Is Social Commerce Really a Referral Program on Steroids?

In chapter 5 of “Socialnomics – how social media transforms the way we live and do business” written by Erik Qualman, there is a section on a family who is need of purchasing a new car to accommodate their growing family.  The father dreads the research, and visiting car dealerships and finally the haggling of prices.  He decides to conduct an online search on a social media website that he often uses.   To his surprise a large number of his friends have purchased new cars within the past year, with similar family size. 

By conducting this search this busy father basically saved himself a ton of time.  Who better to trust, a car salesman who has to sell cars to make a living, or your social media friends who really have nothing to gain from sharing their experiences and recommendations? I am in total agreement with what the research already says about a study conducted on marketing campaigns for Adidas and Electronic Arts.  Research has proven that 70 percent of the return investment was the result of one consumer passing information to another virally. 

Social commerce has evolved so much over the past few years.  Big business use individuals by asking them to invite them to “like” their page.  This in turn gets information out to people about products that they may have never seen otherwise.  Friends have a way of following other friends around the web and social media world.  They want to know what all of the buzz is about and what’s so good about this product that you have liked or promoted on your page. 

So, when asked the question “Is social media really a referral program on steroids”, I would have to say 100% yes.  What better way to spread the word and get your product recognized.  It can make you or break you.  Either way, social media is here to stay and should be used for the benefit of the consumer.