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Social media shopping trends to watch out for in 2010

Posted by Bian Salins

15th December 2009 in Driving traffic to your Tradespace, Insider tips from the BT Tradespace team, Shopping guides

It’s all about trends. Business trends, consumer trends, and now social media shopping trends. The buzz word for 2010 is ‘trends’.

Why? You ask. Why, because it’s been a year of learning for all of us. As we’ve tried to deal with the economic meltdown, we’ve had to be innovative in our ways of selling, we’ve had to come to terms that we win some and we lose some, even the big search giants have had to change their ways and understand customers better.

But if there’s one thing that’s stood out this year, it’s that online has been the saving grace of this recession – online spend is still on increase; video is fast becoming the way to engage and reach consumers/customers and social media has proven to be more than just a passing phase. So what are the social shopping trends? And what do they mean for businesses?

Online shopping will continue to rise

Ok. Admittedly, nothing to do with ‘social shopping’ but has to be said nonetheless. Online spend has increased and will continue to do so.

We know that more of us are going online to shop. Our current poll on our blog shows that online shopping is a clear winner over the high street. Plus, a recent study from Burst media shows that 85% of people are planning to spend their money online this Christmas season. Not only that, 65% are planning to spend the same amount they did last year – recession or not. The fact is, online is now providing choice that the high street can not match and with ease of buying and selling, this trend can only increase into 2010 and after. As Forrester has forecasted, by 2011 32m UK consumers will be shopping online. So the message here is; if your business is not ready for the trend of online shopping, then you need to be thinking about it.

Online shopping is also about right here, right now

Online shopping is becoming less about out of date information and poor products and services and more about getting what you want, when you want it. Consumers want instant gratification when it comes to online. They want to know about products deals and special offers in the now. The rise of Twitter and the sharing of info via tweets and retweets are a strong indicator of this social shopping trend and likewise, the power of it.

If you missed it, Google and Bing’s recent roll out of ‘real time’ search results, which means that search results now display what people are saying about that search query at that moment in time shows that even the giants have had to bow down to the consumer.

Share and share alike

There’s plenty of evidence to show that shopping is getting social. By that I mean, it’s not you sitting at your desk shopping in isolation or making your own decisions – there’s a real hunger for people to buy from people they’ve heard about.

I was recently at a round table event which saw the likes of Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, The Chambers of Commerce come together. But it was the small businesses themselves who made the statement – ‘The power has shifted from the business to the consumer.’

How true. Because, not unlike the offline world, word of mouth is what it’s all about for consumers now. If you haven’t signed up already, consumers are defining market trends – just look at the group effort to upstage the Xfactor’s Christmas number one. On BT Tradespace itself, we’ve seen from recent activity on the new site, nine of the top 10 businesses with fans are in the top 50 most viewed sites. The more fans you have, the more the opportunity to ask them for testimonials and raise visbility of how good your business is.

in short – ‘Consumer is King’

Generating buzz is about online reputation

Fans and followers may be one way of consumers spreading the word on the likes of Facebook, Twitter or BT Tradespace but if fans are about sharing your likes, then testimonials are about generating the right kind of buzz. We’ve all read and been influenced by product reviews on Amazon – in effect, a good review is like a thumbs up for your business. However, testimonials are longer term word of mouth… they have lasting effects for your business because it’s about working with you as business and consumers are influenced by them. Mary (our super web analyst) has been looking at how testimonials work for our own Tradespacers and she’s found, businesses with testimonials typically receive more visits than average   – 37% are in the top 500 most viewed Tradespaces.

The main reason for consumers wanting to read testimonials is because reputation and trust is everything to the online experience. I would be more prone to part with my hard cash and card details if, I could see that other people have a trusted relationship with a business online. It’s not a nice to have, it’s a necessity.

Business video has the wow factor

Another social media shopping trend is that consumers aren’t satisfied by a ‘will do’ attitude from businesses online. Most businesses I meet often tell me they’re doing nothing with their website and often I keep replying with ‘would you walk into a deserted shop?’

Consumers want to be delighted by their online experience – just as you and I want to be delighted by our offline experience. The evidence of this lies in the rise of social sites like Flickr and YouTube. To delight your consumers, you’ve got to show that you care for their business. To show that you care, you’ve got be active and try new things.

Online video advertising spend has grown 200% in 12 months and is the new way to engage and connect with your customers. Plus, with dates showing on news/blog posts and the ease of using video and images for your business – it’s easy to tell who’s putting the effort and who’s not. So the question is – what’s your online shop window looking like today?

What next?

