Combat: A combination of social networking sites and electronic commerce

The miracle created by Facebook.com has a very far-reaching impact on the internet industry. The site has more than 600 million registered members, the market value of more than 50 billion U.S. dollars, and so on, stunning! All this, Zuckerberg (Mark Zuckerberg) in less than 7 years time.

However, we wonder at the same time, can not help but ask, facebook.com what value so much money? Member？ For E-commerce sites, it may be easier to understand, because members generate transactions, transactions generate operating profits. But Facebook.com is a social networking site (note: Community and communication, not trading!). Illustrious), is not a trading site, the value of members how to reflect it?

Then, how can friends who operate e-commerce use and dock social networking sites? How to correctly understand the "E-commerce community" and "community-e-commerce"? Here are some of the things you'll crack.

1/Whether social networking sites and E-commerce sites can be integrated

The true fusion of two websites, its essence is the website structure, the integration of member system, the function of mutual interaction. Otherwise, it would be meaningless to talk about integration. Just add a link, that is not two sites? Up to two independent features of a website. As far as social networking sites and E-commerce sites are concerned, the functional differences between these two sites are large, and technically, there is no way to crab. Moreover, from the definition of these two types of websites, social networking sites are people and relationships, and e-commerce sites are the location of transactions, completely different. Therefore, deliberately to integrate the two, in fact, is very "naïve", very "wishful thinking."

Facebook once had a virtual gift shop where members could pay for virtual goods in virtual currency, but it was offline last year. The official explanation is "focus on the core community development work", but "allow third-party companies to provide similar shopping services." This explanation, personally, reflects two points: first, Facebook believes that E-commerce and the Facebook community's positioning is too different, the development, is absolutely two completely independent function, and it is possible to forget; second, any application, including E-commerce applications, for Facebook's core value "Membership and relationships" is just a by-product.

I think we should be based on the site's own positioning (e-commerce, trading, and community expansion), and make full use of and enjoy the value of other resources, such as social networking sites. This point, for the current E-commerce website marketing and operational development of particular practical significance.

2/truly understand the growth base and core values of social networking sites

The rapid development of social networking sites, in general, reflects the modern people in the solution to food and clothing, the desire to "be perceived" "recognized" psychological entanglements, is the human "personality". Understanding so many social networking sites (SNS) and their functions, individuals summed up on the two major categories (Internet) products: participation and sharing. Involved include registration (privacy management), blogging, microblogging, photos, videos, and so on; sharing includes subscriptions (RSS), sharing (Share), following (Follow), participating in concurrent sharing including: Forums, wikis (wikis), circles, and so on. This community site is very promising if the Community builders are to plan and design community products based on the spiritual needs of modern people (the service object), to be involved in "being perceived", "to be identified" and to share, not limited to facebook.com functions. Innovation, can be a very small function, twitter.com success, MySpace.com is surpassed, is the best proof!

Facebook.com's success is to stimulate the participation of members and share the passion, the rapid construction of a huge Internet content library, and through the content (member itself is also important content!) ), weaving a network of 600 million people worldwide.

By participating and sharing functions, social networking sites raise content and traffic to a level that can directly compete with search engines. The following figure is a simple comparison between a social networking site and a search engine's second class:

The attentive audience may have noticed that the above table I have specifically listed a membership system, because social networking sites are people and relationship sites, and search engines do not have this feature. This discrepancy leads to social networking sites that can track and analyze member behavior based on long-term membership browsing habits and content, refine keywords that are highly relevant to the Affiliate's marketing features, and then match the content of the ads to form advertising standards. and search engines because only to users (not members!) Search submitted keywords to match, to put ads, that only a short time (IP) tracking effect, and such a result, its contingency is greater, the effectiveness of course relatively weak.

There is also a point that social networking sites, because they are registered members of the participation and sharing, membership of the marketing characteristics, even if the member is not in the site login can be used. For example, advertising content can be accurately put into their registered contact information. This little search engine is more deficient if they don't have the help of rogue software!

