Promoting services via social media is coming to be expected among consumers, according to a new survey.

Promoting courier delivery and other services across social media is coming to be expected from businesses.

Over a third of consumers believe it is either important or very important for merchants to provide the opportunity to interact through social networks, according to a survey by ATG.

Four in ten 18 to 34-year-olds use mobile devices to browse products online, with mobile commerce becoming increasingly popular.

Some 29 per cent of this age group claim to have found a product or service through a social network, according to the survey, which underlines the growing importance of this channel.

Commenting on the findings, ATG senior vice-president of marketing Nina McIntyre explained: "This survey reveals significant opportunities for those merchants willing to understand the role that every channel plays in targeted customer experiences.

"It's critical that merchants have the right commerce solutions to choreograph personalised interactions."

However, Gartner recently suggested that social media is developing in different directions in Asia Pacific in comparison to the US and Europe.

This may require businesses to take a different approach if they intend to take their social media operations overseas.

Posted by Matt Watts

Article Added: 29/10/2010 09:55:44