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As the social commerce sales and marketing industry has evolved, several key concepts and industry best practices have emerged for businesses that want an effective online presence. Here are a few recommended best practices that will keep you engaged with your customers and help you sell to an eager audience.

Exclusivity
Give your customers exclusive content they can't get anywhere else. Offer a product, service, coupon or event invitation that is available only to your Facebook friends or followers across your social media channels. Provide information on in-store events and offer ecommerce deals that can only be accessed through your social media site.

Exclusivity gives your customers a reason to turn to your social media site for the latest news and specials before going anywhere else.

Content
Provide regular, entertaining, consistent content and a genuinely valuable online experience. If people know that your blog or Facebook wall will be updated frequently, they will look forward to coming back to read the new material. Give your customers good reasons to return to your social media site.

Don't focus your content too narrowly on sales, however. The goal is to give customers useful, amusing, interesting information, not another sales pitch.

Ecoupons
Offer ecoupons, either exclusively through your site or through coupon and deal vendors such as Groupon or LivingSocial. Ecoupons give your regular customers a tangible reward for their loyalty while presenting enticing offers designed to attract new buyers.

Customer engagement
Use your social media platform to engage with customers and ask for input. Provide a forum or other space where you can communicate directly with participants. Build a sense of community among customers who participate on your social media site. Make customers feel like they belong to a group that welcomes and appreciates them.

Customer service
Make your social media site an extension of your customer service practices. Use Facebook to communicate directly with customers and respond to complaints, thank people for purchases and seek feedback on their experiences with your business.

Need more advice? We usually turn to Social Strategy1 for more on you how to use social commerce sales and marketing to give you increased profits and improved customer loyalty.