The 7 characteristics of social commerce

As the world shifts social, commerce is changing too. It used to be that one could open a product or service store online, prepare a descriptive sales page, add a shopping cart, and start selling successfully. With the shift to social media, traditional e-commerce is rapidly fading as the preferred way for people to shop online. What is becoming increasingly necessary is that electronic commerce is social. Social e-commerce or social commerce, as it is increasingly known, is where e-commerce meets social.

According to Wikipedia, social commerce is a subset of electronic commerce that involves the use of social networks, online media that support social interaction and user contributions, to assist in the online purchase and sale of products and services. This definition could even be redefined in the sense that social commerce is not just a subset of electronic commerce, but the preferred method and, most likely, the only productive form of future electronic commerce.

So what exactly does social commerce mean? There are several characteristics that shape social e-commerce. Marketers who want to implement social commerce in their operations could consider implementing the following themselves on their own sites, or they could take advantage of social centers or social markets and start marketing their products and services.

The following characteristics define Social Commerce:

1. Unlike traditional e-commerce, in the world of social commerce, buyers make the decision to buy or try a product or service, not only based on the seller’s description, but also on the social reviews of other users.

2. Buyers of products and services are actively involved in providing feedback and recommendations to friends and others in the community. As such, it is very important that the seller take a close look at the feedback and correct any defects promptly to cause a change to any negative feedback.

3. Users of a Social Hub actively share what they like (and don’t like), mostly with just one click of the mouse, in various social bookmarking and social media locations. These include Twitter, Facebook, Delicious, Stumble Upon, Delicious, etc. Social commerce is viral commerce

4. Increasingly, social commerce is also adapting to mobile commerce. As such, offers are shared with mobile QR codes and RSS or Atom feeds, making it very easy to share offers, likes and dislikes.

5. The user is presented not only with one Seller’s offer, but often related offers from other Sellers, so the potential Buyer can make a conscious decision not only on one offer, but on a portfolio of all available offers. , complete with reviews, recommendations, and ratings.

6. Images and videos are an inherent part of the offer, so the process of showing what the offer is is completed not only with text, but with images and videos. Such images and videos are shared through image networks and video networks, such as YouTube, facilitating further viral distribution with ease.

7. Everything a potential buyer needs to know, that is, what is the offer, how long will it take to deliver, what exactly is needed from the buyer if there is one, what payment methods are allowed, what will be delivered, etc. . everything is evident in the description. Buyer generally does not need to go anywhere else or click any other link to get a full picture and make a conscious decision.