Facebook clearly know that they are suffering in terms of driving people to purchase as a result of seeing a link/post on the site. They are looking at every angle which turns out to include using the button “want”.
"I want that" will replace "I like that". Sounds like petulance will replace affection. Do we really want people to go around “wanting” rather than “liking” ? It’s a tactic employed by rival Pinterest and is a way to encourage shared “wanted” items to be bought for/by friends.
The tested area called “collections” will include want, like, collect buttons and retailers including Neiman Marcus, Victoria Secrets, Pottery Barn and Fab.com will be included. It has apparently worked for items like cupcakes and Starbucks vouchers, so will it work for larger items?
Only 1.3% of ecommerce traffic comes from social media sites in the US in 2012, maybe because people are talking to their friends and sharing stories/comments and aren’t shopping. If you were in a coffee shop, restaurant or bar with friends and someone asked you to buy a dress, album or new sofa would you do it? No. Point made. People see the difference, why can’ retailers?
When people do click through to buy facebook users only deliver customer spending US$94 while the more commercial and retail minded Pinterest drives users who spend US$169.
Retailers may want to look at when updates are posted to enhance their potential to turn interest to purchase. A new survey by Buddy Media showed that Wednesday is in fact the worst day of the week to advertise on facebook, 7.5% down on average interaction.
Is that because Wednesday is that nothing day between start of the week and far enough away from the weekend? Or is it because people are busier at work that day?
Saturday and Sunday are not surprisingly the best times to advertise with 14.5% more interaction than average. Presumably because people are not generally at work and have time to browse and react and potentially purchase.
The survey does conclude that brands are advertising on facebook all wrong as amazingly only 14% of all posts appear at the weekend and guess which day is most popular to advertise on facebook? Yes you got it. Wednesday.
Are these two factors related to price? If so the ROI doesn’t add up, cheap is not always best, you really do get what you pay for.
Funnily enough most users engage in the early morning and late afternoon, i.e. before and after work. Yes most advertisers don’t buy space then.
Brands that post between 8pm and 7am get 14% more interaction than those posting between 7am and 8pm.
I can’t help but think these two social media items are connected in some way…if I only I could figure out how….