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Social Media for Retail Marketers

Guest post by: John Clark

Article Overview: The utilization of social media has completely transformed the world of retail marketing. Traditional marketing by itself is no longer effective. Retail marketers are now using social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to develop relationships and interact with customers and potential customers. In today's world, this interaction is a key component to making a store appear more human to the public. Store representatives are online establishing dialogue with people, which makes people feel that their wants, concerns, and needs are being listened to. People are much more likely to shop at a store if they feel that the staff is genuinely interested in getting to know them.

Social Media for Retail Marketers

The utilization of social media has completely transformed the world of retail marketing. Traditional marketing by itself is no longer effective. Retail marketers are now using social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to develop relationships and interact with customers and potential customers. In today's world, this interaction is a key component to making a store appear more human to the public. Store representatives are online establishing dialogue with people, which makes people feel that their wants, concerns, and needs are being listened to. People are much more likely to shop at a store if they feel that the staff is genuinely interested in getting to know them. The best way for retail marketers to use popular social networking sites for promotion is to create store fan pages. Users of the sites will then have the option to become fans. If they do become fans, they will receive regular updates that retail marketers post online. Many retail marketers create contests and post them on the pages. Some even use the site to give away free samples to people they feel would be likely to make a purchase. This concept is commonly known as freebie marketing and has been proven to be very effective. Contests and giveaways are a great way to foster interaction with people online.

Another extremely good way that retail marketers employ social media is by establishing blogs. They can write about their store and various products on the blogs. People will then read the blogs for information and realize how knowledgeable the store employees are regarding the products. This will make people want to shop at the store and purchase their items. Because social media usage is so vitally important in today's rapidly changing marketing environment, it is imperative that stores stay up to date on current online marketing trends.

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Article Tags: dialogue with people, giveaways, interaction, marketing, relationships, retail, retail marketing, retailretail marketers, sample, social networking sites, traditional marketing
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Related Forum Posts
Re: Kevin needs "social glue" ideas - Hi, I like the idea of "10 items that could act as "social glue" because I am an internet marketer. But I agree with the rest that the 10 recent post is nice. Maybe we should open up a new section in the forums on Social Media...or Social Media Marketing. I will tell you that the world is about 1 1/2 behind when it comes to understanding social media. Building a section now will put EvanCarmichael.com is a great position a year down the road when people realize Social Media can produce more traffic than SEO. Jeff
Re: Kevin needs "social glue" ideas - [quote="WebBizIdeas.com":gvtxsu7g]Hi, I like the idea of "10 items that could act as "social glue" because I am an internet marketer. But I agree with the rest that the 10 recent post is nice. Maybe we should open up a new section in the forums on Social Media...or Social Media Marketing. I will tell you that the world is about 1 1/2 behind when it comes to understanding social media. Building a section now will put EvanCarmichael.com is a great position a year down the road when people realize Social Media can produce more traffic than SEO. Jeff[/quote:gvtxsu7g] Hi Jeff, Thanks for the suggestion. Why don't you start a new post (with a poll) to see if there's enough interest in your idea for a social media section?
Re: UPDATES: New Campaign! New Layout! New Ideas! - GT - thanks for the FYI - I'm not sure if we'll put a link back. Something to consider though! Trent - the new category is "Social Network and Media" which was put in to compliment the Online Businesses category that currently exists. Overall the new categories are: - Looking For, Networking and Events - Review My... - Social Network and Media - Brags and Rants These came as a result of Ringo doing research on other forums and thinking about what could be improved on ours to give a better experience for everyone. I hope you enjoy them! David, I'm looking forward to reading your Brag / Rant!
Re: Marketing 2.0 - What Are Your Thoughts - Hi Shri, Thanks for posting this. I also read it and I believe Social Media is here to stay, until the next best thing comes up. Social media proved to be useful for me many times and I think everyone should use it for their business.
Re: Social Media Marketing Ignorance - [quote="vbn411":7qciluxl]Social Media is space that you have to be in to succeed in our current climate. People are going to be discussing your brand / product whether you like it or not, so you might as well join the conversation and add value. [/quote:7qciluxl] I think that's probably one of the most realistic way to think about it. There's no real textbook way of understanding Social Media, it's the networks of people and their interactions that will exist with or without your input. As for Jennifer, You can always have 2 Facebook pages. Many people do. There is also LinkedIn, which is like a professional networking version of Facebook. The only way to know is to try it.


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