Amazon Gets Social with Pages, Posts and Analytics

It’s a tech trend to find everything in one place: It’s why Facebook invented Graph Search, Google built out Google+, and now Amazon is helping retailers market products from their e-commerce platform.

Essentially, Amazon’s Pages and Posts work intuitively like you would expect them to, as customizable home bases to publish content and update clientele on business announcements. Brands can choose their own URLs free of charge and Amazon Analytics have been built out to measure and tie social interaction to sales. Widgets have also been added to link to social networks along with a special compatibility with Facebook Posts.

While not revolutionary to tech or e-marketing, this is a great step for Amazon toward offering free, in-depth tools to small businesses that can’t afford the powerhouse data firms of Salesforce or Sysomos Inc. It builds on a familiar service and relationship preexisting customers understand and will no doubt be an easy conduit to channel emerging business unfamiliar with social media and analytics.

Target Looks for the Next Best Thing, By Asking

So we all know retailers have to evolve their selling experience—fast. The in-store experience has marred by m- and e-commerce, but where to begin? You could ask your in-house people for ideas, but these are people you hired on previous selling models. People whose natural agenda is to keep their own job and not suggest a project that gets them canned. If you want fresh, you need to look outside your comfort zone—the wild, worldwide web.

And Target is teaming up with Fast Company to do just that.

In their new challenge campaign, Co.Labs & Target Retail Accelerator, both companies are giving away $75,000 to the winner and $10,000 to seven other finalists who can come up with an awesome mobile shopping service that extends the Target customer experience in a useful, instructive or entertaining way. Emphasis is on the following: social, education, in-store, personalization, completeness, design, technical expertise, date and magic. Target will own the winning app and outstanding entries will be highlighted by Fast Company’s Co.Labs.

Salivating yet? You can find the contest rules here.

Submissions close April 30, 2013 and the Grand Prize Winner will be  announced July 1, 2013.