Retailers have experimented with social marketing for their back-to-school campaigns and appear to like the results.
Mike Sachoff reports on WebProNews that retailers such as J.C. Penny, Sears, Victoria’s Secret and Apple all used social media in as a way to market their products to the specific demographics. J.C. Penny created an online game to promote its clothing range while Victoria’s Secret launched it’s shirt campaign using 33 universities as part of its team.
The article by Sachoff in quoting JuperResearch:
“Retailers experimenting with Web 2.0 experiences will largely find benefit from them in the form of branding and awareness building rather than direct sales as social media has shown little direct impact on actual online retail sales,” said David Schatsky, President of JupiterResearch.
Many website owners are balking at social marketing because of the difficulty in determining the ROI of any campaign. Cost-Benefit analysis can be difficult when dealing with any marketing campaign. However, over time the brand awareness can be built and websites that include online sales outlets do report increases in sales.
In the past, televisions, movies and glossy magazines where the popular marketing vehicles for many companies. Fewer younger people watch TV, visit movies or buy magazines now, their attention being transferred to the online communities. If you are going to spend time and money on a marketing campaign, it is common sense to focus your efforts where your audience is.
Thanks for the good info!