http://blog.sellaround.net/

How to best use of the different social networks

Tue, 08 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The number of social networks is continuously growing. Most of us have heard names like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, Xing, LinkedIn, MySpace, YouTube and more.

These portals have a huge significance in people's lives. It is overwhelming, that users spends more than 8 hours (405 minutes) per month on facebook, mobile usage not included! Clear winner of growth is Pinterest with a monthly usage time of 89 minutes, Twitter reaches 21 and Google+ only 3 minutes. Facebook is at the top and therefore the ultimate destination to focus on. To be present in social networks means to be present on Facebook.

Although Facebook seems to huge, other social networks should also be kept in mind. The newcomer Pinterest grows extremely fast. This network is visually oriented and concentrates on lifestyle and fashion. Mainly women are using the “pinned” products.

YouTube created a possibility for companies named “brand channel” to present themselves with their own layout and video sequences. Functions like Likes, Comments and Subscriptions give fans the possibility to follow the brand and get the latest information. Brands like VW, DELL or Audi are using this chance to regularly communicate with their fans.

Twitter is slightly different. A brand’s profile can be created and fans can become “followers” and get connected with the brand. The advantage of Twitter is the variety of the media usage (video sequences, pictures, lyrics) which can be applied. With praise, criticism and the real time usage of active users, brands can react to wishes of the customers and fans and keep a close relationship to them.

It is important that a brand is communicating the same message throughout all channels, including social networks. The company has to speak the same language across all media, no matter when or where a customer ears it. Take this into account, when you set up social commerce campaigns, so your customers are delighted by your offer!

Sources:
http://www.futurebiz.de/artikel/3-minuten-verweildauer-fur-google-im-januar-405-fur-facebook/
http://www.comspace.de/aktuelles/fachthemen-youtube-channel-unternehmen.html
http://www.personalmarketingblog.de/wozu-setzen-unternehmen-twitter-ein

Best Practice Solution with HitFox

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

How can you best place a special deal on your facebook fanpage? Nicely featured with seamless integration?

Our partner HitFox developed a great way to use a facebook app, in which they offer the “deal of the week”.

A quite appealing way to display the Sellaround Widget in a specific context.

Check this out to see the campaign on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/HitFox/app_363559610347882

When is the most effective time for companies to “post” something?

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Many companies with a facebook profile are currently dealing with the question, when to inform their fans with the latest updates. What time of the day are my users online and are they really active then?

To improve companies’ profiles and reach more users in the future, socialBench and 27social analysed 2.500 facebook profiles.

It becomes obvious, that companies and users simply miss each other in the social web. While companies are sending information per newsfeed to their fans around midday, fans are most active in the late afternoon and in the evening. So during lunch time comments and likes are at their peak. It is clear, that information within the huge number of daily posts are overlooked. Only 14% fans of a brand actually recognize a post from that brand in their newsfeed or ticker.

Also, the choice of the right weekday is important. Companies often post news at the beginning of the week, whereas users are online and active at the weekends, in particular on Saturdays. This obviously is a problem for the companies because they usually don’t work on Weekends. Competing companies that go the extra mile to post on weekends may get more attention. But it is also wrong to only post on weekends. Make sure to consider the right time to post – and you may get the attention of many more fans.

Sources:
http://www.socialbench.de/infografik
http://www.futurebiz.de/artikel/ideale-posting-zeitpunkte-facebook-twitter/
http://www.futurebiz.de/artikel/posts-von-facebook-seiten-erreichen-im-durchschnitt-14-der-fans/

Sellaround converts STRATO Websites into Selling Channels

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The management of an own online store can be expensive, time-consuming and complex. Especially customer of STRATO LivePages, who are planning to sell individual products (e.g. smaller companies, private sellers, startups and self-employed), benefit from the cooperation between Sellaround and STRATO. From now on the customers of STRATO LivePages can easily add shopping elements to their websites.

The products are created quickly and can be added as Selling Widgets into a website. This way it’s also possible for smaller companies without own web shops, to offer their products to a bigger audience.

