Social Media Marketing

Why Retailers Are Pinning Hopes on Pinterest
March 1, 2013

After a tough day at work as a publicist in Minneapolis, Becca Bijoch would often indulge in a little retail therapy. She usually headed out to the stores as she didn't care much for online shopping. That changed last year when the 26-year-old joined Pinterest, a photo-sharing website that allows users to "pin" images to online bulletin boards based on their interests and to follow others. Bijoch says she's found all sorts of things that she bought after seeing them on Pinterest, from great kitchen tools on CrateandBarrel.com to clothes at Asos.com.

Infographic: The Connection Between Flip-Flops, ‘Jersey Shore’ and Being Conservative
February 28, 2013

As on-site social software becomes increasingly common, online retailers are searching for ways to use social data from Facebook Open Graph to spot consumer trends and uncover insights that they can use to create smarter marketing and more relevant product offerings. In the process of combing through the data, some firms have found that their shoppers are exactly who they thought they were, while others found a few surprises. 

5 Reasons Retailers Should Do Social and/or SEO
February 27, 2013

Online retailers seeking to maximize their market share need to embrace every tool in their marketing kit to win the day. Naturally, many retailers prefer to rely on a "paid media" strategy because accounting for spend, income, net profit and return on investment is easy, thus justifying financial allocations. But savvy retailers will not ignore "unpaid" media efforts, including search engine optimization and social media campaigns. 

Social Media is the Sweetheart of Valentine’s Day Customer Service
February 18, 2013

Feb. 14 is definitely one of the most emotional days in retail, particularly for the customer service teams at flower retailers. And if you were a consumer looking for help with a flower order, it seems social media was your sweetheart this year. STELLAService analysts monitored the service performance of nine online flower shops from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Valentine's Day, logging how quickly the businesses were connecting with customers via phone and Twitter. Calls were placed in three separate time blocks and abandoned if the wait time exceeded 20 minutes.

American Express Enables E-Commerce on Twitter
February 12, 2013

American Express is enabling cardholders to purchase items on Twitter by using push notifications with special hashtags. Cardholders must first sync their eligible cards on the American Express website. Then, if they see an offer that American Express...

Pinterest's Retail Problem
February 4, 2013

Fashion retailer H&M is pretty popular on Pinterest-in spite of itself. Over the last month, the social scrapbooking platform's users have pinned, repinned, commented on or liked the brand's products 145,000 times, according to Pinterest analytics firm Curalate (H&M is not a client). The problem is, a good number of H&M's popular pins feature dead links-an increasing problem for retailers, said Curalate. For example, one H&M dress has been shared on Pinterest nearly 1,200 times in the past 30 days. But clicking on that product's pin returns the message,"Sorry, this item is no longer available." 

Wayfair.com Turns Pinners Into Customers With Pinterest Contest
February 1, 2013

Wayfair.com, an online retailer of home furniture and décor, ran a contest on its Pinterest page this past Thanksgiving that proved the image-sharing social site is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to customer acquisition.

Facebook Friends Retailers With New Gift Card Program
February 1, 2013

Target has found a new friend in Facebook, as the retailer has become one of the first businesses to participate in the social network's new gift card program. According to a Reuters report, consumers can buy cards for their Facebook friends for use at four different businesses including Target, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vitton SA, Jamba Juice and Darden Restaurants’ Olive Garden.

Best Practices for Social Media Customer Care in Online Retail
January 31, 2013

Social media has arrived as a first choice channel of interaction for consumers to seek customer care and technical support when purchasing online. It's the next stage of evolution in the demand for a better online shopping experience and real time customer service. However, many businesses have been slow to embrace social media as a legitimate channel for customer engagement...