Social Commerce

I. WHAT IS SOCIAL COMMERCE
      Nowadays it seems what all marketers hear about these days is social networking, social marketing, social interaction online and social commerce in general. But what does the word "social commerce" mean for their business?
      According to Wikipedia, “social commerce” is a subset of electronic commerce that involves using social media, online media that supports social interaction and user contributions, to assist in the online buying and selling of products and services. In short, “social commerce” is the use of social media in the context of e-commerce. This definition really evokes a fusion of two big digital trends of “social media” and “e-commerce”, which are broadcast by most of the economists as a leading movement in the world market.
      Whereas e-commerce refers to business activities like selling and purchasing of products and services carried out over electronic systems like the Internet and computer networks, a social network is a web-based service that provides ways for users to interact, such as file sharing, blogging, and discussion groups, to build communities of people who have common interests
      Unlike the broad brush of social media - which is a catch-all phrase for word-of-mouth activities of all kinds - social commerce is the strategy of connecting customers to customers online, then leveraging those connections for commercial purpose. In other words, social commerce moves the word-of-mouth needle from "buzz" to "buy.
      In the broadest sense, “social commerce” is the strategy of facilitating customer interactions and participation in ways that will drive measurable business results. The word "commerce" paired with "social" reminds us that a smart social marketing program must be measured, operationalized, and optimized - and meets its goal of driving customers to purchase.
      Examples of social commerce include user ratings and reviews, user recommendations and referrals, social shopping...