This week, I have a guest blogger: Helen Fang. Helen is the social media expert at Vendio, an ecommerce software company that enables online businesses to sell on Facebook, eBay, Amazon, and Google from one platform.

It is no secret that the popularity of social media sites continues to grow. Smart online
businesses are taking advantage of the ability to sell through social media sites like
Facebook and Twitter. Even businesses that do not offer products can still leverage
social media to build brand awareness or increase the number of leads or sale for a
service.

The power of social media is that it enables businesses of all sizes to play on the same
field and compete for the same customers. Anyone who would like to find easy ways to
sell online can do so very easily with the help of an ecommerce website and social media
marketing tools.

If you’re a small business looking to get started, but feel overwhelmed by the number of
options – then look no further. We’ll break it down for you in four easy steps.

1. Create an ecommerce website.

You have two main options: first, you can add a “shopping cart” to your existing website. This enables you to create online transactions. PayPal and Google Checkout are two very easy options. If you don’t have an ecommerce website or if yours currently needs an upgrade, do some research before you commit to buy. There are many ways to get an ecommerce website for free or for very little money. The most important question to ask an ecommerce website provider is if your new website can grow with your business? For example, if you have 10 products now, but hope to grow to 100, will your website be able to handle it? Will you be charged a much higher fee? What other charges could there be (e.g. hosting, bandwidth, images, SSL)?

2. Build a strong social brand by developing your ecommerce friendships online.

To build your social brand online you will need to establish a strong presence. One way to
do this is by developing a following online in the social media sites. Start engaging others
regularly in conversations and work in ways to talk about your business. The number
one mistake that businesses make is to simply “join” a social network versus “creating
a presence” on a social network. Know the strengths of each social media channel and
think about it as a marketing channel. Remember that social media is simply a way to
engage with your customers. You still have to close the sale.

3. Increase your social presence with help from your existing customers.

One great place to start is to leverage your existing user base. Tell your customers via newsletters,
blogs, and on your website that you’re on Facebook or Twitter and give them a reason to
follow you. These are people who are already interested in you and will probably help
you spread the word about your business. Simple offers like free shipping or customer
appreciation coupons really help to drive the message home. Make your customers your
best brand ambassadors.

4. Sell directly to your customers on social media channels.

While Facebook commerce or F-commerce is still relatively unproven, the possibility of selling to 700 million users can’t be ignored. Therefore, after you have started (because social media an ongoing strategy that never stops) steps 1-3, the next thing to think about is getting your Facebook fans to buy from you. By engaging others in conversation, befriending them and sharing with others people will begin to build up a trust in you and your ecommerce business. If you’re wondering about how to sell on Facebook, there are many providers who can help – many that are free.

5. Define your strategy and stick to them.

Too often small businesses want to hop on the “newest” social media channel. Keep in mind that this channel may not work for your business. The best way to succeed in social media is to stay focused on your end objectives and always calculate your return on investment. If you’re spending 10 hours a week on social media, how much is that worth per hour? Would that money have been better spent on paid search or a new web design? These are all things you should continuously evaluate because social media, but its very nature, is social. This can result in a huge time suck and you have a business to run.

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Digital coupons and social buying are all the rage right now. Should we thank Groupon for all the excitement and hub-bub? I’ve had multiple clients ask me what’s up with Groupon and if it’s changing the way we do business online.

First, it’s important to know that Groupon is the fastest growing company in history, attracting lots of competitors such as LivingSocial. Groupon rejected Google’s $6 billion offer and is now reporting to prepare for a $25 billion IPO.

Secondly, does everyone benefit from Groupon? Not always. Some businesses have been hurt by using the daily deal as a way to bring in new customers. Some businesses have had new customers walk through the door and only use their coupon and not purchase additional items. Another big question is loyalty and trust. Many establishments like salons and beauty industry have customers who have been with them for years and don’t always believe in attracting new customers through coupons or deals. Some folks out there wouldn’t go to just anyone for a haircut, massage or waxing.

Groupon isn’t fading from the spotlight anytime soon. They have something new up their sleeves! CNN recently released an article called “Groupon’s ambitious plan to change how and when we eat” – Groupon is releasing a new mobile app called “Groupon Now“. If a user opens up the app, they are presented with two buttons: “I’m hungry” and “I’m bored”. Clicking either button will list timely daily deals based on their location. The offer of buy $5, get $10 worth of food still stands, but they aren’t one time offers. The restaurant can choose when they want to deals to happen. For example: A restaurant does a great job on Friday night, but wants to drum up more business on Tuesday nights. The app allows the restaurant to promote the deal for the slow Tuesdays. It’s clever because it gives food establishments a chance to manage their perishables and not waste food and money.

What are your thoughts about Groupon? Do you use it or its competitors to purchase deals? Have you used it for your business?

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Read the rest of this entry »

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What’s so special about bread? Dave’s Killer Bread has managed to make a great product and have a fascinating, compelling story behind the business. If you’d like to learn the story, check out this video. Relaying stories can be a challenge, but the marketing team at Dave’s have made quite an impact. Here’s what they’ve done right:

• DKB has an active Twitter account, where they share upcoming events and bread specials they are running at their store.. I noticed a lot of cross over between Facebook and Twitter accounts, which great since most folks use one or the other to communicate. Using both to share info can be really powerful.

• Using the power of video – they set up their own YouTube account where they are storing different interviews and video about the making the bread and Dave’s story.

• Teaming up with the Goodbyn Lunchbox for a sandwich contest. The content was based on people posting their favorite sandwich using Dave’s Killer Bread on the DKB Facebook page and the top 3 creative ones would be selected as the winners. The Goodbyn Lunchbox Facebook page lists all of the winners and points to Dave’s site for the recipes.

• Also, they are getting direct feedback from customers about the bread daily. One customer wrote in that they noticed that the “Good Seed” bread was undercooked in the middle lately and Dave’s team responded within the hour saying “thanks for letting us know and they will be fixing it soon”. That’s impressive.

Do you know of similar companies that are paving the road with passion about their product? Can’t wait to see what Dave’s Killer Bread will do next!

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One of my fascinations with the latest version of the IPhone was an app called “Foursquare“.  I constantly see updates on Twitter about someone checking in at a location around town, maybe a restaurant or coffee shop, using this app.

Ok, so how does Foursquare work?  The idea is that the app helps you explore your own city or a new place you might be checking out, using the internal GPS system.  You can let your friends know where you are by “checking in“. Each time you check in,  you earn points. Ultimately, the idea is if you earn a certain amount of points or checkins, it can add up to badgets or free food/perks and becoming a mayor of certain bars/restaurants. (I’m still not clear on what advantages a mayor has, please email me if you know.)

On the flip side, if you own a bar or restaurant, Foursquare wants to help you to connect with your customers buy rewarding points.  As a restaurant, for example, you could offer a free appetizer or drink after someone’s 3rd checkin and any other kind of promotion you can think of. I’ve only noticed a few places around Portland giving discounts so I’m not sure if it’s a working model.

I’ve noticed how easy it is to check in to any place if you are in the vicinity. When I first used the app to do a “checkin”, it searched for the nearby businesses in the vicnity of around a few miles. There’s nothing preventing me from checking in to all of these businesses except my honesty.  Cheating, to me, seems like it could be a potential issue -  here’s an interesting article about how one guy learned to hack his way through Foursquare http://techcrunch.com/2010/02/16/foursquare-cheating/

What does the future hold for Foursquare – it sounds like they’ve made an interesting deal with Zagat  (http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/09/foursquare-inks-a-deal-with-zagat/) which hopefully will launch into a better situation and could provide some groundwork on taking their business to the next level.

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