The integration of the Widgets in own websites is simple: STRATO customers need a Sellaround account and a PayPal account to be able to receive money. On the LivePages Site Builder under the step “Contents” you can embed the Sellaround mini-shops directly by copy and paste.

See here how it works: www.youtube.com/sellaround

What do the users expect from Facebook-commerce?

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Facebook-commerce becomes a common topic. On one hand, experts are talking about the huge potential of social commerce, on the other hand people say, Facebook users don’t want to buy anything in the social network. eBay’s company Afterbuy found out through a survey, that 66 % of those asked would buy on Facebook. This is also proven research from BBDO Germany, where 5-10 % of the users already bought a coupon on Facebook, and 60 % can imagine to buy more in the future.

The first step is the “Like-“button and the user is immediately connected with a brand. But why does a user want to be connected to a brand?

Information and regular updates, which are not accessible for everyone, exclusive content like pictures are some of the reasons for following a brand. Exactly this view behind the scenes is binding the fan closer to the company. A study of the Co-Tweet and ExactTarget surfaced, that 40% of the users which are connected to a brand, expect bargains and discounts. 36% hope to get some gifts for free and 30% want to get information about bargain offers and campaigns at an early stage. 25% want to get exclusive content trough the connection.

The time, when companies with a Facebook profile were pioneers is definitely over. Those who did not join yet, are late. For the others the task is clear: How can I build a lasting relationship with the fans of my brand? One thing is pretty clear, the fans want to have an added value, an individual experience with the brand. The more tailored and individual, the more the fans will follow the brand and stay for a long time.
However, not many end-consumers feel well being taken care of. Only 6% of the Facebook users are satisfied with F-commerce. http://www.dmc.de/fileadmin/pdf/management-update-spezial/360eCommerce_ManagementUpdate_SocialShopping.pdf). There is lots of room to surprise and delight your customers – be one of the first!

Tips and Tricks: How to share my widget

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Encompass your customers on nearly all online and offline channels using the Sellaround widget. Here are the three most popular methods:

1. Sharing on Facebook
With Sellaround, you can sell your products directly in the Facebook streams of fans and friends. To do so, simply go to "My Widgets" in your user area and select a widget that you would like to distribute. A Facebook button that allows you to determine where your widget and any additional text are to appear on Facebook can be found under the "Share" tab. An example of how your widget might look on Facebook can be found here.

2. Printable QR-Code
Sellaround also renders a QR code for each widget created. These are perfect for print ads or promotional flyers and allow your customers to shop comfortably using their Smartphone. And the best part: Our widgets are perfect for viewing on Smartphone displays. Check it out!

3. Website integration using an embed code
We also offer JavaScript and Flash embed codes for all bloggers and website operators, which can be integrated easily into any HTML page. Check out our blog for a tutorial covering creative widget placement on your website with minimal space requirements.

Part 3: A successful campaign

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

In our last sections we explained, how you can activate your fan-base, strengthen and boost the connection between a brand and the fan and how useful Sellaround could be in supporting both.
Our next part is about the communication of the campaign and how you can attract a fan´s attention for upcoming offers.

It is very important to announce the start of the campaign via newsfeed a certain time before the offer goes live. It is recommended to pre-announce the official date and time of the campaign’s start, so the real fans have the opportunity to tell their friends about it. Those fans will definitely sit in front of the screen while waiting for the campaign to start. Sometimes it is not enough to post your offer only once. Depending on your normal posting frequency, we recommend to post the offer several times, i.e. three consecutive days to make sure you get a bigger reach for your offer.

Also, you should pay attention to the weekday at which you will start your campaign. According to a study, Thursday is the worst day for communication with fans and Saturday the best (http://www.futurebiz.de/artikel/studie-mehr-interaktion-fur-facebook-co-durch-beitrage-am-wochenende/).

The ultimate goal is to draw attention to your brand and delight your fans. The social web is very powerful and you should exploit its full potential. If the fans like your campaign they will generate your sales all alone.

Part 2: How attractive is my offer?

