Business

Social commerce is a big deal that’s going to get bigger and bigger, becoming something truly monstrous, so it’s easy to forget that this is all still very new, and all still very shiny.

It does depend on how and when you define ‘social’, but inasmuch as we’ve come to use that word to reference platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, the history of social commerce traces back less than a half-decade. But does that mean it’s overhyped?

Far from it.

Digital marketing is predicted to hit $300 billion by 2020, and, amazingly, half of that growth is expected to come from social commerce. Pick your jaw up from the floor and read on.

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Earlier this week we reported how a new survey has revealed that more than half of young professionals won’t work at a company that restricts the use of social media in the office.

Well, it appears that a lot of graduates will soon be joining the dole queue, as new data from UK job site Reed suggests that just one in three UK employees access platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn at work, and a heady two-thirds believe access should be banned altogether.

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Social media has been instrumental in changing the way that brands and businesses of all sizes implement their marketing strategy and connect with customers, and channels such as Twitter and Facebook can deliver just as much (if not more) value for independent, mom and pop businesses as they can for national and international brands.

Of course, it’s one thing to use social media, but quite another to use it effectively. So how have independents fared in building their online presence?

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The social media revolution is well and truly upon us, but some small business owners are still struggling with integrating these tools into their marketing and sales campaigns.

Social media marketing firm iContact polled more than 1,000 small business owners on how they used and rated Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and Groupon. Facebook led all platforms by approval, but one in four of the businesses surveyed don’t use social media at all.

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Advertising on social media platforms has quickly become a big business – Twitter’s revenue has been projected as high as $1.2 billion for 2016, mostly on the back of ads, and social ad spending across the industry is expected to reach $8 billion by 2015.

This infographic from Flowtown looks at how social advertising is reaching new heights.

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If you’ve struggled to sell Twitter as a way to increase conversions and sales, you’re not alone. And in fact, this isn’t Twitter’s strongest suit: instead, Twitter offers businesses the subtle ability to engage your customers and really draw out their opinions of you, your brand and your products or services so you can become more nimble and meet their needs. Here are 5 ways to use Twitter for customer feedback.
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Twitter’s business model has been pegged to generate $1.194 billion in revenue in 2016 on net margins of 25 percent, says a new report.

The analysis, published on SharesPost and written by Candlestick Advisors, also predicts $166 million in revenue for Twitter in 2011 and $329 million in 2012, but is dependent on seeing some early success from Twitter’s largely unproven ad platform.

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Are airline loyalty programs in trouble? Perhaps. New research suggests that over 80% of frequent flyer members never actually earn enough miles to redeem a flight. And the 20% that do? The last thing many of them want is to set foot on another plane.

Simpliflying partnered with the UK’s Cranfield University to look at how frequent travelers (those who travel five or more times per year) are using social media, and what this might mean for the future of airline loyalty.

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Social media channels such as Twitter and Facebook are providing new opportunities for brands and organizations of all sizes, but small business in particular can take advantage of these platforms to amplify their voice and presence, increase visibility and drive awareness, leads and sales.

This infographic from Crowdspring looks at the ways that small business is using social media.

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HootSuite, the company behind the popular social media dashboard of the same name, has acquired What The Trend, a web-based service that provides user-defined explanations of the top Trending Topics on Twitter.

Following a $3m funding round earlier this month, HootSuite has been on a bit of a buying run of late, with the purchase of What The Trend following recent acquisitions of Twapper Keeper, TwitterBar and Swift App.

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