Website Advisor

The threat of Facebook becoming a part of people’s every day lives is growing.  Consuming more of users’ online time, and that doesn’t appear to be abaiting. Facebook has a great deal of control over users privacy, therefore is a powerful marketing tool for content and online retail. Facebook offers users a many reasons to use it, and in some cases it’s not really even a conscious decision. A recent South Park episode illustrates how Facebook is sucking more people in. Facebook is the latest fad, therefore millions of people are using it.

How important is Facebook to your online business?

Facebook is already taking up a position in e-commerce with a service called Payvment, which is offers a Facebook storefront application to retailers. The concept is simple – a Facebook user gets a discount on merchandise by becoming a fan of the retailer who using Payvment. This will drive some interest in Facebook e-commerce and user engagement with retail brands.

Businesses are getting used to the idea of  social media but now want to know about Return on Investment.

How Payvment’s Facebook storefront app works.

B. Acts as a network of retailers from which customers can make multiple purchases across, all in one checkout process (money is then divided up among the retailers on the back-end)

C. Each retailer provides a gateway to other shopping brands.

D. Retailers set any percentage they wish to offer in exchange for becoming a fan.

Here’s what a page might look like to a fan or non-fan:

This may be perceived as a form of endorsement but it may be reasoned the same principles apply when becoming a member of a club or joining a mailing list. Not all friends are alerted when the user becomes a fan.

Payvment’s also lets users add comments and reviews to storefronts. Built-in spam protection allows retailer to control inappropriate content in the comment and review section of their storefront.

Facebook’s terms of use restruct Payvment sellers from selling inappropriate content such as alcohol, tobacco, munitions and items that promote hate, criminal/terrorist activities, or items that infringe upon the rights of a third party.

Whether you are going to use an app like Payvment or not, it is possibe to start monetizing Facebook fans and achieving  ROI on social media. We expect this type of service will become more popular within the Facebook system.

The latest social media network has become more commercial.
What does this mean for current users?

Twitter has just released their business model called “Promoted Tweets”. These are easy to do and just like normal tweets except with the label “promoted”. Although they will have the same features such as reply, retweet and appearing in Twitter search results , if these do not resonate they will be  stopped from showing.

The companies who have started to use “promoted tweets” include Red Bull, Best Buy, Sony Pictures, Bravo, Virgin America and Starbucks.

Twitter Co-founder Biz Stone says the company ”Before we roll out more phases, we want to get a better understanding of the resonance of Promoted Tweets, user experience and advertiser value. Once this is done, we plan to allow Promoted Tweets to be shown by Twitter clients and other ecosystem partners and to expand beyond Twitter search, including displaying relevant Promoted Tweets in your timelines in a way that is useful to you.”

“Since all Promoted Tweets are organic Tweets, there is not a single “ad” in our Promoted Tweets platform that isn’t already an organic part of Twitter,” Stone comments. “This is distinct from both traditional search advertising and more recent social advertising. Promoted Tweets will also be timely. Like any other Tweet, the connection between you and a Promoted Tweet in real-time provides a powerful means of delivering information relevant to you at the moment.”

There are alternative ways to use Twitter for business to reach and interact with their audiences without having to pay for “promoted tweets”. For example:

A recent study shows more journalists using Twitter and Facebook. Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate Research Technologies research reveals more consumers favour brands on Facebook and Twitter.

Use social media to get your message out there.