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Make attractive offers on Facebook – exclusivity as strong reason to buy

Biggest advantage of the Social Web is the ability to target your audience – you can make offers dedicated to your fan base.

Your offer should delight your customers – so they buy it, talk about it and share it with their friends. It needs to stand out – and be more attractive than your offers in your webshop. But what makes an offer attractive? Is it always discounts? No, in fact discounts set the wrong expectations and tend to harm your brand value. Of course your fans like discounts, but I would not recommend to use it too often – it should not be your number one distinction to make your offer attractive. You can generate a feeling of discounts if you offer free shipping – people generally love free shipping. But don't forget to keep the overall price low enough, so people can buy spontaneously.

Most attractive in the social web are exclusiv offers. Offer products that are only available on your facebook page – or offer presales, before the products go into the normal offline shops, or limit the amount of products available. The closer a product is to the brand, the better. If you are a pop band, sell your CDs and sign the first 50 of them, so you create an extra feeling of scarcity. As you can see, attractivenes of offers differs in the social web – it is so much more than just a reduction of the price. Such an offer will generate a lot of activity within the fan base. You will see comments, likes and shares – and that's what you want.

Make sure to set the expectations right. Start with an announcement post, before actually posting the offer on your wall. Refer to that announcement when you start the selling campaign – so people know what is happening. The more personal and exclusive your campaign is perceived the more success you will have.

I our next post, we will explain how to set up an entire campaign from the planning through to the end of sale.

Part 1: How active and engaged is my fanbase?

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Quality over quantity! Not only the number of fans is important but also their activity and interaction.

The number of “people talking about this” or "PTAT" on a brand’s facebook page is by far more important than the pure number of fans. This number takes into account "likes", comments, check in's, picture uploads, responses to your invites, references and recommendations of the connected place for the last seven days. The higher the number of PTAT, the more fans are active on your page. The above mentioned interactions with your page do also indicate the viral power of your fanbase. The more your fans talk about you, the more they advocate your brand to their friends. If fans do identify themselves with your brand they do expect product offerings. Fans that were attracted through sweepstakes and raffles are not interested in your offers. The better the relationship to your fans the higher the likelyhood to run successful campaigns.

Using Sellaround helps you intensify the relation to your fans. Product offerings are the most activating interactions with fans, you can possibly have. So make sure that your fanbase is nicely managed and highly engaged with your brand. Send them attractive offers, so they feel being valued as a fan!

You want to know more? Next week we will share insights about what attractive offers for fans are about.

Tutorial: Sellaround Pop-up Integration

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

We love our widgets - and we love what our users do with them. The YOSOY Music Agency came up with a practical and simple solution that will allow you to install Sellaround on your homepage without taking up too much space. We liked it so much that we would like to introduce it here in our blog:

Sellaround was implemented as a pop-up here by using jQuery and a Modal Window Plug-in. This can be copied in no time without any specific programming expertise at all - well, almost.

Here's how to do it, step by step:

1. First, download jQuery and a Modal Window Plug-in (e.g. Simple Modal or jQuery UI). We opted for the Simple Modal.

2. Next, add the files "basic.css","x.png","basic.js"jquery.js" and "jquery.simplemodal.js" to your Web server, also adding the following lines in the section of your Web page:

3. Then paste the following code section where the Sellaround widget is to appear later and add the HTML embed code of your Sellaround widget at the point specified below.

Link zum Widget

Paste your widget's embed code here

4. Open the "basic.css" file and replace the line

#simplemodal-container {height:360px; width:600px; color:#bbb; background-color:#333; border:4px solid #444; padding:12px;}

with

#simplemodal-container {height:460px; width:350px; padding:12px;}

5. That's it - you're done!

Successful book sale of Sport 1 moderator Elmar Paulke – „Darts. Die Erde – eine Scheibe”

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Just in time for the World Championship the German sports TV moderator Elmar Paulke released his new darts book. All facts, high scores, playing strategies and profiles of all top players around the world are written down in this book. A clear must have for each fan. Elmar Paulke thought about offering a special Christmas gift to his fans. In no time, he created his own selling widget and offered the first 100 buyers a signed version of his book.