The main reason for me sharing this information with you is so you act on it for your business and use BT Tradespace to your benefit. So….

  • If you haven’t reset your password since we launched, you need to log in and do so now to get going and take advantage of these social media shopping trends….
  • If you have nothing more than your business details on your Tradespace, you need to enhance your Tradespace to start bringing in the customers.
  • If you haven’t seen our offer on Flip camcorders to help you get going with your own business video – check it out.
  • And finally, if you thought your social media efforts were a pure waste of time… think again.

Posted in: Driving traffic to your Tradespace, Insider tips from the BT Tradespace team, Shopping guides | 1 Comment »

A guide to using your BT Tradespace dashboard

Posted by Bian Salins

26th October 2009 in General guides, Insider tips from the BT Tradespace team, Managing your Tradespace

Hi there! Welcome to our guide for using your dashboard. Firstly, think of this as the place for you to see and manage everything you do on BT Tradespace. Whether you’re a consumer just here to shop and connect, or a business who’s selling on our site, it’s your stop gap to all your activity.

I’ve divided this guide to reflect the tabs within your dashboard so simply click on the link that you want to find out about.

Your dashboard homepage

Your dashboard homepage is a reflection of your activity on the site. As soon as you arrive you will see

  • The messages you have received from other BT Tradespace members
  • Your recent activity – for example, if you’ve become a fan of a business or left a testimonial on someone’s Tradespace it will display here.
  • If you’re a business you will see a bird’s eye view of your shop Transactions and/or bookings
  • Businesses will also have the ability to enable your free customer service community from here to offer a top notch customer service.

Inbox

One of the main things we’re about is conversation – so your inbox is your channel to connect and communicate with as many Tradespacers you like. You will see your messages from other Tradespacers, plus get alerts on activity that has taken place in your account. As well as see testimonials you receive (if you’re a business).

Remember, it’s best to update your contacts list before sending a message to people on the site.

  • To create a message in your inbox, simply click on the ‘Create a message’ button you see at the top of the left hand navigation bar. Once you’re in the message screen, click on the ‘To’ button to see your list of BT Tradespace contacts.
  • To delete a message go to your inbox, select the message you want and click the ‘Delete’ button at the bottom of the screen.
  • You can also move messages from your inbox into an archive by selecting the messages and clicking on the ‘Archive’ button at the bottom of the screen.
  • Finally, if you want to flag certain messages that might need following up, select them and click the ‘Flag’ button. You will see a ‘flag’ icon next to these when you go back to your inbox.

Contacts

This area is where you manage your mailing list effectively. While you can send internal messages only to people on BT Tradespace, you can import your contacts list into an address book from here and ‘announce’ any updates you make to your Tradespace.

To get an in-depth, step by step look at adding and managing your contacts, read the full guide.

Transactions

This tab will help you manage your purchases and your sales on BT Tradespace. If you’re a consumer or you have a basic/simple Tradespace, you will see two tabs:

  • Your shop transactions – this tab will be empty, because you don’t have a shop but if you’re ever interested in setting one up with an enhanced Tradespace, you’ll be able to do so from here.
  • Your purchases – this shows all your purchases on BT Tradespace so you know what you’re buying and from whom! (note – all this info is private)

Alternatively, if you’re a business who has set up a free enhanced Tradespace then you will see the same two tabs but:

  • Your shop transactions – Will show you all the sales coming in via your Tradespace. If you have set up a shop on your Tradespace that is. If you haven’t, don’t miss the opportunity to do so and add it your Tradespace by clicking on the ‘Manage your Tradespace’ tab in your dashboard and going to ‘Add new categories of products to your shop’.

You can also read our full guide on how to set up a shop on BT Tradespace.

Network

We love bringing people together so BT Tradespace has been built to help consumers link up with their favourite businesses and businesses to network with each other. The way we’ve done this is through three features:

  • Fans: Anybody can become a fan of a business by clicking on the ‘Become a fan’ button at the top of that business’ Tradespace. The fans tab within the dashboard is mainly relevant for businesses and if you’re one, you will be able to see your list of consumer fans here.
  • Business fans: Simply a list of fans that are also businesses on BT Tradespace.
  • Businesses we like: This is essentially a list of businesses you have become a fan of and that are now part of your network.

Remember, everyone in your network can get a view of your latest activity on Tradespace. This way, it not only acts as a channel of communication but linking to other businesses with relevant content all helps your search engine ranking!

