#eBayElves Twitter campaign helping to select the perfect gift

Last month eBay launched its #eBayElves campaign, designed to help struggling holiday shoppers to find the perfect gift among the millions of products available on the eBay UK website. The online marketplace has hired four expert gift givers, each with their own Twitter feed and eBay collection.

Alice, Carrie, Steve and Greg each have their own specialist area of gift-giving, be it family activities and festive decorations or Christmas party dresses and original gift-wrapping.

EBay has called the service the world’s first social gift concierge and the public has been urged to send the Elves gift-giving dilemmas using the hashtag #eBayElves. This week the campaign hit the streets of London, with eBay phone booths popping up in iconic spots around the city from St Pauls to Marble Arch, giving shoppers the opportunity to pick up the phone and ask for the gift of wisdom.

The campaign should provide some inspiration for the marketer inside all online sellers, because #eBayElves is a great example of using social media as a selling tool and means of engaging new and existing customers with a personalised experience.

The first users of #eBayElves seemed impressed with the service, reporting that the elves are quick to respond and make genuinely good suggestions. The Twitter feeds of the individual elves also use the elves’ personalities to full effect in exhibiting the eBay collections.

Although eBay has huge resources and a vast Twitter following, it’s not too late for other online sellers to take a leaf out of eBay’s book and start using social media marketing in similarly personalised and clever ways over the last stretch of the holiday selling period.
 
For more ways to boost your Christmas marketplace sales take a look at:

• Keep your overseas pricing competitive over the peak selling season
• Sourcing overseas stock – making sure the price is right