Latest Tips & Tactics for Connecting with Social Shoppers Get Your Message to Your Market and Sell More Stuff presented by Irene Williams - [email protected] ! I. Introduction A. Once Upon a Time on Instagram: A Case Study 1. Actual Food Nashville - The story of how I happened upon a pop-up brunch, Haymakers (J Michaels new brand), and master barber TJ Klausing, and ultimately became a devoted customer of all of the above B. The Current State and Latest Stats of the Digital-Social-Mobile Marketplace 1. According to a recent L2 study (L2 is a business intelligence service that tracks the digital competence of brands), department stores are expected to grow 22 percent globally over the next five years, and one key to success is enhancing traditional retail campaigns with effective digital marketing strategies. 2. The numbers for social are huge. We all need to fish where the fish are, and clearly the fish are very social. Numbers below are reflect data from 1st and 2nd quarters 2014. a) Twitter: 271 million active users / 500 million Tweets sent daily / 78% mobile b) Facebook: 1.23 billion active users / 874 million mobile / 728 million daily / Avg 20 minutes per session c) Instagram: 182 million active users / 58 million pix per day d) Pinterest: 70+ million active users / 75% mobile / Avg. 14 minutes per session e) Google+: 400 million active users / Avg 3:46 minutes per session f) YouTube: 1 billion active users per month / 6 billion hours of video watched monthly g) LinkedIn: 300 million users h) Tumblr: 199.1 visitors globally per month / 69.1 million monthly in U.S. i) Foursquare/Swarm: 1.9 billion businesses have claimed locations j) Wanelo (Want, Need, Love) (1) Going beyond the likes of ShopZilla, NexTag, Shopping.com, Google Product Search (2) Etsy is another example k) Yelp and other social review sites 3. Big those these numbers may be, we’ve never been more attuned to being hyperlocal and more personalized. a) Geo-location - smartphones that outsmart us b) Personalized experiences such as - loyalty programs such as Shop Your Way (Sears) are more prevalent and rapidly growing 4. Mobile reality - for most the social networks and for most stores, mobile access dominates over desktop use a) Reverse showrooming - we’re seeing trends of consumers searching online, buying in store—a reversal of the shopping habits noted in recent years past C. Today’s Discussion: What We’ll Cover and Why It Matters 1. Heighten your awareness - Offer practical, usable tips a) I say “digital marketing,” but it’s really “marketing.” (1) The Components of a Marketing Plan are all impacted by digital and social marketing. (2) From AdWeek: “In the battle for digital relevance, three brick-and-mortar department stores are leading the way, according to a new report from L2. Nordstrom, Macy's and Sears achieved "genius status," the highest of five rankings in the report. Also performing well, in the second-highest "gifted" category, were Marks & Spencer, JCPenney, Bloomingdale’s, Kohl’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, John Lewis, Nieman Marcus, House of Fraser, Debenhams and Net-a-Porter. The research firm studied how top department stores stack up in terms of e-commerce, mobile and social media and found digital performance varies widely among stores. It analyzed brands based on more than 850 data points, including loyalty programs, merchandising, search, social media following, and mobile app functionality. b) Today, it’s not the loudest brand that wins. It’s the brand that most consumers listen to that wins. It’s a relationship economy. 2. Logical way to look at your efforts—as different types of media: a) Owned media (websites, email marketing, blog, mobile app), b) Social media (FB and such), c) Earned media (PR) and d) Paid media (the coverage you buy) - paid media may well cross into the other categories, i.e. - buying ads on Facebook ! II. Online/Digital Marketing: Where, Why, How to Focus Your Marketing Efforts A. A Look at the Role of Websites and SEO 1. Your website is home base for your marketing—and you own it, unlike the social profiles that you nurture. A website helps to define and legitimize your brand to customers. It’s a launching pad for further connections. 2. In the world of retail, it can be an e-commerce portal. 3. Google Analytics matter. Be sure they are part of your website. 4. On the topic of SEO, today we’re seeing the weight of on-page content playing a bigger, more important role in boosting search results. The days of keyword loading and SEO trickery are out (hooray). 5. Metadata (the text that is ‘behind the scenes’/not seen on your web pages) matters only in helping clarify information in search results 6. Sites should be shareable and socially infused 7. Wordpress is great (innately search friendly, innately responsive for mobile viewing), other platforms work well also. B. Getting a Grip on Blogs and Content Marketing 1. It never stops, does it? Fresh content matters because it helps tell your brand story consistently and supports good search results (Google likes current, relevant content). 2. Fresh content essential for web presence 3. Tumblr - very viable for fashion-related business C. The Value of Email Marketing 1. Email services such as Constant Contact, MailChimp, Emma, iContact, MadMimi - automate the list management, allow for good branding (all of the above have their own merits; I often go with MailChimp for my clients) a) In depth programs do A-B testing, personalized responses, etc. 2. Lead Capture - in the store, online / take every opportunity to capture your customers’ contact information 3. Loyalty Programs - easily purveyed through email marketing 4. Trackable Engagement - email services come with helpful stats about who opened your emails and clicked through D. In Practical Application - Examples, Recommendations 1. Branding, branding, branding - visual experience, minimal copy, meaningful message - per a presentation I saw by an Emma executive 2. Importance of subject line ! ! III. Social Networks: Where, Why, How to