The most important social media attributes for Carolina Rustica, an omnichannel retailer of high-end furniture, are consistency and measurability, says Richard Sexton, the company's founder and president, during the opening keynote of last week's Retail Marketing Virtual Conference & Expo.

In this audio snippet from the event, Sexton explains that consistency and measurability are paramount to Carolina Rustica because of the amount of time and effort the company puts into its social media marketing.

"It's easy to get discouraged," Sexton says, "[so] you have to set up very realistic goals. [Is the goal] the sale? Is it brand awareness? Is it to build a following? To build a new campaign? To test? There are all sorts of objectives beyond just the sale. "

Sexton says that Carolina Rustica uses social media to highlight its store and gallery because "we put a lot of money into making it look beautiful and we have a lot of product in there. We do a lot of in-store photography, a lot of design work; [we] create vignettes and push that out to social media."

What's most important to keep in mind when it comes to social media marketing? "Keep your personality in tact," says Sexton. "Don't try to be all things to all people because you simply won't and you'll end up disappointing people and diluting your message."

Sexton adds, "I think it's really important to recognize that not all social media is going to work for you. It depends on your demographic. We like to offer opportunity buys for our customers through social media that they might not necessarily be able to get through our website. That's something you can do."

In addition, Sexton says he likes the model from social management software company SproutSocial for interacting with consumers on social media.

"When you have people interacting with you on social media, respond, amplify and engage," Sexton advises. "Take their questions, concerns, kudos, whatever and push them back to everyone and bring your customers in closer."