Can Social Gifting Give Retailers a Boost?
Dear Facebook Friends, Have you noticed I've been spending an unhealthy amount of time obsessing over the upcoming French presidential elections? And not nearly enough time shopping at H&M? A mobile gift card would help fix that. If you'd all chip in a couple bucks, I'd be well on my way to "paparazzi chic." Gifting for Cheapskates Ah, yes, social gifting. This e-commerce fad has been getting a lot of attention this week with the launch of Wrapp...read more >>
Why Social Media Isn’t the Place for Selling
By the time we reach a certain age, most of us can recognize when a superficially friendly person is approaching us with an ulterior motive. You've probably felt the tingle of recognizing someone else's agenda, whether you're walking down the street and some clipboard-holding college student trills, "HEY, how ARE you, I LOVE that shirt!" or you're hitting delete on an email from someone claiming to be your long-lost Nigerian cousin. Prior to the...read more >>
Content Merchandising Roundup #16
Below is a summary of the week's most interesting content merchandising-related posts from Content Ping as well as from other blogs and news sites. Happy reading. FROM CONTENT PING: Dell's Damien Cummings: Joining the Swarm Does Dell plan to expand its group buying service Dell Swarm to the United States? How does Dell Swarm fit into the company's broader social media strategy? We recently caught up with Damien Cummings, Dell's online director for...read more >>
Dell’s Damien Cummings: Joining the Swarm
It's been three years since Dell Swarm launched in Singapore. We think Dell's foray into social commerce has huge potential. But are there plans to launch the group buying concept in the US? Is the company planning to add more robust product information? I recently caught up with Damien Cummings, Dell's online director for Asia, to answer these questions and more. But first, a little background about the concept. As this promotional video shows,...read more >>
How Viral Was My Video: Why Ads Without Content Aren’t Enough
Brands often fight for awareness as much as sales. The rare truly viral commercial video has taken on Golden Fleece status. To give your ad, blog, or video of photogenic cats using your products its own momentum is the stuff marketers' dreams are made of. But even the most forwarded video or flashiest campaign may not get you the results you want if you don't back it up with expertly made content. At AdAge, marketing consultant Jonathan Salem Baskin...read more >>
Interview with Optify’s Anthony Joseph: Google Gets Social
Since launching in January, Google's awkwardly named Search Plus Your World (SPYW) has begun adding Google+ information to Google search results. This means that if I begin Googling for sunglasses, information from people and brands I follow on Google+ would turn up as part of my search. Personalized search will not only have a huge impact on what products and companies rise to the top of our search results, but also will influence our purchasing...read more >>
Content Merchandising Roundup #15
Below is a summary of the week's most interesting content merchandising-related posts from Content Ping as well as from other blogs and news sites. Happy reading. FROM CONTENT PING: Weekly Content Critique: It's a Baby Miracle We take a look at a product page for the BabyBjörn baby carrier as well as the company's use of product video. Engage and Educate Customers for Improved WOMM You can stoke the embers of word of mouth marketing by providing...read more >>
Amazon and eBay Pin Hopes on Pinterest
The marketing world has been quick to fall under the spell of picture-perfect Pinterest (it's "Facebook without the whining," coos Copyblogger). Amazon and eBay have also begun to show their love, but in a much more prosaic way. They've added Pinterest share buttons to their product pages. As we've reported, the social media darling of the moment doesn't have the merchandising capabilities to turn pinners into shoppers. But its gorgeous imagery can...read more >>
Engage and Educate Customers for Improved WOMM
Consumers are jaded. This is probably not news to you, but it's a fact that deserves your attention. To borrow from Public Enemy, we don't believe the hype. We tune out the thousands of advertising messages we encounter every day, and when we do pay attention we can usually see through them, meeting their overblown claims, promises, and emotional pleas with cynicism. With general skepticism surrounding consumerism, it's no wonder we rely more heavily...read more >>
Will Amazon Get Into the F-Commerce Business?
Facebook has been pegged--by us and many others--as a potential competitor to Amazon. But what if Amazon secures a place in the F-commerce sphere before Facebook has a chance to monetize it? Turns out, Amazon already signaled its interest in commerce on Facebook by quietly launching a beta version of a Facebook store back when Charlie Sheen was publicly auditioning (however unintentionally) for a role in Hollywood's next big comedy. Yet, a year...read more >>