Having started its retail legacy with news stalls in train stations across Ireland in the late 1800s, Ireland’s leading bookseller, Eason, is returning to its roots as it launches Ireland’s first ever Virtual Book Shop at Connolly Station in Dublin. Eason, Ireland’s leading retailer of books, stationery, magazines and much more, has created a shopping experience like no other through its first mobile store located in Connolly Station where commuters can buy best selling books by scanning the QR code on the book with their smart phone.

The Virtual Book Shop looks every bit like the shelves you might see in the traditional Eason stores, displaying images of book covers, each of which incorporate a QR code that, when scanned by the customer with their smart phone, will bring them to an online mobile shop where they can purchase the book. Everything from bestselling Sport, Food and Drink, Kids and Fiction titles will be available to purchase at the Eason Virtual Book Shop including a pre-order option for what are expected to be some big hits for Christmas.

Speaking about the Virtual Book Shop, David Field, Group Head of Marketing and Retail Development, Eason said, “We’re delighted to be bringing the first ever Virtual Book Shop to Ireland. While the traditional physical store is still very much at the heart of Eason, we recognise the ever-growing need to further develop our online shopping experience and to create a concept that is not only innovative and a first to Irish market but that very much demonstrates that we are as contemporary multi-channel retailer.

To bring the Virtual Book Shop concept to life, we’ve put social at the heart of the solution by deeply integrating with Facebook. Not only can people shop in a totally new way, they can share their experience via Facebook, make recommendations and see what titles their friends have bought which really brings that word-of-mouth marketing to social platforms.”
Developed by VendorShop Social, a social commerce specialist, the Eason’s Virtual Book Shop takes integration with Facebook a step further than most brands by using the Facebook Open Graph as a key part of the mobile store application. The result is a much more personalised experience for users and a more viral solution for Eason’s.

“We all know the power of word of mouth marketing and Facebook’s Open Graph functionality enables a business to embed word of mouth into their marketing and e-commerce activities. Open Graph is an extremely powerful tool to turn people’s interactions with your brand and products viral, but many businesses simply don’t realise what is possible”, said Chris Small CEO of VendorShop Social.
Ireland’s first ever Virtual Book Shop will be situated in Connolly Station from Monday 22nd October until Christmas with plans to bring the mobile shopping experience to other locations throughout the country.

Eason & Son Ltd is Ireland’s longest standing book retailer in Ireland retailing an extensive range of books, newspapers, magazines, stationery, gifts and cards. With more than 60 outlets through Ireland and Northern Ireland, there is an online shop (easons.com) offering over 6 million titles, and a back to school online outlet (easonschoolshop.com). Eason recently opened two new flagship stores in Cork and Belfast as part of its new retail strategy and continues to place significant focus on its digital platform which has seen the Irish brand redevelop its website www.easons.com, invest in ebooks which can be purchased through their website and develop its own-brand e-Reader which will be launched in the coming weeks.
Follow Eason on Facebook – Facebook.com/EasonsIreland and Twitter @easons.

ENDS
For further information, please contact:
Chris Small
+353 1 881 8801
chris[at]vendorshopsocial.com

Bella Ella Boutique had small, but steady sales in their Facebook store. That all changed after they launched their first Facebook Offer just 7 days ago. It cost them just a few dollars and they clocked up over 1500 orders and tens of thousands in sales via their VendorShop Facebook store in just 7 days. 

So here is a short guide on how you can use Facebook Offers with VendorShop.

1. You will need a good offer. So a good discount (Facebook recommends at least 20%) and a product or products that people genuinely want to buy.

4. To get a link to a product from your VendorShop admin, click on the products tab and then the ‘Promote’ icon which you’ll find to the right of the product name (note, if the promote icon is not visible, you need to activate it in the tools menu). You will get the following options – copy ether the normal or tiny link.

To create a coupon code, select the deals tab from the tools menu. Choose ‘New digital coupon button on the top right and complete the details, remembering to save the coupon when you are finished (a detailed explanation on creating a coupon can be found here).

5. Add an image and text for your offer. You will also see at the bottom options to change the number of redemptions and Offer expiry date. Clicking on these provides options to edit them. you can also add your terms and conditions by clicking the ‘Terms’ link.

6. Now set your budget. Facebook will give you options for how many people you want to reach – for some lucky ones you may even be offered a free trial. You can also target the post to a specific audience by clicking on the ‘target’ icon in the footer.

7. Finally click share and you are done. Here’s an example post

Open Graph

At Facebook’s core is the social graph: people and the connections they have to everything they care about. In 2010, they introduced Open Graph, an extension of the social graph. They have now extended the Open Graph to include arbitrary actions and objects created by third-party apps and enabling these apps to integrate deeply into the Facebook experience.