Communities

Communities are a great way to meet people, get advice and help, spread the word about your business and grow your network of contacts. There are a few ways to start engaging in the communities -

  1. The BT Tradespace Homepage: Shows a list of all the most popular/viewed communities, you can browse through those to get a view of what’s happening there.
  2. When you sign up, you will be shown a few communities relevant to your keywords that you can join immediately.
  3. If there were no relevant communities, the communities area in your dashboard is the next best place to create one that you can invite people to join. It only a takes a few steps to do and once you’ve created a community, you can get a view of the activity from it here as well as manage members within the community.

News

Your news and posts tab in your dashboard will only appear if you’ve enhanced your Tradespace. It’s the place for you to publish new posts, or edit/delete existing ones. Remember the more you post, the more people will come back to view your Tradespace, so make it good.

Favourites

At the moment your favourite tab shows you the people you’re linked to on BT Tradespace. Once you’re in you should see three sub tabs (depending on whether you’re a business or consumer)

Fans: These are people who have become a fan of your business (if you are one)

Business fans: These are people who are fans but also businesses

Businesses we/I like: These are the list of people who you are a fan of.

Once you’re a fan of a business, you should see all their activity updates so you can keep tabs on what they’re up to and know if they’re launching new stuff etc.

Managing your Tradespace

Probably the most important area of your dashboard if you’re a business – here’s where you can update your Tradespace!

  • Updating your strapline and business name can be done from the profile settings button above the tabs in your dashboard.
  • You can update the homepage title and description by clicking the Manage your Tradespace tab.
  • Edit your ‘About us’intro, description and image by clicking on the About us link in the left hand navigation.
  • Click on the ‘Our testimonials’ link in the left hand navigation to enable or disable the testimonials capability on your Tradespace. You can also see new testimonials you’ve received and choose to publish them or take them offline.
  • ‘Our services’ is the way to list your services, edit your services and/or begin taking bookings in a few simple steps. Click on add services in this area to begin listing!
  • ‘Our shop’ is where you add or edit your shop. To set up a shop, you will need to have a PayPal account and also download your security certificate to make buying from you extra safe. Have a look at our guide to setting up a shop to get started.

Customer service

You won’t see a tab for customer service because it acts like a widget (a plug in) but you can activate your free customer service community (which is then displayed on your Tradespace) from your dashboard. Simply click on the ‘My customer service’ module in the right hand column of your dashbaord homepage or from the ‘Manage your Tradespace’ tab. Your customers will then be able to ask you questions in your own customer service community which you will be alerted to. Once enabled you should receive a ‘Welcome message’ with more details on how to manage your community.

That’s it… a whistlestop tour of your BT Tradespace dashboard, if you still can’t find your way around and need our help, we’re all ears. Simply click the ‘Support’ link at the top and we’ll be on hand to answer any queries you have.

Posted in: General guides, Insider tips from the BT Tradespace team, Managing your Tradespace | Comments Off

How to search for people and stuff on BT Tradespace

Posted by Bian Salins

17th September 2009 in General guides, Insider tips from the BT Tradespace team, Shopping guides

What’s the first thing you do when you want to find something? You search right? That’s why search powers the whole of  BT Tradespace. We used to have categories and pages before but we soon realised that we could never find every possible category in the universe to fit every single business or individual – so we ditched them. Besides you know what you’re looking for and if you’re a business, you know what your business is about. So search it is.

There are a few ways to use search to find your way around BT Tradespace.

  1. The homepage is where it all begins. Our homepage is like the pulse of BT Tradespace. If you look, you will see boxes or modules according to the types of content on the site like Communities, Products, Video, Businesses… etc – these modules show the most popular/viewed pieces of content at any given time and if you’re the type of person who likes to browse, then use these to navigate through the links.
  2. Search on the homepage. Apart from the modules mentioned above, we have a great big search box on the homepage. You can use this to either type in the words of what you’re looking for (For example, ‘Christmas gifts’) or if you want to be more specific, use the tabs above the search (Businesses, products, communities) – to make your search specific. So if I only wanted to see communities related to Christmas, I would click on the communities tab and type in Christmas.
  3. Search through out the site. If you notice, we also have a search box at the top of the navigation bar. This box is placed right through out the site – so you can search for stuff no matter where you are on BT Tradespace, be it within your own account, or on a Tradespace or within communities. Use this to find what you’re looking for.

Explaining our search results

Once you find yourself on the search results page, you will see everything a listing of results relevant to the words you put in the search box. If you have filtered your search to be specific about Businesses, Products or Communities, then you should see ‘Filtered by…’  below the search box.

