Social Media Part III - Social Commerce and Integrated Marketing Communications

By Larry Ball - Web Developer at Xapsis Integrated Marketing

The proliferation of alternative (mobile) platforms has contributed to the increased usage of social media – 65 percent of Americans have accessed the internet with their phones and 23 percent have used their phones to access a social media site.

Social commerce combines social media with basic e-commerce. Social media strategies like user engagement, contribution, and interaction are employed, and there is a reliance more on consumers to provide content relevant to making purchases. Social commerce is used on major websites such as Amazon, which utilizes user recommendations and reviews.

Social Media and Integrated Marketing Communications

Although typically a social media strategy is executed alongside traditional marketing communication channels such as print and broadcast, social media is taking a larger piece of marketing budgets. Mobile marketing, social media, e-mail marketing, display advertising, and search marketing are rapidly growing areas of marketing utilizing newer media.