Out of all the places where someone can get a product recommendation…
People trust their friends and family more than anything.
But surprisingly, research indicates that 84% trust online reviews just as much.
Whether someone got a recommendation from a friend, or whether they read a review online, the bottom line is that online shopping is, in many ways, a social activity.
It doesn't happen in a vacuum.
To really get the engagement you need, you need to focus on building a community around your brand.
It's an atmosphere where your customers can feel connected — not just to your brand, but to one another as well.
After all, people are intrinsically social.
If you can transform your ecommerce brand into the center of a thriving online community with a sense of solidarity, your engagement could go up exponentially.
In a recent article from Entrepreneur, the author explains why community building is so integral to an ecommerce store's success.
Create a Community
Perhaps it’s a trust thing, but most of us are more likely to buy something because a friend or family member recommends it to us.
In this case, 83% of us are more likely to trust these recommendations, according to a Nielsen study.
But we also trust the recommendations of others we don't know personally: A 2016 survey revealed that 84% of us trust online reviews and recommendations just as much as personal recommendations.
So what does that all mean? It means that buying online is not a solitary activity.
To engage and drive purchases, businesses need to create a community around their brand or products.
Warby Parker, for example, has taken the concept of community and recommendations to a new level.
Who would have thought you could buy eyeglasses online? It's hard enough to do in person, but now online?
And what about posting a photo of you in those glasses to get the community's input on which look best on you?
That's exactly what Warby Parker created — the ability for consumers to shop for something we never used to do online with input from their social community.
If you aren’t building a community and getting people talking about your brand online, you risk losing out on potential business.
You can read more about the future of ecommerce over at Entrepreneur.
CHALLENGE Yourself to Profit!
Free Download: Build Your Profit-Generating Online Business With This Free Blueprint
Sign Up, follow the easy steps and You'll get the tactics, strategies & techniques needed to create your online profit stream. It's free!
