More people than ever are using social media to help them with their shopping. But it’s not just consumers taking advantage of these new tools – retailers, coffee shops, hotels, and restaurants are all making the most of the benefits social media have to offer.
With the buzz continuing in 2010, we thought we’d take a look at the ways social media are changing how we shop online.
When you’re looking for the perfect gift for someone you can turn to social networks to find out what people want by looking at their wish lists or seeing what they’re talking about. And more and more companies are using social media for advertising, news, product releases, and to give exclusive deals directly to users.
And as social networks grow, so do the ways they’re used to enhance the consumer experience.
Companies are now using social media to improve their products and services. Personalised thanks are sent to customers via Facebook and Twitter, and they can get instant, real-time feedback through the same networks, and even take orders in coffee shops and restaurants.
But what about the consumer? How can we use social media to make our online shopping easier or more enjoyable? It’s pretty simple, and here’s how:
- he boo.ly plug-in enables users to connect to their Facebook and Twitter networks as they shop. So as soon as you’ve made your purchase you can tell them all about it. Or when you’ve found a fantastic price on a product or an incredible deal, you can share it with all your friends in an instant so they won’t miss out
- For retail advice, IMshopping [www.imshopping.com] is a great service that puts the personal touch back into online shopping. You can ask detailed questions about products and gift ideas and get quick answers directly to your Twitter account from real people. And just like in a store you can keep asking until you find what you’re looking for
- Shopflick’s [www.shopflick.com] user-generated video marketplace is a great way of seeing what’s hot in fashion, and for connecting with people who share your passion for the things you love to wear
- With Twitter’s TwitGift [www.twitgift.me] and Facebook’s Real Gift and FriendGiftr [www.facebook.com/friendgiftr], you can send physical gifts or gift cards directly to people on your social network – without the trouble of finding out their postal address so you won’t spoil the surprise
We’re in the process of integrating boo.ly with these fantastic and fun social media services so it won’t be too long before you can take advantage of all these and more directly from your browser. How’s that for convenience?
Make sure you stay tuned to boo.ly for news and updates. We’ll let you know as soon as it happens!
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