„Social Commerce has a lot of potential – that’s a fact. I was surprised how professional these sales campaigns run and how well they reach our target group of fans and customers. The Sellaround solution has become our top distribution channel across the web.” Tobias Drews, publisher and CEO of the Bombus Verlag, Munich.

„The Sellaround widget is exactly the right tool to reach you fans via facebook. Especially the personal as well as the emotional touch remains – Infotainment, Marketing and Sales at once. Offering my book via Sellaround over the darts championship was the best strategy.” – Elmar Paulke, Sport 1 TV reporter and author.

Elmar Paulke and the Bombus Verlag demonstrate once more how important it is to stay close to your fans.

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Ricardo.ch relies on Social Commerce with Sellaround

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Social Commerce as a new sales channel? Is it worth it?
A cooperation between Sellaround and the leading Swiss online- marketplace ricardo.ch shows clearly: YES, it is!

With the help of the integration of the mini- shop technology from Sellaround, ricardo.ch could reap a significant positively feedback from its 1.7 million members. Caused by the inclusion of the Selling- Widgets as a White- Label solution on ricardo.ch, the communication and the interactive relationships between the ricardo.ch- members becomes more intense and thereby, the vendor business will increase profitably.

Another brownie point is the fact that private and professional sellers can now provide their offerings on almost all social networks at the same time. The personal mini- shop can be integrated on Facebook, Twitter, Goole+, websites and blogs as well as offline via QR- Codes. And the pick of everything: the entire range of products and the whole selling process will take place directly in the Selling- Widgets.

Here are the special facts!

• Since August this year, more than 65.000 mini- shops have been built by ricardo.ch- members, reaching out to 4 million Facebook- users.
• Each month, more than 30.300 bids have been placed and 18.000 purchases were made.

And what does Lukas Thoma, director of marketing and communication, say about this?
“The data confirms that the strategy of online-marketplaces in combination with the Sellaround- technology improves the connection in social webs and as a result we can amplify the reach and the turnovers for our sellers. We are glad, that we were able to win Sellaround, one of the most innovative companies in this sector, as a partner.”

We say: Thanks, likewise! =)

Cheer for your team – Hertha BSC sells via QR Codes

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Last Saturday’s afternoon home match of Hertha BSC Berlin against Bayer Leverkusen ended in a tie – the game result was 3–3. But the Berlin sports club came up with something special prior to the game. 1500 big size printouts were posted all over Berlin. These posters advertised not only the game but also a special QR code for a “Berliner Freunde” Button. This QR code leads directly to the Sellaround widget so that the button can simply be bought on your mobile device. The fan just has to scan the QR code with his smartphone and then will be directed to the selling widget through his mobile browser. Sellaround shops are available on iPhones and other Smartphones at any time.

In favor of the projects of the „Berliner Freunde” the buttons are not only offered via QR Code on posters this time. This campaign was previously shared via Facebook through the Hertha BSC fanpage.100.000 followers have already got in touch with this sales campaign.

The „Berliner Freunde“ initiative is a project from Hertha BSC and Sportfive (one of the leading sports agencies in Germany). This project campaigns for social engagement in Berlin. Good luck for this campaign from the Sellaround Team!

Increase Social Media ROI with Social Commerce: 5 Tips for Beginners

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT

What are likes, fans and followers actually worth? There is no clear answer to that. Quantitative evaluation criteria such as impressions or referrals can only map parts of the range of benefits of Social Media. Qualitative criteria such as ‘brand loyalty’ or ‘customer retention’ in turn, are barely measurable.
Now Social Commerce promises for additional and tangibly measurable benefits: Using Social Media as a distribution channel or to support established distribution channels. As in traditional online and offline trading, here also special conditions apply. We have prepared 5 tips to support beginners in launching their first campaigns and therefore to lay the foundation for a higher ROI on Social Media:

1. Fans want offers
The answer to the question “What do my fans, followers and Co. want?” can be answered quite easily, according to a study by IBM - at least in terms of Facebook fans: It says that most fans hope to receive exclusive discounts and offers when “liking” a corporate page.

