E-Commerce Social Integration Study With Examples - 100 Online Retailers Analyzed

Brian Chappell | August 03, 2010

E-commerce social media integration is on the rise and most online retailers are integrating social in some fashion on their websites. Whether they utilize above fold real estate to do so or are burying it deep within product pages, there is no doubt that integrating it with the traditional website is important for brands.
We decided to answer the following questions by analyzing the top 100 retailers on-site social media integration, we used the following list of companies to do so:

• What percentage of sites have some sort of social sharing integration?

Homepage Specific

• What percentage of sites utilize homepage real estate to promote their social presences?
• What percentage of sites promote their social assets, such as Twitter, Youtube, Facebook etc?
• What percentage of sites promote their Facebook Fan page?
• What percentage of sites promote their Twitter page?

Product Page Specific

• What percentage of sites have product page social sharing integration?
• What percentage of sites utilize FB Like functionality?
• What percentage of sites utilize FB Share functionality?
• What percentage of sites utilize the addthis widget for sharing?

 

Homepage Social Integration

Product Page Social Integration

So what does all this mean you might wonder? 

1. Facebook.com was often promoted by itself on the homepage of sites while Twitter wasn't. According to these 100 sites Twitter does not appear to be as important of a social channel to grow as Facebook.
2. Social and sharing callouts were typically near email newsletter signup callouts.
3. Facebook share is still the most popular sharing mechanism, over Facebook like. Possibly because marketers realize the value in the title manipulation capabilities, thumbnail and news feed aggregation option it has that the like button doesnt.
4. More sites currently use the addthis widget than facebook like on their sites.
5. The top retailers were more likely to utilize homepage space for social callouts than product landing pages.
6. Athleta, Avon, CableOrganizer.com, CVS, ElderLuxe.com, Faucet.com , Garmin, Goldspeed.com, Max Furniture, Mymms.com and Smith & Noble felt no need to promote their social assets or implement any sort of social sharing on their sites. This begs you to wonder why, and makes you question, are there greater problems at the wheel that would keep them from doing so?

Below you will find screenshots of social integration in action, on some of the sites we analyzed.

Homepage Social Callouts

ActionEnvelope.com

Ebags.com

EddieBauer.com

Fatbraintoys.com

Gap.com

Gardeners.com

Itunes.com

Landofnod.com

Novica.com

Shoeline.com

Sweetwater.com

Vans.com

Walmart.com

Social Sharing On Product Pages

AE.com

Anthropologie.com

Bestbuy.com

Bluefly.com

Bluenile.com

Buy.com

Chapters.indigo.ca

Crutchfield.com

Csn.com

Designbyhumans.com

Esteelauder.com

Eyebuydirect.com

Fathead.com

Journeys.com

Jtv.com

Karmaloop.com

Levis.com

MusicNotes.com

Popcuts.com

Skymall.com

Sunglasshut.com

Wetseal.com

Zappos.com

In Closing

A large majority of the sites (67% of them in fact) feel integrating some sort of social sharing on their site is worth doing. 73% of the top 100 retailers also feel the need to promote Twitter or Facebook on their site. If you thought social wasn't becoming mainstream yet, then judging by these 100 sites I think its pretty safe to say it is. There is real value in integrating your current site with sharing features and promoting your Facebook/Twitter presences where applicable.
With that said, it is important to test any sort of integration you do. At the end of the day you want more sales, so if all those additional callouts are inhibiting them, take them down! Stacking 15 different sharing buttons near your buy button might not be worth it and could deter users. Taking up 15% of your above the fold homepage screen real estate for your Facebook fan widget might not be helping your bottom line like you think. Test, Measure and Optimize.
I am curious though what you think about all of this. Leave your comments below.

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World’s Greatest Sales Person Campaign of Ogilvy

In order to celebrate the craftsmanship of selling, OgilvyOne created a contest with an objective to sell a red brick. In a branded YouTube channel, future sales experts are able to view the briefing, upload a video and check out other contestants. The price? Become a finalist and Ogilvy will fly you to Cannes to pitch a product. Win the pitch and you’ll receive a three months paid fellowship at Ogilvy and the title World Greatest Salesperson.



Continue reading for more insights in the campaign, opinions and the videos of the campaign.

About the campaign

Agency Ogilvy, famous for its respected founder David Ogilvy, loves to tell the rich story of how a door to door salesperson became the founder of one of the biggest advertisement agencies in the history. To continue this passion for sales, Ogilvy launched nine videos showing a various types of sales techniques. From The Metaphor to The Envy Transfer. My most favorite? The Stat Factor.






