Social Media Marketing

In an effort to drive in-store traffic, customer loyalty and Facebook likes as well as boost its brand image, Ikea is hosting an event in its stores called Bring Your Own Friends Day. The daylong event includes free meals, special discounts and gift card giveaways for customers who RSVP via Facebook. In addition, for every friend a customer invites over Facebook, the retailer will donate $1 to Save the Children, up to $50,000.

Retailers must leverage mobility to stay competitive.

As is always the case this time of year, I’ve been spending a lot of time pondering Best Buy. Most of the year, the superstore sits up on that hill near where I live, monolithic, and I don’t go near it. But as December and January contain both the holidays, and both of my children’s birthdays, it becomes, however briefly, a frequent stopping-off point for purchasing DVDs, games and, of course, electronics.

Burberry has become the world's most successful luxury fashion brand on Facebook and Twitter, with a record 10 million fans on Facebook and almost 700,000 following the brand's U.K. feed on Twitter. Meanwhile, it has thousands more global Twitter fans following their international feeds and post exclusive content on its own YouTube channel.

The online population has evolved sufficiently to no longer be dazzled by a website or any other kind of platform. In a tech-savvy world where social media networks have turned communication across the globe near instant, online interaction is subject to the same nuances that the offline world has experienced for centuries.

Google’s +1 button is reportedly more popular than Twitter and Facebook’s "Like" button, at least amongst retailers. When it comes to social plug-ins, Google+ is already embedded on more retail websites than Facebook or Twitter.

Ikea hosted a sleepover at its Essex, U.K. store, giving customers and fans the opportunity to spend the night inside its signature furniture warehouse. The event was inspired by a Facebook group called ”I wanna have a sleepover in Ikea.” Nearly 100,000 people have joined the group and Ikea granted 100 lucky winners their wish.

Any retailer swimming in the social media waters the past few years has heard the word “engagement” a million times, and for good reason. Engagement is key in driving word-of-mouth endorsements. However, engagement and word-of-mouth are really a prelude to the ultimate goal of driving more sales.

High fashion may not be the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of Kohl's, but the retailer is trying to associate its name with just that. Using social media, the department store is promoting six of the designer labels it carries in its stores to not only be seen as a high end retailer, but also to increase traffic to its Facebook page and website as well as interaction with Facebook fans.

On the eighth day of its "12 Days of Giving" Facebook campaign, Wal-Mart awarded $140,000 to nine nonprofits aiding veterans, active members of the military and their families. Over 12 consecutive days, Wal-Mart will award a total of $1.5 million to 145 organizations in all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. Organizations being honored on the company's Facebook page on Monday are serving communities in California, Delaware, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Texas and Washington.