The Big Four

An e-retailer’s guide to social network marketing
By Bill Siwicki

 A few years ago, social networking was a novelty. Today it’s part of the fabric of most Internet users’ lives. In fact, earlier this year, social networking surpassed e-mail in the amount of time spent online on a monthly basis, a Forrester Research Inc. study found.

 In the past two years, retailers have flocked to social networks. Today, 56.8% of the Internet Retailer Top 500 e-retailers have a page on Facebook, 41.4% have a channel on YouTube, 28.6% have a page on MySpace and 20.4% have an account on Twitter. And a great many more smaller e-retailers have joined the bandwagon.

 But it is a bandwagon, as retailers generally have yet to prove a return on investment in social marketing. Still, retailers have great faith: In a recent Internet Retailer survey, for example, 30.5% of retailers said social network presences will perform better this year than tried-and-true paid search.

 The following is a guide to the Big Four social networks: Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and Twitter. Research and measurement giant The Nielsen Co. has provided Internet Retailer with data profiling each network. And two leading social marketing experts and four retailers with successful social network presences offer a lay of the land and strategic guidance.

 They say merchants must monitor and listen to what is being said about them and where it’s being said to determine which social networks are a good fit. That’s the first step into the exciting but uncharted waters of social network marketing.

 Facebook: The new king of social networks reinvents itself for brands

 There was a time when MySpace ruled the roost, but the tide has turned. Between June 2008 and June 2009, the number of unique monthly visitors on Facebook jumped 198% to 87.3 million while the number on MySpace grew only 6% to 62.8 million, according to research and measurement firm The Nielsen Co.

 Perhaps more important to retail marketers, MySpace, most experts agree, has been taken over to a significant degree by bands and other entertainers. While there still is opportunity to be had for retailers on MySpace, the social network’s focus is being narrowed.

 “When you compare Facebook and MySpace, Facebook members are more engaged with the network, more active. And there are more things they can do,” says Dan Shust, director of emerging media at interactive marketing firm Resource Interactive. “Facebook is becoming the social network for everybody.”

 It’s also becoming the network of choice for brands: 56.8% of the top 500 e-retailers have a page on Facebook versus 28.6% on MySpace. Shust and other experts say this is not just because of Facebook’s broader appeal but because of a major strategic shift. Last fall, Facebook redesigned the pages that businesses create, making them more interactive and, most importantly, making it possible for those pages to become part of a company’s Facebook fans’ home page news feeds. Now brands can go to consumers, as opposed to hoping consumers remember to visit their favorite brands.

 “In the past people would become a fan and maybe visit your brand page a couple times. Now if you become a fan of a brand, the brand becomes like a personal friend on your home page,” says Paull Young, social media strategist at social marketing firm Converseon Inc. “This allows brands to distribute compelling content and keep fans engaged over time.”

 That’s the goal of multichannel beauty products retailer Sephora USA Inc. It offers on its Facebook page, among other things, special Facebook fan-only promotions, online and in-store event information, videos, photos, polls, and discussion boards. And it’s looking into creating an interactive beauty-themed application for its more than 160,000 fans, says Julie Bornstein, senior vice president, Sephora Direct.

 Facebook offers a variety of opportunities that go beyond conventional online marketing. Retailers can use a fan base as a virtual focus group, for example. They can see through Facebook profiles what interests and motivates their customers, and respond accordingly. And they can create applications that connect fans with staff or other fans on a one-to-one basis to discuss products and answer questions.

 Sephora recently used Facebook to preview Sephora Favorites, 10 exclusive sets of best-selling products. “This generated buzz around the launch,” Bornstein says. “And through discussion on our page it allowed us to gain key insights into what our fans are most excited about for future product development.”

 MySpace: It’s falling out of favor, but still offers opportunities for some

 The once mighty MySpace is falling out of favor with many Internet users and even more Internet retailers.

 MySpace had been losing monthly unique visitors for awhile until in June they grew 6% year over year. Its features and functions have been stagnant compared with the ever-widening functionality of Facebook, experts say, especially since Facebook redesigned its brand pages. And MySpace has a reputation for being the place for bands, not brands.

 “MySpace is in a bit of trouble,” says Dan Shust, director of emerging media at interactive marketing firm Resource Interactive. “Brands we work with are not wanting to invest in something that’s been experiencing negative growth for awhile.”

 And Facebook is innovating within a highly structured environment, where every user and brand page has a common look and feel, unlike MySpace, which has a graphical freedom that actually may hurt more than it helps.

 “On Facebook, profiles look the same; that structure is a strength compared with MySpace, where things can look like a crazy mashed-up party, which is not a strength with older demographics,” Shust says.

 Still, MySpace remains one of the biggest sites on the Internet. MySpace is one part of Fox Interactive Media, the fifth most visited set of properties on the web, according to research and measurement firm comScore Inc. Facebook on its own ranks No. 6, YouTube No. 1 as one part of Google Sites and Twitter on its own No. 46.

 “MySpace has become less popular with brands, but it still draws a huge audience. It’s all about looking to see if your target audience is there,” says Paull Young, social media strategist at social marketing firm Converseon Inc.

 Shoe e-retailer Zappos.com Inc. has been focusing its social marketing time and efforts on Facebook. But a few months ago it decided to turn its attention back to its MySpace page to spruce things up and ensure it’s connecting with what it describes as a younger crowd a touch more open to social marketing based on how amenable it’s been to the overwhelming number of musicians on the social network.

