online shopping to become more social network focused

Between 2008 and 2013, the number of social network users in the US will increase by an estimated 44.2%, to nearly 115 million, emarketer estimates.

Emarketer’s most interesting tidbit for small businesses, though, is that with that big increase in people social networking will be mainstreamed and consumers will be more likely to turn to their online contacts for shopping advice and recommendations.

Even today, word of mouth recommendations are some of the key drivers for people’s purchasing decisions.

Social networks are also a venue for discovering new products and services virally, through friends linking to things that interest them.

So … the shopping process will become socialised. So … e-businesses, you will need to understand the impact of social network communication on the purchase processes of your products.

organic vs inorganic website growth – go green!

Organic website growth basically means your growth in visitor numbers has been achieved largely for free, and largely through word-of-mouth (one of the key aims of social media marketing). Inorganic growth refers mainly to advertising to pull customers to your website.

It’s not hard to see which one might be preferable.

Having people come to your site because they feel compelled to rather than because they have been persuaded to by (often expensive) advertising can only be a good thing.

Not knocking advertising, though, and it should be considered at least, especially when you are starting a business and looking to alert people to your presence. It’s just that if people tell other people who tell other people that your website is a goodie and worthwhile visiting, the brand value is immense.

Here’s a good real life comparison of two New Zealand online businesses – one of which (online bike store Torpedo7) has become hugely successful largely through organic means and one (Ferrit – owned by Telecom) which puts heavy resources into inorganic growth.

UPDATE: Telecom announced today (12/01/09) that the three-year-old Ferrit site is to close. I hope it was not this post that caused its demise!

social media mistakes – a superlist

Yesterday,  we brought you a superlist of social media initiatives and ideas;  today we bring you a superlist of social media no-nos! (As with yesterday’s list, this list is from the knowledgeable folk at US social media consultancy Interactive Insights.)

young, single but not so hi-tech

A day or so after posting that it’s the kids who know their way around social media comes this survey out of New Zealand’s Waikato University that says 80 percent of students have not heard of social bookmarking (storing and organising bookmarks of web pages).

Too busy socialising online to be worrying about learning online, huh!

blogs influence consumer purchasing, says report

Blogs help make people buy things online, says a new US report. Better get blogging!

The number of people reading blogs at least once a month has grown 300 percent in the past four years. What they read strongly influences their purchase decisions and can move them to the point of actual purchase, the report says.

And here’s another reason why a blog for your own company or area of expertise might be a good marketing tool … the report says a niche focus increases your influence.

More than half (56%) of people who found blog content useful for product decisions said blogs with a niche focus and topical expertise were key sources.

According to the report, blog readers take the following actions from their reading:

• Decide on a product or service: 21 percent
• Refine choices: 19 percent
• Get support and answers: 19 percent
• Discover products and services: 17 percent
• Assure: 14 percent
• Are inspired to make a purchase: 13 percent
• Execute a purchase: 7 percent

auckland job ad becomes online viral success

A staff-wanted advert in an Auckland burger bar window has become an online marketing hit due to some dry Kiwi humour (and the occasional four-letter word) and the power of online social networking.

Back in September, new burger bar Murder Burger put up an ad for staff in their shop window and then posted a photo of the advert on photo sharing website Flickr (and some other social media sites). The Flickr photo has got nearly 140,000 hits and the shop has been inundated with job offers.

They do the social marketing thing well, also running a blog focused on nothing but dollops of crazy humour (but with the meaty menu easy to find) targeted at their intended audience — I think that’s probably people who like crazy humour.

Snappy marketing plus the power of social media. Go figure! Their burgers aren’t half bad, either apparently.

job ad becomes online viral success