App specific actions that you create such as ‘Want’ or ‘Cooked’ rather than than a less meaningful action such as ‘Like’ can be shared on Facebook via the Open Graph. As your app becomes an important part of how users express themselves, these actions are more prominently displayed throughout Timeline, News Feed, and Ticker. This enables your app to become a key part of the Facebook experience for users and their friends.

The Open Graph allows apps to model user activities based on actions and objects. A running app may define the ability to “run” (action) a “route” (object). A reading app may define the ability to “read” (action) a “book” (object). A recipe app may define the ability to “cook” (action) a “recipe” (object). Actions are verbs that users perform in your app. Objects define nouns that the actions apply to. As users engage with your app, social activities are published to Facebook that connect the user with your objects, via your actions.

With the Open Graph, your app becomes a part of the user’s identity and social graph. Through a single API, you can deeply integrate into key points of distribution on Facebook such as Timeline, News Feed, Ticker and App Tabs. You’ll be able to drive new users and create a deep, persistent connection between them and your app.

Additionally Open Graph can be combined with other Facebook functionality such as the Facepile plug-in to provide additional social context. This makes it much more likely that a user will install your application and engage with your content because they will be able to see which of their friends are also taking the same actions.

VendorShop Social are experts in helping businesses to leverage the Open Graph and  use Facebook better to turbo charge marketing, drive sales and deliver a real return on investment from social activities.

“We’re seeing a number of sectors where Facebook stores are finding their niche. Events and ticketing is just one and the success of the Smackfest Beach Volley registration shop on Facebook is a great example”, said Chris Small, CEO at VendorShop Social .

Another example is the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin, Ireland. They started off testing the water with a Facebook store a few months ago. They promote and sell their acting classes through it. So far they are generating sales on average of more than €1 per fan per month.

Unlike Smackfest and the Gaiety School of Acting, many businesses are yet to get to grips with how to deliver a return on investment from their Facebook activities. Chris Small believes that is in part because businesses try to apply the same thinking and sales strategies as they would to their e-commerce store, to their Facebook store and that simply doesn’t work.

“Facebook is all about encouraging fans to interact with your page and by virtue of that to generate stories that are shared with their friends. So ensuring that you provide a compelling reason to that is critical and simply duplicating an e-commerce experience is not usually compelling enough.”

So for the guys at Smackfest, they offered their fans an exclusive discount on their registration, while the Gaiety offer discounts for liking and sharing content.

But as Chris Small says, “it doesn’t have to be a discount. In fact value-added offers can often be more effective than a straight discount. Showing fans they are valued through ‘Fan first and fan only’ offers and rewards is extremely powerful in not only in driving lots of liking, commenting and sharing, but it also drives sales across multiple channels, not just within Facebook.” said Small.

Facebook is inherently a marketing channel, an inherently powerful one at that. Unfortunately many businesses see a store and immediately think sales where they should be thinking about how they can turn their fans into advocates and get them socially active on behalf of their brand.

About VendorShop Social

VendorShop Social helps businesses win, keep and convert fans to customers with their social commerce platform. Having been a pioneer of f-commerce, VendorShop have acquired significant learning and insight on what works and doesn’t work in delivering a return on social investment.
They work with clients to develop social commerce strategy and their software powers the social commerce activities of thousands of businesses via their f-commerce platform as well as bespoke solutions. They have worked with businesses across a range of sectors including fashion, food, ticketing, charity and arts and crafts in markets such as the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Asia.

Visit www.vendorshopsocial.com or www.facebook.com/vendorshop for more information.

Success story:

Saman’s M&H Styles turnover an average of $4,000 per month using the VendorShop Social Facebook Marketing Suite.

Background:

Canadian based Saman set up her Fan page when she became pregnant with her first child. Originally set up to gain more clients as a makeup artist, Saman realised that she happend upon a niche market with Hijabs and began to sell them via VendorShop Social on Facebook.

How VendorShop helped:

Saman’s unique approach to selling Hijabs began with sharing video demonstrations of the products she was selling. Saman would show her fan base different and unique ways to wear the Hijab, such as combining and layering different styles or by attaching various accessories.

Fan engagement is a huge part of ’Saman’s M&H Style’s’ success. Saman regularly reminds fans about her products by posting them to her wall, she encourages engagement by asking her fans questions and will create tutorials on request. Saman promotes her products regularly – informing her fans about the fast changing stock levels and her uncertainty of being able to source the same item in the future. Fans know that they have to act quickly if they want to buy an item – one factor that Saman believes has led to so many sales.

Final Word:

We asked Saman to tell us what she felt was the Secret behind F-commerce;

“Have unique stuff, make sure your product is different from your competitors and sell at a reasonable price”

Find Saman’s M&H Styles here : http://www.facebook.com/#!/makeuphijabs

Here is one of Saman’s popular video tutorials

1 Engage with your customers

Every time a person ‘likes’ or comments’  on a wall post helps to spread the word about your store. So post interesting information about your products on your wall, ask questions and encourage customers to send you images of them using your products.

