remaining sites currently in the top ten all cater to people looking for something; either products or information. However, social networking sites are the newest frontiers in advertising and their exponential growth has merchants paying attention. Peter Daboll, president and CEO of comScore says, "The popularity of social networking is not expected to wane…in the U.S., [or] around the world. The challenge…will now be … how advertisers will respond to the global marketing potential of these sites." It is not enough to simply know where the people are. Retailers must consider where their people are.
Therefore two obvious questions emerge. What communities provide the best opportunities for businesses? How can retailers find profits within online communities? These two concepts are not new, but their application to the internet is.
First, what communities will provide the best marketing opportunity? This will largely depend on your products and customers. As an example, consider any high-end electronics that a retailer might sell. Two popular brands are Klipsch and Bose. Do a quick search for Klipsch vs Bose or Playstation 3 vs Xbox or Toyota vs Ford. The results will contain several links to forums where potential customers are asking the very pre-purchase questions that most retailers would love to have the opportunity to answer. Your next step is to answer them!
Secondly, once a retailer determines an online forum or community that caters to their niche, they should register for membership. Most forums are free. Be cautious if not, these forums are usually not as popular and not indexed by search engines. As a retailer who just joined a community, remember that most neighborhoods would not welcome someone who bought a house and turned it into a giant billboard. Do not be that giant billboard! Consider a doctor or lawyer who just moveds into that same neighborhood, and makes their profession public by tastefully displaying a "shingle", they are sure to be greeted by health and tax questions eventually. The good news is that they will probably even earn some clients, because they started by building a relationship by sharing knowledge and gaining trust.
When leaving messages and answers in forums it is essential for retailers to establish their brand and their credibility. Web etiquette says that parties should not plug their company in the message body, but to include their name, brand and a link in their signature. Most forums have a signature feature similar to an email signature. Generally this is the ONLY place you can plug your self-interests without getting banned from a community. Aside from the message delivered, the signature is the single most important aspect of this exercise for two reasons. First, the signature establishes credibility. It says; this is who I am, here is the role I play professionally, this is who I am associated with and this is how to contact me. Consider the signature your virtual business card. Secondly, the signature is immensely important for marketing purposes. Many businesses struggle with how to get their name and link near the top of a Google search. Easy, just do a Google search, find a forum and post a pertinent message and your link tactfully. This link, rather your business card, is now on a high ranking page for customers to see and should provide residual traffic for the life of the forum. This “back-link” from the forum to an online merchant also serves as a vote of confidence to the search engines that your site is important because this high ranking site now links to it.
The last step is testing the effectiveness of the campaign. Due to the long-term nature of communities and relationships, do not expect to see an overnight change in sales. However, the nature of the internet will lend itself to the precise measurement of traffic generated by source. Use a good statistics package like Google Analytics to track the users coming from each community. Now determine what percentage of total traffic can be attributed to this campaign. Is it 5%, 50% or 0%? Multiply that percentage by total sales over the same period to approximate sales value for a given social networking site. If the sales potential is worth the time it took, you've just found another successful marketing channel. If the campaign doesn't provide positive results; reexamine, reevaluate, repeat and re-measure.
In conclusion by tactfully posting relevant articles, messages and answers within online communities, retailers can establish themselves as experts within groups buying their type of products. Once relationships built on knowledge and trust are established within these communities, potential customers will most likely visit the retailer's website and perhaps act. As with any other online marketing opportunity, traffic and conversions resulting from the effort should be monitored and measured accordingly. However, if responsibly done and maintained, marketing to online communities should provide a steady stream of traffic for years to come.
