Bluepost Digital

Check it out for yourselves https://plus.google.com/

Google made it public at the beginning of the week that they are in the process of launching their very own social network… It is currently in limited trial and has already exceeded current capacity for new sign-ups.

There is already some buzz going on that it’s looking VERY similar to Facebook and I can’t say I disagree!

http://tcrn.ch/iXwiXo and XKCD’s cartoon about Google Plus is being widely shared http://bit.ly/mqC6ad

With the rapid growth of social media and ever increasing amount of users, posts and tweets etc, comes the inevitable question of how companies utilising these channels will monetise these assets in the same way they do with Google?

The most successful advertising channels of the past have been based around selling brands the audience, yet it seems they didn’t anticipate the instant feedback that social media employs.  Whilst stories abound about special edition Ketchup sales it’s clear that we are still in the early days – Heinz are unlikely to renegotiate contracts with Tesco just yet.

It’s worth asking how users will respond to being ‘sold’ as an audience or sold to directly by the more aggressive brands in this space. Perhaps the consumer of today will accept that brands are a big part of the social space and allow them in, under certain terms.  It then becomes a question of better understanding the buying signals that consumers’ display and learning how to be pro-active in capturing their attention and sales.

So – what role can social media play in the buying process?

It’s clear that reviews of products, particularly big ticket items, are more important to online users these days – just take Tripadvisor for example.  However, would a person buy directly from a review site even if it had a great forum or blog used by millions?  Moneysavingexpert.com is one such example, but would consumers buy?  I don’t think so.

Then there are the current darlings, Groupon and others such as Crowdity.  These sites have identified that consumers are looking for massive discounts and this enables brands to quickly tap into huge markets for discounted product.  It’s too early to say what impact this type of group buying will have on brands in regards to second purchase actions etc, but it’s already proven to be a cash generator.

Will social platforms form part of the buying process? Consumers are spending enough time on the social sites and brands are increasingly active.  At Bluepost we’re integrating points based incentive programmes on behalf of clients on Facebook in the hope of driving more sales through this channel. It has been identified that there is a high level of consumer interaction on Facebook, particularly across industries such as travel where there is often a significant online research phase, and it makes sense to take advantage of this opportunity.

Another question clients ask is: should the aim be to bring social conversations nearer to their brand – i.e. onsite?  Why depend on the social hubs and review sites for interaction? Wouldn’t it be better to start building interaction into the client website so that your customers are incentivised to come back to you, to comment and share as well as buy?

I would argue that social selling is not a one size fits all.  A combined solution is arguably the best route to ensure that brands are testing and refining their approaches through knowledge and customer feedback.  The beauty of digital is that it allows brands to interact directly with consumers and it’s even more apparent that social media is an environment where brands need to react to their customers needs and desires rather than telling them what they should need or desire.