  • The ‘All’ tab: The first glance of the results shows you a mix of all content relating to that search – so it’s up to you to browse through and find what you need.
  • The ‘Businesses’ Tab: Clicking on this tab automatically drills the search results down to display businesses relevant to the keywords you’ve put in and you can click on the links to visit the Tradespace sites for each one.
  • The ‘Products & services’ tab: Clicking on this tab drills your search down to relevant products and services for your search term.
  • The ‘Communities’ tab: Shows you communities related to your search.

Refining your search from the results page

If you look at the right hand side of the search listings that you see on any given results page, you should see the following three ways to make your search even more specific to what you want:

Keywords: This will show you relevant keywords that Tradespacers have used and allows you to find something specific to what you need. These keywords will change depending on the term you have put in to the search box, as well, as how businesses are using keywords to promote their Tradespace.

Region: The regions are all about displaying local businesses relevant to what you’re looking for. So if you’re looking for restaurants in your area, you can put in restaurants in the search and click on your region to find something close to you. If you’re a business, being found via this route all depends on the postcode you have put in to your profile plus keywords you have used. To update your details click on the ‘My Tradespace’ link and then on ‘Business details’ next to your profile.

Subtype: Subtype is simply content types for your search term. Like news, forums, products, images, video… if you want to see a particular piece of content relevant to your search simply click on the relevant subtype.

Finally - we  believe in buying from people we know and trust, so it’s about meeting people, talking to them, getting to know them and then buying from them. So use the Communities, look for Tradespacers who have fans and testimonials on their Tradespace, connect with them by sending them messages and you’ll soon find the unique businesses and shopping experiences you’re looking for! Happy shopping or should we say searching?

Posted in: General guides, Insider tips from the BT Tradespace team, Shopping guides | Comments Off

How to sign up to and use communities on BT Tradespace

Posted by Bian Salins

17th September 2009 in General guides, Insider tips from the BT Tradespace team

Networking and reputation are key to your success on BT Tradespace. The buzz word here is communities.

What are communities?

Communities are the place to talk to other members. Anyone can set up a community on any topic, with the most popular communities listed on our homepage.

Communities are a great way to:

  • share expertise
  • get advice
  • network
  • increase your contacts list.

Your profile name on every post will link back to your Tradespace or personal profile. The more you post, the easier it is for people to find and trust you.

How to find communities

1. On the homepage

The most popular communities appear on our homepage.

2. At sign up

Step 3 of the sign up process asks you to enter at least one keyword and brings up a list of communities to match. You have the choice to join the communities on the list then and there.

3. Through search

Type in the word or phrases that best match your interests and we’ll provide a list of relevant businesses, members and communities.

Now click on the ‘Communities’ tab or look for these buttons on search results:

  • ‘View community’ takes you to a community.
  • ‘View topic’ takes you to a discussion within a community.
  • ‘View post’ takes you to a message within a topic.

Found a community you’re interested in? Good, you’re ready for the next step: Join.

How to join to a community

It’s easy to join a community.

  • Click on the community you want to join.
  • Now click on the ‘Join this community’ button that you’ll find at the top of every community.
  • You’re in! Membership is instant and you’ll now receive updates in your newsfeed when people post in and join this community.

How to use communities

Communities hold message boards for chatting and are organised into three tabs:

  • Overview: this shows a list of topics (discussions) in the community.
  • Topics: active discussions in the community where members post their opinions.
  • Members: people who receive updates in their newsfeeds when someone posts a message, starts a topic or joins.

To read a discussion, click on the topic you’re interested in.

To post a message, click on the ‘Reply to topic’ button.

  • Give your post a title.
  • Now write your message.
  • Click ‘Post it!’
  • Your message will appear at end of the discussion.

To return to the main topics page, click on ‘Back to list of topics’.

You can also comment on posts within a topic.

  • Click on the post title.
  • Click on ‘Reply’ and type your message as before. Your message shows when someone clicks on the post, not on the main topic page.

To create a new discussion:

  • Click on ‘Create topic’ at the top of the page.
  • Give your topic a name.
  • Describe what you want people to chat about.
  • You now have the option to kick off the discussion with a post.
  • Your post will need a title and some text.
  • Now click ‘Continue’.

Once you’re comfortable posting and joining communities, you may be ready for the next step: running your own! Anyone can set up a community and it’s a doddle to do.

How to set up a community

To create your own community:

  • Log in to your BT Tradespace account.
  • Click on ‘My Tradespace’ at the top of the screen.
  • Go to the ‘Communities’ tab.
  • Click on the button ‘Create a community’ to start the set-up wizard. You’ll need a small image and a description for your community.
  • Click ‘Begin’ at the bottom of the page.