2. Focus on single products
The focal point of Social Commerce is postings on social networks. As a result, offers can be quickly communicated to a large number of brand-affine users, who then can spread the word easily and therefore the offer will eventually gain a broad reach without having to intervene much. Tweets and wall posts have one thing in common regarding E-Commerce: They are limited when it comes to representing a larger number of products.
A link to a page with several products is no alternative. This would limit the reach too much, because if a link is to be shared, it has to be opened first to begin with.
Significantly better separability, reach and ultimately more sales can be achieved when focusing on individual products. In a link-post on Facebook, for example, there can be a title (1), a four-line description (2) and a picture with 90 x 90 pixels (3): Predestined to represent a single product with all relevant information, making the decision on “sharing or not” very easy on users.

3. 10% discount on the MSRP is not an offer
The well-known E-Commerce wisdom that the competition is just a click away also applies to Social Commerce. On price comparison sites one can quickly find out where a price ranges on the scale between “bargain” and “rip off”. If an offer tends to be the latter, nothing will keep a disappointed social web user from expressing his displeasure - preferably via the comment function of blogs or Facebook. That will not only scare off other users but it will also lower the barrier to further negative comments. And there you got it going: a shitstorm.
The easiest way to avoid this in the first place is to compare prices beforehand yourself. A genuine offer ranges at the level of the best hits on price comparison sites. Anything else isn’t an offer. Period.

4. You cannot make everyone happy
It’s not always a high price that causes negative feedback. Focusing on individual products also means that they’re not always for everyone. A few negative comments can’t be avoided. It is important to react appropriately. It’s more likely for unsatisfied users to complain about something rather than for satisfied users write down how great they find something. Thus, it is more likely that for each negative comment there are probably more people who do like the product. Here, Facebook provides here a good reference value with “likes”. A response is only advisable when the relationship between likes and negative comments is not good.

5. Always keep legal regulations in mind
As a seller, you constantly run a risk of getting caught in a warning trap. This is no different with Social Commerce. A tweet is quickly set up and price regulations are violated just as fast. Therefore any applicable shipping costs and VAT should always be noted. A glance at the terms of the media you are using for social commerce campaigns is also advisable. In Facebook´s advertising guidelines, for example, there are special provisions for advertising (links to online stores are advertisement!) dietary supplements, software, and some other product categories.

Guide: Selling with Sellaround

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Social commerce is based on campaigns within social networks. With Sellaround you can place your selling campaigns right there where your customers are: in Facebook feeds, in Twitter feeds, on blogs and so on. This guide will help you planning and launching social commerce campaigns:

1. Create a Sellaround account

First of all you need to register with Sellaround Account. Selling goods online requires to input some basic information:

Imprint
Privacy delcaration
Revocation terms
Terms of use

Sellaround generates a confirmation email per order for both sellers and buyers. Depending on the expected amount of orders this manual approach may not match your needs. Therefore Sellaround offers a couple of integration alternatives

2. Product

The success of your campaign primarily depends on the product you choose. Consider your fans your core customers. You need to provide them with the most relevant products in order to turn them into loyal fans and followers. It´s the best way to build a sustainable customer relationship which can be monetized. Try to offer limited products, heavy discounts, special bundles or a product which is only available for the fans on Facebook.

From experience we know, that a social commerce sales price should be under 100€. Well working campaigns are often based on spontaneous flash sales. Remember: the easier the purchase decision is made, the better your conversion will get.

3. Create a widget

If you chose the right product you can proceed and create your widget. Sellaround offers 3 different types of widgets:

Selling: sell your products directly through the selling widget
Recommend: reward users with discounts for sharing the widget
Crowdsaving: determine a certain amount of Facebook or Twitter shares that have to be made in order to unlock a deal

In this guide we choose the widget type „Selling“ and select a „Physical product“. In this case you need to provide the following information:

Product name
Category
Up to 4 pictures
Description
Price
Amount of available items
Options
Shipping conditions

Click on „Additional features“ in order to set a sales tax, allow publishing, set a maximum amount per order and/or de- activate the widget.

