Social Media Marketing

It’s where teenagers go to hang out. It’s where they gossip. And it’s where more than half a billion people spend a lot of their time. No, it’s not the mall. It’s Facebook. So could the social network also be the place you go to shop?

The more active a brand is on Facebook, the better chance consumers will "Like" it. This was the key finding from a recent study on retailers' growth on Facebook and Twitter conducted by marketing agency Media Logic. However, a follow-up study released this month shows that the majority of brands on Facebook saw their growth on the social media site lose steam as the holiday season came and went.

A test version of the new Facebook Deals product will launch shortly, as has been reported and assumed for some time. NetworkEffect spoke to Facebook and people familiar with Facebook’s plans about how the program will work and what will differentiate it from daily-deal market leaders Groupon and LivingSocial.

Kenmore announced that it's launched an online reality series, "So You Wanna Be a Designer." For six weeks the reality show will stream live on Kenmore's Facebook page to show budding designers at work, making their dreams a reality.

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.