Step 1

  • Now enter the name of your community.
  • Write a sentence to introduce your community to let people know what it’s about.
  • Upload your image by clicking on ‘Choose file’.
  • For new images, click ‘Add from PC’. Select your image. Now enter a title for the image. You can also add keywords if you like. Click ‘Save’. Your image is also saved in your media library, so you can use it again!
  • To add an image you’ve already uploaded, click ‘Add from library’, select your image, then click ‘Save’.
  • Enter keywords for your community. Pick words or phrases that will help visitors find your community.
  • Click on the colour you want for your community pages.
  • Click ‘Continue’.

Step 2

Your community is ready, you just need to create your first topic.

  • Give your topic a name.
  • Now describe what you want people to chat about.
  • You now have the option to kick off the discussion with a post.
  • Your post will need a title and some text.
  • Now click ‘Continue’.

Step 3

Your community is ready to publish.

  • Click ‘Publish’ and you’re done – or take the chance to announce it to your network.

To publish and announce:

  • Choose the contacts who will receive your notification by clicking on the arrow ‘>’.
  • If you want to add new people to the list, use ‘Add new contacts’ to do this, then click ‘Save new contacts’ to return to this page.
  • Scroll down and type your message in the box.
  • Click ‘Publish & announce’. This will send your message and publish your community.

Success! Your community is live on BT Tradespace.

How to manage communities

Click on ‘My Tradespace’ at the top of the screen.

  • Go to the ‘Communities’ tab.
  • To leave a community, click on ‘Leave’. If you own the community, ownership will revert to BT Tradespace admin.
  • To ask for a post to be deleted, visit that community by clicking on its title. Now click ‘Contact administrator’ and send your request.

Community owners

  • Community owners can click on ‘Close’ to remove a community from BT Tradespace.
  • ‘Edit’ allows you to change the details.
  • Click on ‘Block’ to remove members.
  • To delete a post in your community, find the post you wish to delete. If you’re logged in, you’ll see a ‘Delete post’ button next to it.   Click on it to remove the text (the message will be replaced with ‘This post has been removed by the administrator’).

Posted in: General guides, Insider tips from the BT Tradespace team | Comments Off

Tips to make sales online

Posted by Bian Salins

16th September 2009 in How to sell online, Insider tips from the BT Tradespace team

Dan dips into his wealth of ecommerce knowledge to share his tips to make sales this Christmas. Plus our own tips on how to sell more on BT Tradespace below…. enjoy and happy selling!

‘Sell’ your products and services

Think carefully about what you want to say for each of your products. Don’t overload the customer with information in the product description, but do ensure that all the relevant facts they need to make a decision are there for them. You can then use the ‘Additional information’ section within your BT Tradespace dashboard to list any specific features, dimensions and technical details that the customer might need to know before purchasing.

Take time to show off what you are selling

A sale can be won or lost on the strength of the images you use so be careful to ensure that those you use really are capable of doing justice to the item you are selling. Apart from images, video is the new way to make the sale. Traffic to video sites according to Hitwise has grown by 47% in the last year. Plus search engines like Google and Bing are now displaying video results more prominently within their search results pages. So don’t miss out – use the new Galleries feature within your Tradespace to create a gallery of images and video. If you’re new to both images and video, get some tips from the team to help you get going…

Postage-free is great

Customers like a “what you see is what you pay” policy.  It’s clear and has an honest appeal in regard to your pricing.  Often customers think they’ve found the best prices, only to discover hidden delivery costs which make it less of a bargain that they first thought so if you can, use an inclusive pricing policy. You can also use the ‘Delivery and Returns’ section to tell people how long it usually takes you to dispatch items, and let them know what your returns policy is.

Treat your online customers just like your traditional customers

Make sure you stick to the good values that you and your business stand for – make sure your customers, whether they’re new or existing, are treated in much the same way when they buy from you online as they would if they walked into your store. Use your free BT ServiceSmart customer support community to manage customer questions and suggestions and show you’re listening.

Spread the word!

Use your Tradespace and communities to let people know when you’ve got new products, special deals, and other events going on. The ‘News’ feature within your dashboard is effectively your blog so keep it updated! Plus, with customers and other businesses now being able to become a fan of your business via your Tradespace, they can get your updates in their activity feed – making it simple and easy for you to spread the news! Not only does this help sell products, but it also gives your customers the chance to see a bit more of the personality behind who they are dealing with.

Posted in: How to sell online, Insider tips from the BT Tradespace team | Comments Off

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