Are you in retail? Social media will drive more holiday purchase decisions this year than ever. In fact, 27 percent of last year’s holiday shoppers were influenced in some way by social media; 59 percent used search engines as their first choice for gift finding. Plus, keep in mind that 47 percent of consumers will have already started their holiday shopping by the end of October!
How can you as a local retailer engage shoppers using social media to drive revenue this holiday season? Let’s start with several low-cost and creative ideas that you can put in place this week to start off the holiday shopping season with a social media kick.
Start now with social media. Building a following on Facebook and Twitter, or through some simple product videos or blog posts can pay dividends as we near the holiday season, especially when last-minute shoppers are seeking local options.
Get reviewed online. Like signage in a retail store, customer reviews on Google and Facebook draw attention and help differentiate between similar retailers. More than 70 percent of consumers trust recommendations from reviewers and recent studies show 83 percent of all holiday shoppers this year will be influenced by customer reviews.
Be helpful with your holiday messaging. Social media is really about sharing useful content with your audience. Make their gift-finding easier by offering helpful ideas and information, and you’ll be rewarded with increased loyalty, recognition, store traffic and online “word of mouth.” Think about the gift-giving challenges of your customers, and speak to those needs with your Facebook posts or Twitter tweets.
Use social media with traditional marketing. If you distribute flyers, postcards or do any form of advertising, include your social-media links everywhere your customers see your name. Don’t forget the in-store applications, where something as simple as sticking a printed “Follow us on Facebook” card in each shopping bag can help boost followers and online word-of-mouth marketing.
Use pictures and videos where possible. Whether you sell hand soap, jewelry or pheasant hunting trips, research shows that people respond to posts with photos and video much more favorably than to simple text postings. Remember, you’re trying to tell your story, and any imagery you can use to help tell that story will bring in more holiday business.
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As a lot of my friends know that several weeks ago I was in a shoe shopping mood. I put it out on Facebook for some suggestions of where to go, knowing all along where I was most likely to go, but still wanted to see what people would suggest. Here’s how it went:
Retailer #1- I spent 15 minutes trying to find someone to offer assistance. The only employees to be found were behind checkout counter with a long line. I left frustrated.
Retailer #2- I walked into a store that looked like hell’s storage room (or my teenage son’s bedroom) with deep piles of shoes that hadn’t been restocked, used footies, etc. I left disgusted.
Retailer #3- I finally went to Nordstrom at SouthPark Mall. As always, the store was clean and well staffed. I got attention and helpful assistance from a sales associate and guess what— I bought shoes.
I was recently asked to make a presentation to a group of business owners regarding social media and its use in generating bona fide prospects. I used our project- http://marketinggrader.net as the focal point of my presentation as it has been an extremely successful tool at generating leads for us. Social media is not a fad, it’s here to stay and there are numerous ways to exploit it for your business gain. The presentation lacks notes and of course the extra’s and examples I gave out in the seminar. If you have any questions or would like for me to make this presentation in person or remotely, for you, your group or business, please let me know.
Touch point focused and two-way? Have any idea what I’m talking about? Planners still classify media touch points as “above-the-line,” “below-the-line” and “new,” but planning should always be based on some critical considerations: Which touch point will best reinforce your brand value? And…where will the brand + media equation yield real engagement? Effectiveness will result only where the plan is seamless, believable, personalized, and authentic. There are those engagement words again— personalized and authentic. Media planning innovation and technological innovation are fast becoming one and the same.
Mobile devices, for example, are becoming an increasingly important touch point for consumers and a starting point for migration from desktop to laptop to blacktop. Location-aware software for phones, while still new, will inspire the mobile medium, so expect promotional coupons to show up along with IMs and look for greater granularity in measuring marketing ROI. Marketing dollars transitioning to online isn’t new, but social networks are also becoming more engaged in engagement to help marketers more effectively deliver messages and determine return on their efforts. Take a look at your media plan. Review it for creativity and innovation. Need ideas and suggestions? We’re as close as your phone, your UberTwitter app, or email.
As I drove back from Charleston, SC yesterday, after two glorious days at the beach, I had two things going on in my mind. The first, because I was listening to the soundtrack of the Broadway show “Wicked,” was the song “Wonderful.” If you’re not familiar with it, it is sung by the character, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and is about his descent into the world of Oz (via his hot air balloon), how he was really a nobody but the citizens of Oz thought him “wonderful” and they called him “wonderful” and it was “wonderful” and soon his name became “wonderful.”
My second thought, which had been fueling me for a few days, was about “engagement.” No…not in the marital sense, in the “social media sense,” since that was to be the next topic on this blog. I’m pretty sure that the word “engagement” is going to become like the words “solution” or “brand” if it hasn’t already—overused and generally misunderstood. But that’s another topic for another day.
Engagement is not a fad. It’s the new customer imperative—it is establishing a relationship with your customer—which frankly, is fairly easy given all the tools available to do so today. (more…)
