Monetizing social media can be one of the toughest riddles for marketers to solve. You get a lot of followers, they comment on your content, and so on. But how can you convert a follower into a customer?
Facebook is making the solution a lot simpler. It is now allowing applications that enable businesses to add e-commerce stores directly to their fan pages. Now a follower can visit a fan page and find a listing of products directly on the page. When you click on a product, you are either taken to the merchant’s web store or you complete the checkout process inside the social media platform
In response to this relatively new feature, businesses are turning to social media for yet another way to point customers directly to their products.
Some businesses have seen a real increase in their annual sales thanks to this new marketplace option. The Wall Street Journal told the story of one guitar shop owner who saw his profits go up by 17% in 1 year, thanks in part to having his products listed on his Facebook page. Not bad if you ask me.
This new step has the potential to alter the social media experience, so it must be taken very carefully. But, if and when it’s used the right way, it can be an extremely effective tool to monetize your social media.
On top of that, merchant’s who have little or no online presence will have a really easy new ‘in’ to the online market. Soon, a Facebook fan page with a shopping cart attached may be all you need to get started.
