With the vast majority of individuals and businesses relying increasingly on the internet to connect and interact, virtual communities have formed across different platforms and areas of interest. Within this vast network, my concept will introduce a socially optimized Community. This community would act as a bridge between Small and Medium sized businesses (SMBs) and its potential customers by the integrating social media, transactional software, mobile and desktop platforms. The Community will operate, in essence, as a virtual marketplace and the connection point between SMBs and consumers.
SMBs
The Community is designed to meet SMBs’ online needs; namely providing streamlined access to a variety of social media platforms and software to simplify how they conduct business online. By establishing a ‘storefront’ within the Community, SMBs will be added to a directory that will be accessible through various online properties, Facebook and Twitter pages and a mobile application. From the Community dashboard, they will be able to manage their online storefront and add functionalities such as Facebook and Twitter automatic updates, PayPal and delivery services. Understanding that SMBs may have different access needs, the Community is built on a flexible platform that allows for easy integration within their existing website and mobile access.
As referenced in The Opportunity, the value proposition for the Community lies in its cross-technology integration. From one dashboard, SMBs will be able to develop its Community, Facebook and Twitter and mobile presence, send updates via social media platforms about recent sales, new developments and new products, manage financial transactions via an Paypal and coordinate shipping, while also soliciting advice and recommendations from other SMBs and consumers. The platform and the dashboard would be built to expand and grow alongside the community with new services and functionalities being added over time.
The Benefits for SMBs:
- Efficiency and convenience of accessing a range of social media and transactional functionalities from one platform.
- Ease of access to technologies that support the entire sales cycle (marketing/promotion, financial transaction, product delivery and follow-up.)
- Cost-effective approach to engaging the online community while leveraging established platforms (PayPal, Facebook and Twitter.)
- Unique discount offers and e-deals through the Community.
- Access to the business expertise.
- Potential for increased revenue due to greater online visibility and lower barriers to purchase.
- Increased social media visibility to drive and support word-of-mouth and online marketing activities.
In my next post I’ll introduce “The Concept” from the consumers perspective as well as give you more details on the technology and features.
Filed under: Social Media Tagged: | Facebook, mobile, PayPal, small business, SMB, Twitter
[...] } In my last post “Bridging the gap between Small Businesses and Social Media – The Concept” I introduced the concept of a virtual marketplace known as “The Community”. This [...]