Social Media Marketing

Optimizing Google+ Local pages can pay big dividends for retailers that want to increase visibility on search engine results pages, according to a new aggregate case study from my firm SIM Partners. Furthermore, the ubiquity of Google for local searches is growing according to a report from MDG Advertising. Consider the following:

Kmart's "Jingle Bells" ad has become the most viral of the early holiday season and is already among the biggest hits of 2013. So what's a rival retailer to do? For J.C. Penney, a lighthearted exchange on Twitter over the mildly risqué ad seems to have done the trick. The brand trolled Twitter on Nov. 16, and a humorous exchange ensued:

The idea of "learning computers" that become smarter with more time and information used to be confined to the realm of sci-fi or the most cutting-edge technology projects. But fact has caught up with fiction; machine learning is transforming both large and small businesses that want to take advantage of reams of data at their disposal.

lululemon's recent image problems are excellent news for other athletic brands, and J.C. Penney wants everyone to know that if lululemon doesn't want you in its pants, J.C. Penney is ready to hook you up. "When it comes to yoga pants, we fit any shape and size," J.C. Penney tweeted right about the time lululemon was making headlines for blaming the failure of its yoga pants on the size of its customers’ thighs. We can't help but snicker at the dig. There's no burn like a corporate burn to make you feel all tingly inside.

In anticipation of the holiday season, TopShop has partnered with Pinterest to create a campaign that will center around customers creating and submitting inspirational boards for the holiday season. This can cover all aspects of the holidays, including decorations, a dream dress, their ultimate festive tree and possibly even a few Topshop products. Entitled "Dear Topshop," the campaign plans to take a 360-degree approach and make its presence known online and offline. The collaboration will act as the ultimate gift guide that will feel personalized to each user. 

Home Depot is apologizing for a racist tweet and blaming the agency that sent it from the company account. The home improvement retailer pulled the tweet and apologized on Twitter on Thursday, saying, "We have zero tolerance for anything so stupid and offensive. Deeply sorry. We terminated the agency and individual who posted it." In a statement provided to ABCNews.com, Stephen Holmes, director of corporate communications, said, "We have zero tolerance for anything so stupid and offensive. The outside agency that created the tweet and The Home Depot associate who posted it have been terminated."

It's no secret that people don't just watch TV anymore. Their attention is divided between the big screen in front of the couch and the small screens in their hands and laps. But according to OVP of Emerging Media Marketing Maggie Hatfield, HSN wasn't going to get lost in this attention gap. Instead, it went where its customers are: social media. In her presentation at SocialMedia.org's BlogWell conference, Hatfield explains how HSN listens to its customers’ social media conversations to help guide what it features on its TV programs.

Social paid advertising and real-time marketing are changing the way retailers strategize their campaigns. Jennifer Kasper, group vice president of digital, new media and multicultural marketing at Macy's, spoke with eMarketer's Rimma Kats about how the retailer is approaching social media, as well as the key role Pinterest will play in its 2014 efforts.

A few years ago, retail giants (and maybe even the general public) scoffed at social media as frivolous and irrelevant to business. Today, it's common knowledge that the likes of Twitter and Facebook, and increasingly growing networks such as Pinterest, are forces to be reckoned with in e-commerce. Based upon Adobe's recently published Social Intelligence Report, it's these three networks in particular that are currently shaping the future of the digital marketplace. Adobe analysts posited that Facebook is still the frontrunner in this field, dominating the share of social-referred visits to retail sites.

The attacks are a reminder of social media's power to undermine the reputation and shares of a public company. J.C. Penney, struggling to turn itself around after the failed strategy of former CEO Ron Johnson, is especially vulnerable to market sentiment. "J.C. Penney's is a very specific situation," said Liz Dunn, an analyst at Macquarie Group in New York. "I wouldn't expect this to be a rampant problem of anonymous Twitter users bashing companies."