4. Facebook campaign

In addition to pick the "right" product, clever marketing is crucial to prepare a successful campaign. Announce the product (without revealing too much), post pictures of creating or packaging the product, communicate a specific launch date...in other words: turn your fans on! Use all of your channels for the pre-marketing phase: Facebook, Twitter, blog or your newsletter. This increases the potential reach of your upcoming campaign.

Now the time has come, the campaign starts! There are several ways to share the widget on your channels. Either you click on the specific Facebook- or Twitter-icon in the "share menue" or you copy the weblink and post it which is similar to posting a Youtube-clip.

Fans love positive surprises. Offer them an early adopter deal or add a goodie to your product which was not announced before – your fans will notice the difference and your conversion rate will take off. A very good approach is limitation in time or availability – this increases sales pressure tremendously.

Quick reaction to all inquiries is absolutely necessary. During the campaign you should definitely be prepared in terms of support resources. Questions regarding the price, the offer itself or the terms and conditions can pop up very fast on social networks. A quick and friendly support can convince both the questioner and the listeners.

5. Sustainability

Your first Facebook campaign is done. Now it´s important to use the positive momentum. Ask your customers how they liked your campaign and what they would expect from you next. Maybe you can already announce your next campaign and establish something like a “Monthly Deal” or “Weekly Deal” thus increasing customer retention.

28Black strikes social commerce success with Sellaround

Sat, 10 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Sellaround has created a successful sales campaign with 28Black, the natural energy drink. Nearly 10,000 cans were sold within 28 hours over the widgets that function as ad banners and mini-shops in one.

Alexander Exner, Director of Marketing at CALIDRIS 28 GmbH – the company behind the drink – is pleased with the strong results of the cooperation: "The collaboration with Sellaround has shown us how important social commerce is as a sales channel. Selling over the widgets is a great alternative to the traditional web shop."

Sellaround CEO Adrian Thoma also deems the campaign a complete success: "Selling physical or digital products over the widgets is so easy and fast that it is particularly suitable for suppliers of high-emotion products like 28Black, because the community can be served right where it is with Sellaround.”

Both Sellaround and CALIDRIS 28 see the campaign as good reason for further cooperation. "We can easily foresee carrying out further campaigns with Sellaround," says Exner. "The feedback from our buyers was very positive, and making sales on Facebook also fits perfectly into our strategy, since we place great value on social media marketing."

Guest article: Social commerce - the business of Friendship

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Tanja Weizemann recently finished her master thesis about social commerce, its impact on businesses and the do´s and don´ts. In this guest article she provides us with a summary on her insights.

Social Commerce – The Business of friendship

If we focus on the definition of Social Commerce exactly, we recognize that it is basically as old as the traditional buying and selling activities. Social Commerce is nothing other than the acts of recommendation and review of products resulting in a push into the right direction in order to help consumers to make the right decision. Despite the ancient nature of Social commerce, the term has derived a new meaning. As a result of the internet, web 2.0 and especially social media a lot of new opportunities of interaction and communication have emerged. The evolvement from the normal customer to prosumer has resulted in a new power for the people. They are learning how more and more deal with it and also understand the influence they have on companies and brands.
This can be accredited to the social media boom. The early elements of social commerce in terms of reviews and recommendations have influenced the E-Commerce of the current decade. Consumers are increasingly listening to other consumers because they regard them as more credible. Finally, other consumers do not pursue promotion activities. For example if you go to a hairdresser and ask him if you need a new haircut, it is certain that they will give you a yes for an answer. Other consumers however are not influenced by business objectives. Another point is the growing advertising density. More and more companies, products and brands are being introduced onto the market. This ultimately results certain disorientation among consumers that they in turn try to minimize by the help of social commerce. Interaction and communication is at the center of the consumer interest.

