US E-Commerce Brands On Social Media

1 | www.simplify360.
com
Prepared By
Naureen Fatima
IIM Raipur Intern at Simplify360
Edited By:
Rajashree Das
Social Media Analyst at Simplify360
2 | www.simplify360.com
Table of Contents
SOCIAL MEDIA THE RISING FORCE ..................................................................................................... 4
E COMMERCE AND SOCIAL MEDIA ..................................................................................................... 5
Amazon .............................................................................................................................................. 6
Ikea.................................................................................................................................................... 16
Ebay ................................................................................................................................................... 25
SOCIAL MEDIA THE RISING FORCE

To use one of the most celebrated clichs of English language - Times are changing. Or have they
changed already beyond recognition?
Man's innate need to weave and tell stories remains the same. Only this time, the pigeon of
yesteryears has transformed into Twitter's blue-hued bird. 'Liking' and 'sharing' are no longer
biblical virtues.
Lets have a look at the stats from Social Media Today:
Infographic by Jeff Bullas.

The preening Narcissus of Greek mythology is today a 25-year-old youth in South Delhi who posts
adroitly clicked 'selfies' on his Facebook wall and waits in tingling anticipation as likes and
comments pour in.
If Eklavya was born in the 21st century, he would no longer be hiding in the bushes to watch
Dronacharya teach his princely disciples. He would have logged on to YouTube and learnt archery
from the hundreds of do-it-yourself videos on the site.
So yes, the change is here. It has metamorphosed and it is going to further change the landscape of
business environment.
A closer look at how the world around us is hooked onto social media and its tools.
E COMMERCE AND SOCIAL MEDIA

As a part of our research, we have taken up top three e-commerce companies for our analysis,
Amazon, EBay and Ikea.
When it comes to e-commerce industry and social media there is undeniable dependency that at
times goes beyond just necessity. Social media platforms not just help e-commerce giants boost up
their sales by helping display their products but also help in fostering a business-customer intimacy.
The intimacy becomes intimidating at times when the customers find something unsatisfying and
decide to vent their emotions on social media, the easiest way out.
E-Commerce goes social
47% of Americans say Facebook is their No 1 influencer of purchases.

4 in 10 social media users have purchases an item in-store or online after sharing it on
Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.
39% of Facebook users like brand pages to research their products.
How companies manage all of this becomes a big challenge then.

Looking at the strategies of the three companies we come across many interesting trends and
points of parity as well as differentiation.
AMAZON
Amazon has social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, Quora,
YouTube, Vine, LinkedIn and Google+.
Sentiment analysis
Buzz analysis
Buzz share language-wise
Buzz by Gender
Buzz country-wise
Hourly buzz rate
Source Distribution -buzz
CONTENT ANALYSIS
AMAZON.COM ON FACEBOOK
1. Context based engagement with offers
Leveraging Oscar Event
On March 1, Amazon asked its fans to like the post and tag a friend. Random selection of
winners was done and they got free copy of star trek into darkness and gravity. A week later it
again came up with a promotional event where fans were asked to like the page and tell a cure
for winter to win energy lights.
Seasonal Offers- Winter Special

Percentage of Likes, Shares and Comments
Amazon received decent proportion of likes and shares but relatively lower engagement in
the form of comments.
Fans liked the product advertised and were ready to share it in their circles as well, which is
good news for the company.
2. Event based Marketing (festivals and events based content)
3. Goodwill based content aimed at building brand equity
4. Platform for new launches
5. Customer Relationship Management
Prompt and quick reply

Tone is direct and formal
Accountability of person looking into the
problem
AMAZON.COM ON TWITTER
Statistics
Followers 1.06M, Following 49, Tweets 2882
Given the brevity that the platform provides Amazon uses its Twitter account mainly to
communicate the fans about various deals, discounts and offers on a day to day basis.
Re-tweets are generally aimed at promoting various sub brands like amazon kindle, amazon
studios etc.
Fans generally use #amazon if and when they are reading books which they bought on amazon.
1.
Platform for deals and offers display
2.
Recruitment and talent hunt.