So, the conclusion is:

2.1 Theoretically, from the instant effect, search engine keyword matching advertising effect and social networking site effect is similar;

2.2 Theoretically, from the long-term behavior of the follow-up and analysis of the results of the social networking site advertising, the effect is more reliable than the search engine and more effective;

2.3 The diversity of content matching in social networking sites makes social networking sites more diversified by means of advertising (advertising products);

2.4 Social networking sites to participate and share the characteristics of content, the user's stickiness, open API and other means, so that the community site's advertising resources continue to be no better than

Through the robot search engine automatically poor, and because the content is their own site, there will be no risk of being screened;

See through, the core value of social networking sites is the flow, or further, based on the analysis of members and members of the precise flow of the behavior, and can be specific to someone. Knowing the nature of social networking sites, it's much easier to explain how to use social networking sites.

3/About "e-commerce community"

So is there an "E-commerce community"? I think that the most appropriate understanding of the "e-commerce community" is the community's shopping transaction guidance. Compared to search engines, the flow of social networking sites can theoretically be more "accurate", and traffic guidance can be more diverse. With a good understanding of these, you will feel: marketing, in fact, very easy. (What's the hard part?) You must always mention it, but you may not realize it is the easiest to be fooled. Hehe, tell you later. ）

3.1 Because social networking sites are public indicators, so you can spend no money, Build your files on social networking sites like facebook.com, register, then introduce yourself, your company, your company's products and services, further can open a blog, regular updates to the content, attract more people and you become friends, through RSS or other ways to read your published articles, get your personal, Information about a company or commodity or service. Those who focus on your membership are the precise flow of your potential customers. As for how to better attract more people to understand, pay attention to you, maintain contact with them, this is not the case, you can use the Internet search or participate in the community to share, learn more, you can consult experts to help you carry out such operations;

3.2 Also, you can attract fans without spending money on Twitter. Fans are accurate flow, that is, potential customers! Like Twitter.com, the main function of this site is to allow members to "Follow" you, automatically accept the content of each tweet you post. A member can follow many other members. Then, when the member is logged into the website, the content of these follow members will be concentrated in a part of this member area, at a glance, very simple. For the owners of Weibo, each follow your membership as if it were a fan, or a potential customer. As for how to attract more fans, how to be more friendly editor microblogging, maintain the "fan" group, there is no expansion, you can use the Internet search or participate in community sharing, learn more, you can consult experts to help you carry out such operations;

It's worth noting that the content of the microblog is limited to 140 words. This is mainly because Twitter was originally based on mobile network terminals: Mobile phone Short message format developed. That's the difference from blogging. So the content of the blog is generally to read carefully, it should be said that the content of the blog relatively orthodox. Weibo emphasizes its rapidity (input) and immediacy (propagation). The nature of Weibo determines that it is ideal for "sharing" communications.

3.3 Forums (Forum), wikis (wikis), circles or groups (formerly known as SIG, or group) may not be as hot as the current blogs and microblogs, but they are not as powerful as they really are. These are some of the history of the Internet products, there is not much to expand.

3.4 Through the open API of social networking sites, you can also develop new applications, drain members, and promote transactions. Open APIs sound like iffy? In fact, to put it simply, the greatest significance here should be the synchronization of member information, or the exact state of membership login synchronization. This sync state allows you to develop applications that can quickly get n many members of the website (without registering and enjoying the application services you develop). Those Members who enter your application through the core value circle (people and relationships) of the site are accurate traffic, or potential consumers. Also, how to make your application interesting enough more vivid integration of your products and services, so that other members accept, and here is not the same, you can use the Internet search or participate in community sharing, learn more, you can consult experts to help you carry out such operations, but this is a technical work;

Special attention is: for the Internet applications such as developers, operators, these potential members you can see, touch. Some API-open terms don't even allow you to dig in and receive further information from members. Because members and relationships are the core assets and content of social networking sites. All applications, including peripheral applications, are by-products relative to member values, and that is the case. For example, Angry Birds (Angry Bird) and cattle, it can not be separated from the business environment of Apple! The money it earns also has to be split with Apple.

These applications, can even be the front of the store system, that is, the product display part, why only the front of the product display? Because the technical understanding, if enters the payment link, the member's personal information will reveal, this should not be facebook.com wants to see the result. Or do you have the ability to negotiate with facebook.com and put payment links on the facebook.com website?

