We continue our discussion in response to the questions raised at our recent B2B social media marketing webinar.
There were a few topics about which I do not consider myself expert — so I’ll let a few of the experts speak about e-commerce on Facebook, as well as how social media fits into marketing automation tools.
First up is Arthur Tew of Infused Industries. Their flagship product, Infused Palermo, puts an e-commerce platform — with inventory browsing, shopping cart and checkout capabilities — directly on Facebook pages. I asked Arthur what’s possible now for Facebook e-commerce and what’s coming up next.
What’s feasible now: Currently, businesses can sell thousands of products from within their Facebook Pages. Available options range from solutions that allow for transactions to start on-Facebook and end off-Facebook, all the way to transaction-capable shopping widgets embedded in Facebook pages. Facebook stores are being integrated with existing e-commerce infrastructures such as CRM, inventory and order fulfillment systems.
What might be coming up: Facebook sharing incentives driving viral awareness, coupled with the desire to help friends make intelligent purchasing choices, will drive more consumers to participate in the social feedback loop that weaves relevant products into their conversations and information streams.
Merlin Francis is director of communications at LeadFormix, the B2B marketing automation developer that hosted the original webinar. This question, asked at the webinar, is right up her alley.
How does a marketing automation platform such as LeadFormix fit into a social media marketing tool set?
A marketing automation 2.0 platform can help in two ways;
- It helps measure the ROI on your social media marketing activities. If your objective is Lead generation the right marketing automation can measure the enterprise visitors and their source, revealing which social media channels are bringing them, what kind of content and posts are getting better responses, etc. Brands can use the analysis to optimize social media activities and channels.
- It tells you about the enterprises that visit your site and about the possible people who visit from these enterprises, making it easier for you to follow and nurture these leads on social media, without them actually knowing that you know they are interested in a solution such as yours.
Of course, you’re invited to add your 2¢!
Thanks to Arthur and Merlin for their help. Please note that I have no business relationship with either of their companies.