Amazon uses its Twitter account to posts updates about their job requirements.
AMAZONS PINTEREST
Followers- 7336, Following- 287, Pins- 183, Boards- 22
AMAZONS INSTAGRAM
POSTS: - 3 FOLLOWERS: - 16864 FOLLOWING: - 3
Not active on Instagram with just 31 posts

Content not relevant
If you decide to ignore the amazon logo at the top of page it would be hard to recognize that it is
amazons official Instagram page. With just 31 posts that are not indicative of company, amazon
can certainly do better.
AMAZON ON MOUTHSHUT.COM
TRENDING ISSUES
SECURITY AND PRIVACY CONCERNS
DELIVERY
CUSTOMER SERVICE
IKEA
IKEA, the world's largest home furnishing retailer, is one of the early pioneers of the social mode of
marketing and has leveraged social media clubbed with massive emphasis on its digital catalogue
which forms the core of the retailer's social marketing strategy.
Having 345 operational stores across the world (as of year 2013), IKEA's digital marketing strategy
remains almost standard - extensive use of social media with separate country pages for respective
markets and focus on digital catalogue applications which can be downloaded on app stores such as
Google Play and the Apple store.
IKEAS CATALOG GETS A SOCIAL LAUNCHPAD

Amazon has social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, Quora,
YouTube, Vine, LinkedIn and Google+.
In its home country, Norway (where conventionally everyone got an IKEA catalog in the mail) the
retailer decided that rather than simply posting its own catalog online, it would attract Facebook
and Instagram users to do it instead.
The campaign, by SMFB Oslo, asked social media users to pick a product each, photograph the page
in the print catalog and post it to Instagram and Facebook.
BENEFITS
Online sync of offline strategy to not only

boost sales but increase buzz.
Increase in fan following

Brand positioning
IKEA SOCIAL STATS

Sentiment analysis
Keywords
Buzz language wise
Buzz by Gender
Buzz by Age
Buzz Country-wise
Hourly Buzz Trend
Source Distribution
CONTENT ANALYSIS
IKEA ON FACEBOOK
1.
Focus at Visual Stimulation
Most of the posts are aimed at visual merchandise of the product range. Content lacks creativity,
novelty and engagement.
2. Customer relationship management
Mostly the response time is 0-2 hours which is pretty effective. Also, the response to queries and
complaints is very courteous and personalized.
3. Online integration for flyer/catalogue

IKEA FLYER
Asking fans to like the page to view the IKEA flyer, they have previously also launched digital
catalogue.
4. Location specific
IKEA US is very focused in its approach with respect to location.
IKEA ON TWITTER
Followers 241 K, Following 122, Tweets 11.6K
1.
Most tweets are made in the beginning of week.

Most tweets are between 10am-12 pm
Mostly the tweets are limited to home dcor tips and ideas.
2.
Fan inclusion and engagement
3.
Integrated with vine
IKEA ON VINE
Followers 2,482, Posts 17
The very fact that the official account is named as Design by IKEA is a reflection of pretty much
what the page is about. Replete with animated images showcasing design this page is used as a
platform for showcasing the various new designs.
The interesting part is the design is showcased without its utility being sidelined.
IKEA ON PINTEREST
Followers: 1,25,167 Boards: 38, Likes: 205
This is an obvious choice for a retailer which deals in home furnishings, as this claims to be the
official 'visual discovery tool'. Making best use of Pinterest, IKEA visually presents its merchandise
to local markets in the UK, USA, Canada and other countries.
EBAY
EBAY is one of the earliest pioneers in e-commerce sphere to leverage social media.
In 2008, it rolled out a FB page. However until 2011 there was no clear strategy, social media
platforms were used to just announce product launches.
Ebay pursues the story telling narrative format rather than going for direct marketing.
One popular post was a photo of a diamond ring that says, Diamond is Aprils birthstone.
But, admit it, you wouldnt mind getting diamonds in any month. Agree? The post was liked
almost 14,000 times and shared nearly 1,000 times. It used paid media to promote the story
of Ed Church, who sold a motorcycle when he was in his twenties and then bought it back 32
years later through eBay.
The company has several blogs like eBay Fashion and eBay Motors. The content tells
stories through photos, videos and text about interesting products sold on eBay like a
batmobile that was built by hand and a guitar signed by Adam Levine. Ebay is also using
visual platforms like Pinterest and Instagram to tell its stories through pictures.
EBAY SOCIAL STATS

Sentiment analysis
Keywords
Buzz by language
Buzz by gender
Buzz by Age
Buzz location-wise
Hourly buzz rate
CONTENT STRATEGY FOR FACEBOOK

1. Event based Marketing with an emotional appeal
Starting on Feb 14, 2012 Ebay created and launched a series of videos with the theme of
valentines and celebration of love. Every video was titled in the form of an interrogative
question that aimed to not just stimulate demand but rather create it.
All the videos were integrated with the FB page of the brand and saw huge consumption of
more than 230,000 views.
2. Segregation of pages based on end purpose and category

EBay has different pages for different category like EBay Fashion, EBay Electronics, Ebay
Motors etc. Also, it has other pages for classifieds and daily deals which serve their intended
purposes.
3. Whats the BIG DEAL?