Challenges for companies and brands
The first challenge that I would like to point out is that companies and brands have to deal with changes in consumer behavior. Brands are now perceived as landmarks for the consumers in the internet world. They know the benefits of their brands; they know the company and realize that these companies try to satisfy their wishes and expectation. But today it is not enough just to be present. The customers want to communicate with the brands as well as interact with the company and with other customers. They want to be a part of the brand; they want to participate in a process and to share in the development of the brand. Most important therefore is that the companies listen and respond to the customers by taking them seriously and by not try to influence them through advertising. Consumers want to find their own way to the brand. Through this the companies can certify that a consumer relationship is established. This is also called I-Commerce (interactive commerce). The aim is to build a long-term relationship with the consumers and facilitate a interactive consumer. The five Is namely innovation, interaction, individualization, instrumentalization and integration make it possible for the needs and wishes of both the customer and the consumer to be attended in thereby resulting in satisfied needs.

The development of social commerce
Due to the rise of social media such as facebook and other social networks, social commerce has taken a new direction. This infers social commerce is now understood literally. More and more companies and brands are creating mainly via facebook integrated shops so that users and customers do not have to leave the social network to buy products. However, the basic idea of the recommendation and reviewing no longer exists. Interaction and communication between consumers does not frequently take place anymore. This implies that companies use the increasing activity of the consumers in the social networks and to direct them to make purchases in the place in which they are spending the most of their time i.e. social networks.
The success of these new activities should be studies according to an online-survey of facebook users because long-term success stories have yet to be seen. This survey is to clarify whether costumers are using shops via social networks and which advantages or disadvantages the consumers are experiencing.

Uncertainty among consumers
The survey showed that social consumers are extremely careful with regards to integrated shopping solutions via facebook & co. The fundamental trust, which is important for the traditional e-commerce is partially missing, especially in relation to the social networks and the activities of companies and brands in social media. The majority of consumers stated that there will be no possibility to make a purchase in the social networks. Factors inducing this reluctance include spam, viruses, privacy policy, the wish of privacy and the fear that somebody could recognize and use their buying behavior are part of the reason for the cautious attitude compared to social commerce via social networks. A complete integrated shop is often viewed as unnecessary. The consumers still prefer the traditional way of e-commerce, amazon and eBay.

Campaigns, specials and rebates are working
However, social consumers also expressed that it might be possible for them to buy in social networks if the suppliers offer appropriate conditions. The survey also showed that single specials often work. This implied that suppliers only offered certain products. Hence social consumers prefer to use rebates, specials and advantages of the companies and brands, but only in this context. For example some brands and companies are offering price advantages for their facebook fans while in the same breath they also promote their exclusivity of the products.

Social commerce will remain
In conclusion one can declare the extinction of social commerce once the people have become unsocial i.e. when they stop communicating and interacting with other people. In its traditional form social commerce will persist, that is for sure. The question that needs to be addressed is whether consumers will like and use the new shopping solutions. Will this social commerce in social networks be a viable option for consumers in the coming future? Indeed one can deduct that most consumers are in currently doubt when it comes to social commerce but there are consumers who recognize the advantages of shops in social networks. One thing is certain: the activities of the consumers in social networks are rising significantly. They POST, LIKE, communicate with each other and with the companies and share content. Why then shouldn´t they also make their purchases in social networks?

Sellaround Full Service Solutions

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Many companies are interested in selling on facebook through sellaround. In some cases they have never done any kind of end consumers business - and ask for full service solutions. We now have a solution ready to go that provides a one off shop solution, including selling through the widget and all services related to logistics and customer service.

Two main models are offered:

1. Pure logistic solution
This "small" solution includes the following services:

Stocking and booking into the warehouse management system
Integration of the order management into the service providers' system
Invoice with look&feel of brand delivered within parcel
Delivery with DHL
One all inclusive price - including setup and warehousing for 3 months

2. Full Service Package
The bigger solution is often chosen, when companies are keen on starting as fast as possible - or want to run a testcampaign.

