One of the things I love to do is find the newest ways for people to connect with Auction Direct online. Here’s two ways that will become increasingly popular.

Everyone on the Internet is looking for Information. What’s the best information we can find? Information from trusted sources such as our family, friends and co-workers. When our friends tell us about a restaurant, a clothing store or even an accountant, we listen to those recommendations because we trust the review. Word of mouth marketing is one of the most effective methods for any business to increase sales; Facebook and Google have introduced two of the most revolutionary online word of mouth marketing tools. Combine these organic tools with new Facebook marketing optimization tools such as KeyBrokerSocial and you’ll start reaching more people at various stages of the buying cycle – for any product and service.

Facebook understands one simple fact: People love to share the stuff happening in their life. Now, they’re making it even easier to for people to share life events – social consciousness. Items such as getting engaged, getting a new pet or even a new home will be shared even easier within Facebook’s new profile features. The ability for customers to update their status with “Bought a Car” can help us tremendously. Knowing the average Facebook user has 125 friends, having our customers share their new car purchases online will help increase exposure – and build trust. Click image to enlarge

Google also understands the principle behind the value of a trusted connection’s recommendation. Their new social search feature, called “Google Plus”, lets you show a form of visual word of mouth by clicking on the +1 buttons next to the search results. (You need to be logged into Google to use this feature) Click image to enlarge


When the people within your Gmail address book search for things online, they’ll see the items you have +’d and vice-versa. Notice the thumbnail images below the listings when I search for Auction Direct in Google; I can see who else +’d the result. Social validation, trust and influence will become more important to online shoppers as your connections begin to visually endorse their Facebook activities and the content they find within Google’s search results.

Are you using either of these yet?