Deals are a clich, big deals are not. So why not ask the world to find out which one is the BIG
DEAL.
EBay launched the contest with the intent to raise awareness about its deal and also to
increase the engagement. The tab is integrated with its FB page.
4. Leveraging Social Media platforms to drive sales

EBay launched the concept of Group Gifts wherein a group of family and friends could
collectively purchase a gift using social media platform.
It also launched another social product go EBay go together. The product enables users to
discover tickets as a group, split the purchase cost, plan the event and discuss the event
afterwards, serving as a part of the experience from start to finish
EBAY ON TWITTER
Following: 3192
Followers: 348 K
Tweets: 12.1 K
EBay has not limited its innovation and creativity to just Facebook but it can be seen vividly on its
Twitter campaigns as well.
EBay also hosted a Valentine's Day Twitter Chat Party. As part of the action, eBay's fashion team
hosted an hour on Twitter, answering questions about gifts for women; and the electronics team
hosted an hour focused on men's gifts. Based on eBay's stats, the Valentine's Day Twitter party
had a social reach of 14.1 million impressions, with 4,800 users participating, for a total of 4,300
mentions and 1,700 retweets. Using the hashtag #eBayWithLove, the party was accompanied by a
sweepstakes to win a $1,000 eBay shopping spree.
Just like Facebook, EBay has different handles for its Twitter account as well. It has handles like
@eBay, @eBayDailyDeals, @eBay_Fashion, @eBayMotors, @eBayElectronics, @eBayGiving,
@eBayMobile, @eBayGreen, @ebayInc and @AskeBay.
EBAY ON PINTEREST
Boards: 36
Pins: 2698
Likes: 315
EBays strategy on Pinterest is primarily to provide inspiration for purchase. The boards are mostly
theme based and are aimed to catch attention of fans in even products that they may not be looking
for in the first place.
EBAY ON INSTAGRAM
Followers: 38149
Following: 218
Posts: 351
EBays strategy on Instagram is not

just to put up an array of products;
rather it aims to develop
connection with the target
audience using pictures that are
mostly emotive.
For instance, here they have a
picture of basketball player Tim
Duncan and it has been liked by a
considerable number of fans,
although it is not directly relevant
to the company objective.
For More Information:

Contact: contact@simplify360.com
Website: www.simplify360.com
Social Network:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Simplify360
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/company/simplify360
Tumblr: http://simplify360.tumblr.com/
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/simplify360
Google+: google.com/+Simplify360
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simplify360
Blog: http://simplify360.com/blog/
Scribd: http://www.scribd.com/Simplify360
Instagram: http://instagram.com/simplify360
If you want to know more about product and service:

Please contact us at contact@simplify360.com or fill in our online form LINK.

US E-Commerce Brands On Social Media

Transféré par

Informations du document

Titre original

Copyright

Formats disponibles

Partager ce document

Partager ou intégrer le document

Options de partage

Avez-vous trouvé ce document utile ?

Ce contenu est-il inapproprié ?

Droits d'auteur :

Formats disponibles

US E-Commerce Brands On Social Media

Transféré par

Droits d'auteur :

Formats disponibles

1 | www.simplify360.

SOCIAL MEDIA THE RISING FORCE

Infographic by Jeff Bullas.

E COMMERCE AND SOCIAL MEDIA

47% of Americans say Facebook is their No 1 influencer of purchases.

How companies manage all of this becomes a big challenge then.

Buzz share language-wise

Hourly buzz rate

Source Distribution -buzz

Seasonal Offers- Winter Special

2. Event based Marketing (festivals and events based content)

3. Goodwill based content aimed at building brand equity

4. Platform for new launches

5. Customer Relationship Management

Prompt and quick reply

Platform for deals and offers display

Recruitment and talent hunt.

POSTS: - 3 FOLLOWERS: - 16864 FOLLOWING: - 3

Not active on Instagram with just 31 posts

SECURITY AND PRIVACY CONCERNS

IKEAS CATALOG GETS A SOCIAL LAUNCHPAD

Online sync of offline strategy to not only

Increase in fan following

IKEA SOCIAL STATS

Buzz language wise

Hourly Buzz Trend

Focus at Visual Stimulation

2. Customer relationship management

3. Online integration for flyer/catalogue

IKEA US is very focused in its approach with respect to location.

Most tweets are made in the beginning of week.

Fan inclusion and engagement

Integrated with vine

EBAY SOCIAL STATS

Hourly buzz rate

CONTENT STRATEGY FOR FACEBOOK

2. Segregation of pages based on end purpose and category

3. Whats the BIG DEAL?

4. Leveraging Social Media platforms to drive sales

EBays strategy on Instagram is not

For More Information:

If you want to know more about product and service:

Vous aimerez peut-être aussi