Up until now, the videos didn’t receive that much attention overall. The nine different videos received a total of 35.000 views.
According to Brian Fetherstonhaugh, chairman and chief executive at OgilvyOne in New York Salesmanship has been lost in the pursuit of art or the dazzle of technology. Salesmanship needs to be rekindled in this postrecession environment, as consumers are making more informed and deliberate choices. With the consumer in control, selling is less about intrusion and repetition, and more about engagement and evangelizing.

“The consumer is in control. This means selling is less about intrusion and repetition and more about engagement and evangelizing.”
- Brian Fetherstonhaugh

About the competition

The competition started two weeks ago and received 8 entries up till now, which is an incredible low number compared to the amount of videos uploaded for the Island Reef Job Best Job In The World campaign. An odd comparison? Of course both target audiences can’t be compared, but it does tell something about the effort people are willing to spend on gaining a job via a YouTube video, which requires some research, creativity and effort. Current submissions include semi professional and well thought entries, as well as low quality webcam videos.

Conclusion

In my opinion a great campaign with high potential to gain attention and awareness from both the human resource perspective as a way to tell the story behind Ogilvy. Hopefully Ogilvy will be able to gain more attention to this campaign; it would be a waste if the campaign will end with a low amount of contestants and publicity.
Sources: ThisIsOgilvy.com, NYTimes.
http://www.linkedin.com/companies/ogilvyone

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Social media case: Headteacher lost job by the power of Facebook

By Tom Kelly and Ryan Kisiel
Last updated at 1:50 AM on 10th April 2010

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1264898/Facebook-campaign-forces-headteacher-resign-pupil-power-revolt.html#ixzz0ki5yESIT

The head of a girls’ grammar school has quit before she even started in the face of a malicious Facebook campaign by pupils angry at her appointment.
Sally Jarrett, 50, was selected ahead of 11 other candidates by governors of Beaconsfield High, who praised her ‘vision, drive and enthusiasm’.
Pupils were also involved in the selection process, and representatives from the student council interviewed the teachers shortlisted for the appointment which begins in September.

Candidates: Owain Johns (left) was the preferred choice of pupils at Beaconsfield High, but Sally Jarrett (right) was offered the role instead

When they failed to secure their preferred choice, acting head Owain Johns, some pupils started a Facebook page calling for him to get the job instead of Mrs Jarrett.
One false claim posted on the social networking site said that Mrs Jarrett planned to name a new building at the Buckinghamshire school after herself.
Many teachers at the school also opposed the decision and the revolt gathered such strength that a fortnight after the appointment governors were forced to defend their choice in a special meeting attended by 30 of the school’s staff.

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At the hearing they faced complaints from a staff representative that the views of pupils and teachers were overlooked during the selection of Mrs Jarrett, deputy head of nearby Wycombe High School.
Nearly two weeks later, as the Facebook campaign gathered pace, the school announced that Mrs Jarrett had withdrawn from the position, citing ‘personal and professional reasons’.
Teaching unions have already blamed the Government ‘pupil power’ drive for fuelling a ‘crisis of adult authority’.
In one case highlighted by the Mail this week, children as young as 11 have been issued with iPhones to give instant ratings on their teachers in ‘spy’ email messages to senior staff during lessons.
Beaconsfield High is a selective school for girls aged 11 to 18. It regularly features highly in GCSE and A-level league tables.

Pupil power: A Facebook page containing false claims about the incoming headteacher was set up by students at the all girls school

One governor described how an online campaign for Mr Johns on Facebook started once Mrs Jarrett was announced as the new head on January 29.
‘A lot of the girls and their parents have got on well with him and were disappointed that he didn’t get the post. There were a lot of comments posted online to that effect.
'Although most of the comments were merely positive about Mr Johns, they started to get negative about Mrs Jarrett. It got nasty and was totally out of order.’
Mr Johns, 35, a design and technology teacher, has been acting head since August. He is popular with pupils and parents, some of whom call him ‘Johnsy’.
Last month he posed in a Dracula costume to promote a charity fun run involving pupils, and took part in the race dressed in a Biggles outfit.
Classroom unions say a growing Government obsession with consulting ‘the student voice’ on all aspects of schooling, including hiring staff, is making their members’ lives increasingly difficult.
Mrs Jarrett, a mother of two, declined to comment. The Facebook page has now been removed. A new head has yet to be appointed but Mr Johns remains in the running for the post.
Buckinghamshire County Council said: ‘Sally Jarrett’s decision not to take the post was taken for professional and personal reasons and is not a matter we can offer further comment on.’

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