Welcome the age of Social Shopping

Research, just published in the US by ATG, suggests the UK like the US could be set to enter an age of ‘social shopping’.

In the US, 29% of respondents aged 18-34 said they had found a product or service through a social network and 37% said it was important or very important that merchants provide them an opportunity to interact through social networks.

The implications of this are that brands who research how their products interact with consumers in a retail environment now need to consider how best to incorporate social networking as a central part of their marketing strategy.

It is important to combine offline and online strategies with consistent messaging but taking advantage of the ability that social media permits to create communities around your products. Use the community to ask for input on product development – and reward consumer participation and interaction by taking on board customer ideas and creating social media-specific promotions.

We all know that social media is perfect for high value or aspirational brands and products, like the iPad, where consumers can meet together and discuss their feelings towards the brand but it can work equally well for lower value products, provided the context of the social media marketing fits with the brand.

One brand that does this particularly well is Lucozade Football, whose Facebook page now has in excess of 55,000 followers. Lucozade had recognized the importance of using social media to fit their brand in as part of their customers’ lifestyles and interests. It’s the perfect example of a brand engaging its consumers for the long term and creating an environment in which to share their mutual pleasure and interest in a subject pertinent to the brand. In this case it’s football, but it could just as easily be technology, music, books, coffee, chocolate or whatever.

Without overt selling, Lucozade has implanted itself in the psyche of its followers and will, almost certainly, be the brand of choice when those followers come to buy. And, crucially, it has all been done by conversation and engagement, not shouting and selling.