As we’ve touched on here before (here, here, here), the growing importance of social networks as a way of not only staying in touch with family and friends, but also getting opinions on what to buy is undeniable. Consumers are moving away from destination sites and search engines in favor of social networks as a way of getting information.
It is important that companies optimize their brand in response to this shift. Brian Solis, a prominent author and thought leader in the area of new media, recently published a list of 10 steps for optimizing the brand for social search (below).
For brands in the retail, real estate, financial services, travel and other markets, our ShopTogether application for social commerce can help brands tackle six of the steps (Nos. 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 and the “Bonus” below) that Solis recommends, plus a lot more.
The ShopTogether toolbar modernizes a site by integrating sharing and chat functionality found on the most innovative places on the Web, and allows one-click distribution of a brand’s content to all of the social networks most important to its customers. On top of that, ShopTogether allows real-time interaction on the site itself, keeping friends and other site visitors connected on the page, where they can chat and browse each other’s products, giving them a voice and letting them share opinions that lead to buying decisions.
In addition, data collected anonymously by the ShopTogether Crowd application can be used for broadcasting the hottest items in the store in real-time, displaying those products dynamically on the site itself, or on the company’s Facebook fan page or in banner ads on third party sites, adding a new merchandising element for brands.
Which of the below steps has your company taken to optimize your brand for the way consumers are now getting information? Contact us and let us know.
http://www.briansolis.com/2010/03/optimizing-brands-for-social-search/
10 Steps for Optimizing the Brand for Social Search
1. Modernize and socialize your site to complement the experience visitors expect in 2010
2. Optimize the site and all social objects for traditional, social, and real-time search
3. Create meaningful and personable social profiles where consumers are active today (pay attention to where they will be tomorrow as well)
4. Establish an editorial calendar to produce and distribute relevant content for each and every network with cadence
5. Add social connectivity to the home site to facilitate maximum engagement (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, Google, Yahoo) – eradicate proprietary login systems
6. Integrate social sharing functionality at the source of engagement – keep them on the page
7. Enable the social syndication of that content within one step
8. Manually introduce content and social objects to stakeholders and social beacons
9. Create paths that define and engender the experience you desire with destinations and calls to action integrated to close the loop
10. Monitor the activity and find ways to improve the experience and also sharing
Bonus: Give them a voice to make sharing more personal and contextual
Tags: s-commerce, ShopTogether, social commerce, social search, social shopping