A Closer Look at the eBay – Facebook Deal
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A Closer Look at the eBay – Facebook Deal
Wondering what the new eBay/Facebook deal means to you? So are a lot of other social media consultants and advertising agencies alike. On one hand, social media marketing is just beginning to come into its own; technology and metrics have finally matured to the point that ROI, conversion rates and other essential elements are reliable enough for predictive modeling. Meanwhile, ecommerce has a long track record with variable success via eBay. But what does the merger of the two mean for the future of both ecommerce and social media? It’s a new frontier with tremendous potential for those that understand how to put it to practice sooner rather than later.
1. Social media moves beyond marketing! The most obvious change is that social media is now moving beyond generic outreach type of marketing and actually becoming an ecommerce venue of its own right. According to developers, the new platform will allow third-party providers to seamlessly enable customers to integrate “share”, “want” and “own” buttons into their communications allowing Facebook users greater freedom of expression regarding product lines and even services.
2. Ecommerce moves beyond selling! While sites like eBay are quite mature, they have failed to initiate major changes in several years. Auction sites are still more or less the same despite a few cosmetic changes now and then. The newest deal between eBay and Facebook enable auction sites to implement a social media strategy to reach out to new clients, allow sharing of information and enhance the shopping experience when off the site.
3. 24/7 Sales and service. Are you offering 24/7 sales and service? If not, you better start soon. As social media and shopping merge, clients are increasingly accustomed to shopping, selling and sharing at their time…not yours!
4. Paypal/Facebook? Rumor has it the news isn’t over; Paypal and Facebook are apparently in discussion regarding major changes to their relationship status. To date, Facebook only allows micro-payments via PayPal but expect to see a much deeper offering announced as early as this week. Facebook and PayPal have a long history together as PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel was an early investor in the company so industry insiders speculate the deal could be big news especially for the virtual wallet or other emerging mobile technology.
Mike McLaughlin
Maximize Social Media, LLC
Copyright Maximize Social Media LLC 2011.
All Rights Reserved.
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About the author:
Mike McLaughlin is the COO & President of America’s top social media agency for medium-sized businesses, Maximize Social Media
* As a television producer, he was a key player on several nationally televised shows and worked side by side with celebrities such as Ed Koch, Mills Lane, and Harvey Levin.
* He also used his creative talents to support Fortune 100 companies Lockheed Martin and Publix Super Markets, as a project manager of large-scale training and communications projects.
* At Maximize Social Media, Mike supervises a team of over 200 social media professionals that provide consulting and management services to businesses in more than a dozen verticals.
* Follow Maximize Social Media on Twitter: http://twitter.com/maximizesocial
* Join the Maximize Social Media Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/MaximizeSocialMedia
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