Social tools are becoming increasingly important as the Web becomes more social - yet retailers are struggling to find social tactics that drive real sales and ROI. Not every social activity is appropriate - it depends on the product a retailer sells, the competition, consumer behavior and the retailer's commitment to invest in the resources needed to develop and maintain social initiatives.
Is social media/Web 2.0 for retail just hype or an essential part of doing business in the 21st century? Web 2.0 includes leveraging social commerce on Web sites, blogging/podcasting and participating in social networks like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and anywhere a retailer or its customers can create and share content.
Many retailers find themselves wondering what Web 2.0/social media activities they should be involved in. This article ranks social commerce activities by business impact, with No. 1 having the highest impact and No. 9 the lowest.
They are:
- Customer Reviews
- Shopping Widgets
- Questions and Answers
- Twitter
- User-Generated Cross Sells
- Facebook Pages
- Co-Browsing
- Retail Blogging
- Video Sharing
See more on these nine points here.