All services mentioned above
Complete customer service along the sales chain (pre- and aftersales)
Payment management
Returns management

Many more services are available, if desired. Just reach out to us, so we can provide you with an offer.

If you are interested, please send us an eMail: felix.vonkunhardt@sellaround.net

Workshop: how to integrate Sellaround in my existing system?

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Sellaround represents a complete shop system that allows merchants to sell products via widgets. A widget therefore bundles all data of the sales process:

product data (pictures, options, prices, etc.)
stock
impressions
sales and order data

Like in common shop systems Sellaround utilizes a notification service for after sales communication. The service notifies buyer and seller as the business partners by email that provide all necessary data for contacting each other.

Merchants with an existing shop or inventory control system might ask the following questions:

How to use Sellaround with a coexisting shop system?

How to integrate a shop system with Sellaround?

Sellaround offers different mechanisms to achieve that claims which will be shortly described here:

1) Customizing the buyer notification

The buyer notification that is send to the buyer after a purchase is customizable by the merchant. This can be used to achieve the same purchase experience then used to from your already existing shop. You can customize the buyer notification during registration process or later on under "settings" within your account:

2) Sellaround integration into third party systems with the Sellaround REST API

Sellaround offers an interface to merchants for exchanging sales process data - the Sellaround REST API.
The interface allows exchanging the following data between Sellaround and third party systems:

product data
stock
order data with buyer informations

Before using the Sellaround REST API you require an API access token which authorizes the merchant against the interface. JSON - a popular human readable text format is used as data exchange format by the interface.

The API allows a comprehensive integration of third party systems - you can:

create widgets from within a shop
request orders to synchronize data with a shop or inventory control system
send your own email notifications to buyers (we can disable the Sellaround notification service therefore).

More informations about the Sellaround REST API can be requested by email to info@sellaround.net, the developer documentation with detailed description of functions and examples can be downloaded under Sellaround API Documentation.

3) CSV Export

As a last option we offer a personalized csv export of the order data on special request.

If you have more questions about using or integrating Sellaround just contact us.

Felix von Kunhardt joins management team at Sellaround

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Now it's official: Felix von Kunhardt expands sales and business development as new COO and managing director at Sellaround.net. The e-commerce expert was instrumental in developing eBay’s European branded shops program and previously led the online auction house’s merchants business within Germany. To get Felix to know here are some questions and answers:

What is your job at Sellaround?
As managing directors, Adrian and myself are responsible for the overall business success. My role is to drive all sales and business development activities – and ultimately to ensure the success of merchants that use Sellaround as an additional channel to drive sales and get new customers. I have been working in the online and eCommerce industry for more than 12 years now – and have a wide professional network in Germany, UK and France but also in the US. My aim is to raise awareness for the sellaround solution amongst brands and retailers to successfully drive new business with them.

What do you see the biggest challenge?
Time – we have tons of interested companies that we want to meet so they can get started. Where to start first?

What attracts you to the concept of Sellaround?
Sellaround is an innovative social commerce solution – for me it feels like the natural evolution of the traditional and established eCommerce. Social Commerce is a new market that is just about to develop and it has enormous potential. As a brand, you now can generate additional revenues and gain new customers at once. Just use your existing customer base to become your advocates and let them buy your products or spread them across their base of friends. The Sellaround solution offers exactly that – I am totally thrilled by the concept.

Take a closer look at the social prosumer!

Tue, 24 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Every month 30 billion pieces of content are shared on Facebook: text, photos, videos. All types of content. This amount changes the previous view on online consumers fundamentally. The picture must be repainted. We are not dealing with an anonymous website visitor anymore, but more and more with personalities, identities, real people.

The still substantial unity of "unique users" will lose its meaning. Much more important is the question: how many friends has a business, how many followers, how many reliable customer relationships, how many serious social connections?

For brands and retailers a huge task and giant opportunity. They have to redefine their pattern of thought. The unidirectional push of content is the past. Users want to interact. And show what they stand for. What has been called a mere customer becomes also a producer.

Or as we call it: the social prosumer!

What do the users expect from Facebook-commerce?

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT