Social Media Marketing

8thBridge, a Minneapolis-based social e-commerce company that helps merchants take their shopping experience onto Facebook, announced it raised $10 million in Series B funding led by Trident Capital, with help from existing investor Split Rock Partners. This round brings the company’s total funding raised to more than $15 million.

In a fast-paced session at the opening day of the NEMOA directXchange conference in Boston, Ken Burke, chairman, founder and chief evangelist of MarketLive, an e-commerce software platform and service provider, and Kelly Goldsmith, e-commerce manager at Title Nine, a cross-channel retailer of women's athletic apparel, tackled the question all retailers want an answer to: How can I make money via social media?

With more than 600 million active users on Facebook, the world’s largest social network is no longer just about liking brands when it comes to marketing. Today, Facebook users span various demographics and demand immediate value in return for demonstrating loyalty and joining new Facebook communities.

Publishers HMV, HarperCollins, Penguin, and Random House are financing a new “social retail” service aiming to help readers find, buy and share books.

According to the Retail Consumer Report, retailers are using social media channels to bring back dissatisfied customers. The research demonstrates that by listening and proactively responding to complaints on the social web, retailers have an opportunity to turn disgruntled customers into brand advocates.

Hip British online clothing site Asos became the first European fashion retailer to open an e-tailing outpost inside Facebook. Now, Sarah Townsend will no longer have to leave her Facebook friends behind to buy the $55 baggy sweater she's been eyeing.

Now ranking as the second largest search engine online, YouTube's reach and influence on consumers can't be understated. Consider the following: over 2 billion videos a day are viewed on YouTube; there are over 480 million YouTube users worldwide; the average person spends 15 minutes a day on YouTube; and, most importantly, partner ad revenue on YouTube more than tripled in 2009. Then why is it that the social networking site is often overlooked by marketers, taking a backseat to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn?

Designer Marc Jacobs is delivering his company's brand message to its existing and potential customers during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week via a Foursquare initiative. Using the mobile social network Foursquare, consumers can follow Marc Jacobs around New York, Britain, France and Italy and check-in at any Marc by Marc Jacobs store.

While retail brands in the specialty apparel and department/discount sectors continue to enjoy the most Facebook likes, the surprise of the updated Media Logic Retail Marketing Report is the vibrant growth of brands in the previously socially-moribund specialty hardlines sector.

The case for community on Facebook is clear: 600 million users, half of whom engage with the brand daily and contribute on average 90 pieces of content a month. Case closed. The case for commerce is emerging.