8 Excellent Social and Mobile E-Commerce Essays: E-commerce Link Digest

Happy Friday, Big Thinkers! Hope you’ve had an amazing week and are looking forward to an even better weekend. How about we skip any big setup and just get right to the links, eh? Without further ado, be sure to check out these 8 excellent social and mobile e-commerce essays from the past week. Enjoy:

1. Marketing Land has a new study that shows Facebook users are sharing posts more frequently but liking and commenting less, which is an interesting shift in consumer behavior (a topic we’re going to talk about a lot today). Note that that doesn’t change the fact that it’s Facebook’s world and we’re all living in it; it simply changes how customers live in that world.
2. Next up, Mobile Commerce Daily reports that WeChat is bringing mobile payments to bricks-and-mortar with new POS integration, while PR Daily says we should learn from the Starbucks way (meaning interaction is key for customer loyalty programs). Thought-provoking stuff and yet more examples of why I’m bullish on mobile payments and messaging. Those stories also represent further changes in customer behavior.
3. Now not every piece of news from the past week is filled with sunshine and rainbows. For all the positives you hear about social and mobile and payments in e-commerce, Search Engine Watch has a report that shows many mobile marketers are missing out on hyperlocal. Thankfully, this is far more an opportunity at the moment than a clear miss. But it’s an opportunity all the same.
4. Building off that prior item, Business Insider has an interesting look at how machine learning will change your phone. Which means we’re all in for a lot more changes in consumer behavior in the next few years. A lot. So, how do you respond? Well…
5. First, don’t fall for The digital strategy myth. Digital isn’t about technology. It’s about helping customers, wherever and whenever they need that help. If there’s one lesson every marketer must learn from Batman v. Superman it’s the importance of listening to your customers and creating products and services that meet their needs, then leveraging social and mobile to create superior experiences and deeper connections at every opportunity.
6. Plenty of data suggests there are tons of opportunities to do a better job here. For instance, Retail Touchpoints says 70% of brands splurge on e-commerce, yet only half optimize its profitability. Um… what? Yeah, about that. Due to the rapid shifts in customer behavior — I told you we’d get to this — it’s a time to ask yourself these 5 key questions for creating a “test and learn” culture. Because developing that “test and learn” culture for your organization is how you set yourself up to address the pace of these changes and set yourself up for success.
7. Another area of focus to address these shifting customer behaviors for your organization: content. The Drum highlights the incredibly important topic of how Google is interpreting content in 2016. Overall, you need to remind yourself that when it comes to content marketing, we’re all publishers now. Think about how to answer your customers’ questions throughout their journey to purchase and provide them those answers on the channels that make the most sense for both your business and for your customer.
8. Finally, you can check out these 6 awesome insights about mobile payments, e-commerce and even more, part of the ongoing E-commerce Link Digest series, for additional insights on, well, mobile payments, e-commerce, and even more. Enjoy!

And if you want learn even more about how your customers’ changing behavior shapes e-commerce and marketing, be sure and register to receive a special report I’ve produced in conjunction with hotel marketing firm Vizergy, “Digital Hotel Marketing in a Multiscreen World.” While it’s targeted specifically at hotel and resort marketers, the lessons apply to just about any business. You can get your free copy of the report here.

You can also check out these slides and video from my recent webinar, “Digital Marketing Directions: Three Key Trends Driving Your Marketing Next Year”: