Selling Online, Socially

There are close to 50 million people on Facebook, more than any other social networking site in the world. And there are many other “networking” sites that have millions of members, Friendster, Twitter, MySpace, Multiply, even Google joined the bandwagon with the Buzz. Social networking is slowly becoming a necessity. Not having one just seems to put one out of the loop and out of touch.

Social networking sites have exploded into the mainstream consciousness in the past several years. It has reconnected friends separated by many years and thousands of miles. It also opened up many facets of our lives and allowed the exchange of ideas, goodwill and friendship. In has also become the perfect market – there are people in it (lots of it), there is a commitment to it (to the site) and these people obviously have the buying power (why else could they buy a computer or an Internet connection).

The social networking phenomenon, aside from creating a whole new virtual coffee shop world where people just hang out and have small talk, has also become the world’s biggest market. And enterprising individuals have joined the bandwagon of selling their products, their services and even their political ideologies over these social networks.

The power of social marketing is so huge, even Friendster – the site that started the whole social networking craze – has shifted its focus into the marketplace kind of feel, thanks much to Facebook that virtually lorded over the casual networking throne.

Online social marketing is indeed very useful for both sellers and buyers. For producers, they can advertise their products, set up a virtual “shop” or display rack, take orders and make an inventory, all by just sitting down and at a very minimal cost. They do not have to rent space in the mall, or accessorize a shop, or even hire people to man it. While display racks and store space provide for only a limited number of products, online thousands can be “stored,” categorized and displayed.

For the buyers, it is simply a breeze. They can visit a friend’s virtual store and get out in maybe around five seconds, without doing anything other than twitching a finger. If they are in search for new items, there is the search engine, which will churn out hundreds of suppliers from your next door neighbor to someone from Tanzania or the mega factories in China.

There is still so much to be done, however. While looking at products is easy online, payment is not. Most often people need to use a credit card or even arrange a meet up for the actual sale. The power of the Internet to democratize access to information is a double-edge sword and has opened the floodgates to scams and scoundrels. As a whole, earning from the Internet is still minimal and success has been limited to just handful of companies like Google, Amazon or EBay.

However, the marketplace has always found ways to catch up and invent itself a system. The barter system indeed opened the free market that led to currencies and international trade. The ingredients and the infrastructure of online social marketing are already there, and it is waiting for that one big idea to open the dam to ease, convenience and success for everyone.