Tag: Facebook

Facebook is testing new e-commerce feature

Facebook is testing a feature that will allow retailers to sell products directly from the social media page

Facebook is once again trying its hand in the e-commerce space. The social network has beguns testing a new feature for small and medium-sized businesses, which will allow them to sell products directly through their Facebook pages. For some, this feature will simply direct to a retailer’s website, where products can be purchased as normal. Facebook has not released information concerning which retailers are testing the new feature, but the feature is expected to be quite attractive to mobile consumers.

Breaking into e-commerce may be a difficult task for Facebook

Facebook has taken a strong interest in mobile commerce, but has had trouble entering into this sector for some time. The company has been testing various features that would enable consumers to make purchases on the social network either through a mobile device or a conventional desktop. This social commerce, as it is called, is becoming a popular concept among consumers, as many people often use social networks to research products and look for special deals being offered by retailers.

Company’s past endeavors have not yielded positive results

e-commerce - FacebookWhile consumers are beginning to rely more on social networks to purchase and research products, there is no guarantee that social commerce will find the same success that mobile commerce has had. Consumers may also not be comfortable with shopping through Facebook. The social network had tried to break into the e-commerce space in 2009 through a partnership with 1-800-Flowers. Facebook users were not interested in purchasing products through the social network, however, as they did not see it as a merchant.

Facebook will face significant competition in the e-commerce field

As Facebook enters into the e-commerce space, it will be facing strong competition from other companies that have already found some success in this field. Twitter is one such company, and Pinterest is quickly becoming a significant force in the e-commerce space. Because consumers do not typically see social media companies as retailers, these companies entering into the e-commerce space may be more of a struggle than it has been for retailers.

Mobile ads at Facebook tested to improve lead generation

The social network has been testing out a broad spectrum of smartphone marketing strategies.

Facebook has already revealed that it is launching and testing a dramatic range of different types of mobile ads in order to help to improve its lead generation abilities while reducing some of the struggles and challenges that marketers have faced.

The social network is already working with several unnamed brands to try out some of its bigger ideas.

Should these mobile ads prove to be effective, then it is likely that they will become regular marketing products that are available at Facebook. This type of opportunity could become very popular with a range of different kinds of marketers, including those in the financial, auto, insurance, and real estate industries. That is important to note as those are often players that have considerable budgets to back their marketing goals.

The mobile ads are designed to help to encourage interaction from consumers who view them.

Mobile Ads - Facebook Marketing StrategyThis is because the design of this mobile advertising would allow consumers to complete forms, sign up for newsletters, obtain price quotes, schedule appointments, book service calls, and complete other goals right there through the Facebook ads with two simple screen taps.

According to Facebook in a blog post that it made on the subject of this new mobile marketing strategy, “This helps avoid a lot of the pain points usually associated with filling out forms like having to leave one app and start a form in another app and having to enter all of their information from scratch. Just a few taps and people are done.”

This effort would make it possible for Facebook users to be able to complete forms by tapping on them in order to add their names, email addresses, and telephone numbers based on the information that they have stored in their profiles.

The social network went on to specify that the user will be able to edit their contact information so that only the information that they want to share will be sent to the advertiser. Furthermore, as an additional privacy feature, that information is never sent to the business until the user clicks the “submit” button in the mobile ads, specifically choosing to send it.