I think that a lot of marketers and businesses large and small know that social networking is a trend and not a fad – but still struggle to see how these online communities can exist to enhance a consumer experience beyond narrowing and targeting advertising.
A post on Digital Hive (who we will add to this sites blogroll), supported by an article from the Wall Street Journal gives a great case study (And who doing their MBA doesn’t like a case study?) of the web-company called Etsy that is effectively using social networking to bring together buyers and sellers of hand-crafted goods.
The post talks about bringing together “really crucial interactive consumer behaviours: shopping for and buying stuff, social networking and e-commerce”
Probably one of the more interesting uses of this site is the “Alchemy” section – where potential customers can post what products they would like from the community that currently aren’t available. Next to the hypothetical product – the request also includes an “Ideal Price”.
“Buyers can post requests for custom handmade items, and then sellers bin on the opportunity to make the goods.”
So there is a lot going on with this site: community building, customization, brokering, branding, brand loyalty & entrepreneurship.