Allowing access to external third party applications is the most important feature of an open platform. For an open platform, application (or function) to the central, in fact, all terminals, or applications connected to the core platform, the formation of a member-centric business environment. In this case, there is no doubt that the loyalty of the members to the platform has been infinitely improved. Of course, the need for platform opening is not a general membership base, there is a reservation of open and sharing is absolutely the prospect of membership operations.

3.5 Advertising on community websites.

The previous four ways, basically can be regarded as directly involved in cash, passive marketing. Only with the social networking site advertising products can be considered active marketing, that is, the initiative to find customers, targeted advertising, guide traffic. Social networking sites provide advertising products that will tell you a lot of keywords and even pictures (image content matching must be very interesting, but now there seems to be no, or the effect is very general, to match the N technical rationale, and then you just like in search engines to advertise for every click or every advertisement show to pay cash. Theoretically, his effect is better than the keyword search site, but it all depends on the site's membership behavior analysis capabilities, logic algorithms and technology development capabilities, and so on. Social-networking sites have more theoretical ads than search engines, but the difference in nature should be small.

3.6 Active Marketing

Can we take the initiative to find potential customers? Of course, just like you pick up shells on the beach, it's sheer physical activity. Systematic tracking and analysis of member behavior can only be done by social networking sites. This is because first, this is the core value of the community site, if he put this part of the content to you, basically is tantamount to the entire site to you. Therefore, can not touch the member data, is basically the basic terms of the site open; Second, this involves the personal privacy of members. Social networking sites can conduct detailed analysis and research on members and members ' behavior, which is the default or authorized by members when they register on the social networking site. But not your authorization, Sorry, no way!.

Basically that's it, and then wait for everyone's innovation!

4/About "community-e-commerce"

Then how to understand the community of E-commerce? As long as you remember the features of the social networking sites described earlier in this article, it's easy to make the community of E-commerce easier. The two features repeat: "Participation" and "sharing". Remember when someone mentioned the concept of "herd", the individual thought that "herd" is still at the level of people's low-level spiritual needs, failed to grasp the main points of success of social networking sites. Only by guiding and inducing others to participate, and then sharing, is the essence of social networking sites to gather popularity.

Of the participating characteristics include:

4.1 Engage in activities, send prizes, attract others to register and shopping;

4.2 Members to introduce members, get a shopping commission;

of or relating to a shared feature:

4.3 User comments on the product;

4.4 Member Shopping feedback;

4.5 in the product page to increase share, push button, user-friendly content to share to other communities or their own blog;

4.6 Construction Shopping or commodity FAQ interactive column;

4.7 Building member community, interactive sharing;

These are very basic, there are many, to play your creativity! The last reminder, remember through points and other means, put all the above points together, so that the content of the membership system to enrich a lot.

5/Case Sharing: every guest talent

Although it is called "people", but I feel that a lot of this should be the company of the operation. But no matter what, they are packaged as fashion talent. Idea！

In fact, there is no need to explain, the simple is to guide others to participate, first buy goods, become "talent", and then through the sharing of shopping experience, recommend merchandise, successful recommendation, sales of Goods and Commission Commission.

It is strange that the site of the people's "nest" in every guest's website, why not let these Tatsu people's merchandise display page map to other personal space or domain name address? Isn't that a bigger publicity effect? Illustrious。 Pure personal opinion.

The above long-winded said a pile of "fishing" and "fish" words, I hope you really understand, understand the social networking site technology base, product characteristics and operational promotion skills, effective use of social networking sites for your site drainage, value-added. I wish you all success in the exploration of social networking sites and E-commerce sites.

Finish-

23/5: Some follow-up of market changes.

Beijing Time May 19 News, according to foreign media reports, Twitter local time in Wednesday announced through the blog, the company will be third-party applications of user profile information access to more stringent control.

May 16 News, May 16, Tencent QQ through the official website (im.qq.com) officially launched the "q+", third-party application developers will be able to use this platform, directly for 647 million of QQ users to provide services.