2. Encourage sharing.

Ask your customers to help you out by sharing products they like with their friends. Encourage them to use the share button next to each product and when you post things on the wall.

3. You don’t have to feature all of your products to be successful.

Many businesses are having success by focus on just a small number of products – their best sellers, end of line or discounted products or as a special ‘sale’ shop

4. Highlight the security features of your store

Because shopping on facebook is still new, people will naturally wonder how things work and whether their payment details are secure. So it can be good to use your store home page and your wall to do this. Tell them how things operate and that your shop is VeriSign approved and their payments are processed securely by PayPal.

5.Customers always prefer free shipping

From the earliest days of e-commerce, free shipping has been something recommended to reduce cart abandonment. It’s no different for facebook – customers loath paying shipping charges. So wherever possible offer free shipping.

Success story:

In just eight weeks, not-for-profit organisation Hannah’s Chance managed to raise over $30,000 in ticket sales through VendorShop.

Background:

Founded in October 2007, the Australian based charity helps fund the fight against Sarcoma – a highly aggressive cancer which primarily affects young people.

The establishment of the organisation was inspired by Hannah Ciobo-O’Driscoll, a beautiful young woman who lost her life at the age of nineteen, just three years after her origional diagnosis, and three hours after her marriage to Tom O’Driscoll, a fellow Sarcoma sufferer.

In March 2012 the organisation launched a new campaign entitled “Size Matters for Sarcoma”, which aims to fulfill Hannah’s dream to raise awareness.

How VendorShop helped:

The decision to avail of VendorShop’s services has helped to continue Hannah’s legacy, allowing the organisation to raise much needed funds through the sale of tickets to numerous fundraising events of all price ranges and types, from cinema nights and surfing events to black tie dinner dances.

The ease of use of VendorShop means that they have been able to cut down on the amount of time spent maintaining the admin of sales, only speding 1 hour per day on their Facebook store. The safe PayPal method of payment adds peace of mind and enables easy tracking of sales.

The Hannah’s Chance Foundation fan page continues to grow and obtain international recognition. The page is frequently updated with photos of events as well as news and updates from fans. The interactive nature of Facebook allows people who have engaged with the cause to click into the store and instantly be able to purchase tickets to events advertised on the page. The use of Facebook also allows the younger generation to engage with the cause, which is highly important as Sarcoma primarily affects young people aged between twelve to twenty-five.

Final word:

When asked what their advice would be to other businesses, the Fundraising and Marketing Officer for Hannah’s Chance Foundation replied:

“Use VendorShop when you can as a business, it’s easier for the customer and a secure avenue via PayPal”

Find Hannah’s Chance on Facebook

The ‘Want’ verb.

We are very excited to introduce the ‘Want’ verb into the VendorShop application. You may have noticed that we have been testing this for the past couple of weeks and have had a huge number of people clicking on it. This will allow customers to express an interest in a product they would like, but may not be able to buy right away. This product will then appear on their Timeline for all of their friends to see.

The ‘Want’ verb will appear just above the price on your product detail page. Once they have clicked that they ‘want’ a product. A small tick will appear to let them know they have successfully ‘wanted’ it.

‘Wanted’ products will then appear on the users timeline, for all of their friends to see. If a friend clicks on the product, they will be brought directly to that product, in your store.

When the user returns to the same product, the verb will have updated to show that they have already ‘wanted’ it.

Changes to the Competition tool.

We have made a couple of changes to the competition tool functionality.  We have changed the entry process; you can now choose to enter via Facebook or via email.

If you decide to enter via Facebook, we do not need any more information. If you decide to enter via email, you will be asked to provide your name and email address. This allows people to very quickly enter the competition – hassle free!

We have also introduced the ability to make the competition available to Fan’s Only. This means that before they enter the competition, they must have become a fan of your page. In order to activate this you must select ‘Yes’ in the ‘Fan Only’ dropdown.

Activating and Deactivating you store.

When you sign up to VendorShop your store will automatically be set in Offline mode. To put your store Online or in Sandbox mode, simply hover over the button and select the required option. Putting your store ‘Online’ will create a shop tab on your ‘Fan Page’.  Having your store in Sandbox mode will allow you to view and edit your store, but your customers will view a ‘Coming Soon’ page.

You will also have the ability to ‘Remove’ your store. This will remove the shop tab from your ‘Fan Page’. If this is chosen, your customers will not be able to see that you have a store. Removing your store can be useful if you use your store as a pop-up shop. However, we would recommend that you place your store in Sandbox mode when editing it so as not to confuse your customers into thinking you no longer have a store.

Step 1:

Click on the ‘Tax’ tab and select the option, Store Tax.

Step 2:

Click on the Edit pencil and set the rate as applicable.

Step 3:

If you ship internationally, indicate the country your store is based in. You can then indicate whether a tax free threshold applies, over which your tax band will be applied.

Step 4:

If you are using restricted shipping, you will have to select the destinations that are exempt from tax charges.