Social Media Marketing

Sephora Enables Shoppable Snapchats
June 8, 2016 at 11:34 am

Sephora is continuing its efforts to tap into new ways of monetizing millennial-friendly mobile platforms, enabling its Snapchat followers to purchase products featured in live stories by taking a screenshot and downloading the ShopStyle application. The beauty giant, which announced the news on Snapchat last week, invited followers to shop a slew of popular cosmetics featured…

4 Disruptive Ideas Changing Retail
June 2, 2016 at 1:57 pm

You hear it time and time again — the customer is the center of the universe for retailers. Brands are constantly trying to stand out from the competition to attract new customers and keep their current ones happy. In FitForCommerce's report “Commerce Disrupted,” disruptors and innovators for areas such as websites, digital signage and personalization are…

How Facebook is Remaking Retail
June 1, 2016 at 11:22 am

You don’t normally buy a sweater or a pair of sneakers on Facebook. But the giant social media company is becoming the biggest factor in retail nobody is thinking about. “You read the analyst reports and talk to CEOs, and a lot of the conversation is comparison to other retailers and to Amazon,” Tom Andrews of…

How J.C. Penney and Pinterest Are Trying to Update the Mall
May 31, 2016 at 11:05 am

Ever since the online market exploded, consumers have been flocking to online stores in droves, which naturally has hurt the shopping mall as we know it. It’s driven a number of stores out of business, and it threatens the health of thousands more. Retailers are taking steps to ensure the online market doesn’t throw them…

How Instagram's Algorithm Change Will Impact Retailers
May 16, 2016 at 10:53 am

When Instagram’s move from a chronological feed to an algorithm-based feed was announced in March, it caused an eruption of discontent within the community. Users and marketers alike felt that the algorithm would mean the end of organic reach on Instagram and content wouldn't be seen. For retailers, Instagram was a great (and mostly free)…

Upskirt Ad From Calvin Klein Offends
May 12, 2016 at 11:01 am

Is Calvin Klein the new American Apparel? It’s the first thought that entered my mind when I saw this “upskirt” Calvin Klein clothing ad with the text “I flash in #mycalvins.” I cropped the image, but The Daily Mail shows the full ad that spawned a negative consumer reaction on social media. And yes, I know…

4 Ways to Drive Sales With Influencer Marketing
May 3, 2016 at 11:32 am

When I think about the purchases consumers make, I often recall a book I read more than a decade ago, “Why We Buy” by Paco Underhill. The psychology of purchase behavior has always fascinated me. And it’s not just why we buy, it’s how we buy and the decisions we make along the way. As…

Birchbox and Zappos: The New Type of Influencer Marketing
April 20, 2016 at 9:44 am

Influencer marketing isn't new; using celebrities to sell products is an age-old practice. However, a new type of influencer marketing — using regular customers as brand spokespeople — is on the rise. Highlighted in a National Retail Federation (NRF) article, “Customers Are the New Celebrities,” this trend of curating a group of select social media…