 “We have a video blog entry once a day, usually about our company’s culture and humor,” says Brett Houchin, blog/video/social media supervisor at Zappos.com. “We also have an area to post comments, and we embed YouTube content, like our TV commercials. If there’s one thing we try to avoid it’s over-packing it—MySpace pages can get overwhelming.”

 Zappos.com includes MySpace in its social marketing mix to ensure it’s reaching out to as many consumers as it can to spread the word about the company and its culture of customer service but also to put a face—literally, in many instances—to the company.

 “MySpace and other social media allow us to connect with customers in ways we can’t really do on the e-commerce site,” Houchin explains. “It’s all about engaging customers and having them leave with very positive feelings about your brand.” m

 YouTube: An immensely popular venue for retailers to entertain and explain

 Facebook and MySpace are social networks in the broadest and deepest sense. They do everything: friends, profiles, photos, videos, applications—the list goes on. YouTube, however, does one thing, video. But it does it extraordinarily well.

 Of the Big Four social networks, it draws the largest crowd: In June it reached 87.7 million unique visitors, a 22% year-over-year jump, research and measurement firm The Nielsen Co. reports.

 Internet users can create their own accounts and channels with profiles and heaps of favorite videos. Once signed up, YouTube members can link to friends just like on Facebook and MySpace. And they can subscribe to the channels of others, including retailers, so when others post new videos they are alerted to the new content.

 “YouTube has become ubiquitous in everyday life. And it’s so easy to understand because it’s the broadcasting model we’ve been comfortable with for decades,” says Paull Young, social media strategist at social marketing firm Converseon Inc.

 YouTube members are ravenous for video, one of the most popular pastimes on the web. So if brands want to entertain or explain, the two things video does best, experts say, this is the place to be.

 “YouTube offers retailers tremendous power because video is a way to show off products that goes well beyond anything text or images can do,” Young says. “And YouTube gives that video huge scope.”

 Not only does YouTube offer a high-visibility venue for brands to connect visually with consumers, it’s also a way to boost brand awareness via natural search, where videos are now routinely popping up in what is called blended search—search results with site links, images, videos, news links and more.

 “The neat thing for brands is this: Videos you post on YouTube can get great exposure in natural search,” says Dan Shust, director of emerging media at interactive marketing firm Resource Interactive. “It’s harder to find a video posted on a brand page on Facebook or MySpace than a video that’s been posted and properly tagged with keywords on YouTube.”

 Hanover Direct Inc.’s Undergear brand of underwear, swimwear and men’s clothing has something perfect for video: its harem of handsome hunks strutting fashion runways and cavorting on beaches around the world. Video was the next step after catalog spreads and eye-popping images on its e-commerce site to make its connection with customers stronger than ever—and bring in new customers.

 “The Undergear YouTube Channel offers fans of the brand a platform to comment and share their opinions on the products, models and overall brand sentiment,” says Matt Bavaro, Internet brand manager for Undergear, which also has Facebook and MySpace pages. “Even with cuts in catalog circulation, unique visitors to our e-commerce site are up almost 40% year over year. We can only attribute this to our increased social media presence.”

 Twitter: Soaring in popularity, the little network can create key connections

 This year it seems all the world’s atwitter about Twitter. When a site’s unique monthly visitors skyrocket 1,928% year over year, it’s safe to say something’s up.

 What’s up is a quick-and-easy, down-and-dirty way of communicating with friends, family, readers or customers in 140 characters or less anytime and oftentimes, thanks to mobile phones, anywhere.

 Many call tweeting micro-blogging. Greg’s at Starbucks after having seen the new Star Trek film and tweets a mini-review, seen by all the people who’ve elected to “follow” him on the miniature social network. CNN tweets a breaking news story on health care reform legislation. Retailer GEMaffair.com tweets the announcement of a contest exclusively for its Twitter followers to win jewelry.

 At 21 million unique monthly visitors, according to research and measurement firm The Nielsen Co., Twitter is the little guy of the Big Four. But there’s an intensity that the other networks cannot match. If someone is following another person or a business, he clearly wants to know everything they have to say, says Paull Young, social media strategist at social marketing firm Converseon Inc.

 “Twitter is a phenomenon that keeps growing and growing, and its users are very highly engaged,” Young says. “It’s a strong part of their web environment throughout the day.”

 Retailers can approach Twitter passively or actively, experts advise. Passively, they listen to what is being said about them and their product categories and products through routine monitoring via Twitter search and of consumers or bloggers it elects to follow.

 If, for example, a books/music/video e-retailer sees that new Star Trek film among Twitter’s top 10 trends, it could send out a tweet with a coupon code for 5% off the Blu-ray Star Trek DVD box set. Or it could simply get a sci-fi geek on staff to join the conversation, though leaving the hard-sell behind, experts advise. The point in this case is to show expertise and become an authentic voice.

 Actively, retailers can tweet away every day on anything and everything related to its market and customers, occasionally sending out Twitter-only promotions, and encouraging a strong, two-way dialogue that can turn Twitter into a new kind of customer service vehicle.

 GEMaffair.com recently held a contest on Twitter, asking followers to enter by “re-tweeting” a promotional message, which contained a coupon. 375 of its 1,000 followers re-tweeted, thus sending the message to all of their followers—a viral bonanza. One lucky tweeter won a $100 silver jewelry set. The online jeweler received 18 orders that day associated with the contest that more than covered its costs, says Katy Culbertson, marketing manager at GEMaffair.com.

 “Twitter is a mix of sales, conversation and helping customers out,” Culbertson says. “We’re seeing repeat customers and increased loyalty from our Twitter followers.”End of Content

 Found: http://www.internetretailer.com/article.asp?id=31317

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