Social Media, everyone is researching it these days and everyone wants to know how to make it pay. I ran across this white paper from syzygy group that describes social commerce as a "fusion of social media with e-commerce." Social commerce includes 6 dimensions: social shopping, ratings & reviews, recommendations & referrals, forums & communities, social media optimization, social ads & apps. The simple definition is "helping people connect where they buy, and buy where they connect." Amazon has been bringing customers together and getting ratings and reviews in their online store for years, and now stores are popping up in Facebook. 1800Flowers and Gilt Groupe now sell their wares right there so you can more than just "Like" them. There is also potential for brand building by creating associations in the minds of customers. Researchers are using psychology measures from social intelligence to gauge brand worth (see chart below). Next week I'll cover more on the new subject of a brand's social currency. The report is available from Social Commerce Today. Their site is full of the latest news on the subject. Check out all the companies making social commerce a reality and see if they are cashing in.