Focus Your Marketing Efforts A. Some interesting stats for women’s clothing, according to a Business Intelligence report - women who use social to help chose fashion are influenced most by fashion bloggers (see Sources section at end of this document for link to article) B. Latest Takes on the Big Players (and Fading Players) 1. Social Media Explained a) Twitter – I am eating a donut b) Facebook – I like donuts c) Instagram – Here’s a cool photo of my donut d) YouTube – Here I am eating a donut e) Pinterest – Here’s a donut recipe f) LinkedIn – My skills include donut eating g) Google+ – I’m a Google employee who eats donuts h) Foursquare – This is where I eat donuts i) Wanelo - Ooo, look at all the fun donut shops and styles j) Tumblr - Here’s a photo journal of trends in donuts k) Yelp - I’m looking for reviews on places to get donuts near me 2. Broad Truths About Each a) They are search engines unto themselves b) Profile content matters c) Hashtags matter (1) i.e. - #OldNavyStyle d) Frequent use matters - you only get out of social media what you put in; have to be posting regularly to be noticed/merit interactions e) Use social media to get as much as you give - social media can be a treasure trove of market research f) Contests, giveaways can be good ways to engage AND to use social media for capturing leads (1) Rafflecopter (search online giveaway manager) (2) Marry online giveaways and social media use to amplify your live events / social cast from the event, create a contest, etc. g) Chats - Twitter chats, Google+ Hangouts can be great at building brand awareness and capturing new followers of good quality 3. Social Network - Look at Each a) Most retailers I observed use FB, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram (1) fish where the fish are b) Facebook (1) Biggest of the big (2) Always evolving but consistently relevant (a) No more “like” bait (b) Ever-updating stats and ad platform (c) Things like page tabs (lujure or pagemodo) less relevant because most of the traffic is MOBILE (3) Facebooks small biz program, a special program they intermittently offer, requires a $1,500 per month investment—but you can spend MUCH less yet get good results c) Twitter (1) great for market research - follow hashtags, see who gets retweeted and thus has most influence, see what people are sharing (2) great for in the moment customer service (3) great for real time conversation (4) great for flash message opportunities d) Instagram (1) Relevant and growing with key demographics (18 to 34, female) (2) great for trend watching (3) great for competitor watching (4) great for transforming inspiration into action (many retailers show latest products, offer Instagram discount codes, give link to shop in their profiles) e) Pinterest (1) driver for e-commerce (2) great for trend watching (3) currently enhancing business analytics - convert your Pinterest account to a business account if it’s currently just a personal profile f) Google+ (1) SEO benefits (2) a growing network that you can post to using Hootsuite or other social media management services (3) Hangouts are great - consider them anytime you want to do a meeting, webinar, or have a remote conversation g) YouTube (1) Motion leads to emotion h) LinkedIn (1) I recommend the focus be on your personal profile here i) Tumblr (1) Highly social blogging platform popular with fashion brands j) OTHER (1) Social Commerce (a) Wanelo (b) Shoptiques (2) Geo-targeted or Location-specific Review Sites (a) Yelp (b) TripAdvisor C. In Practical Application - Examples, Recommendations 1. American Designs - Crossville Twitter case study (started a hashtag on Twitter, sent out a question via tweets to specific influencers, caused a groundswell of interest that turned into a Crossville-specific Twitter chat, Pinterest board, tons of impressions, increased brand recognition, etc) 2. ABK Today: Less Facebook, More Houzz (FB wasn’t generating real leads, but Houzz does the trick) ! IV. Mobile Marketing: Screen and Be Seen Tactics A. Ideas for Reaching the Constantly Connected Consumer B. In Practical Application - Examples, Recommendations 1. In terms of mobile, most major department store chains seem to at least have a consistently-updated app. Seventy-seven percent of the brands in a recent study have an iPhone app while 46 percent have an Android version. About three-fourths of the iPhone apps are set up for shopping and 49 percent list product reviews. Eighty-two percent of iPhone apps include social sharing and 76 percent use push notifications. ! V. Manage and Measure: Practical Tips for Being Socially Professional A. A Review of Web-based Tools and Mobile Apps for Managing and Measuring 1. Hootsuite 2. SproutSocial 3. Meltwater 4. Twitter Counter 5. Hashtracking 6. Native Analytics - use the data that each social network captures and supplies 7. Google Analytics a) Knowing what people are doing and searching is so helpful. B. In Practical Application - Examples, Recommendations 1. For Shannon & Waterman Wide Plank Flooring, Google Analytics shows that blogs keep people on the site longer than most other pages of the site—a helpful bit of knowledge to have as we create new content for the site. 2. Wordpress Analytics are excellent for snapshots into search terms, popular topics with your audiences - somewhat easier to read and understand that Google Analytics ! VI. Media Relations in a Blogger-influenced Marketplace - EARNED Media A. In a Business Intelligence study, “trend-setting women who are influenced by social media” stated that fashion blogs were the most influential in guiding them to make purchases across all clothing segments (casual, fitness, special occasion) other than professional attire. Facebook had the most influence on professional attire purchases. ! VII. Paid Media A. Buy newsfeed space on FB! Consider promoted posts on Twitter, Instagram ! VIII.Resources A. Recommended Sources for Ongoing Info and Education 1. emarketer.com 2. ducttapemarketing.com 3. socialmediaexaminer.com 4. mashable.com 5. businessinsider.com 6. smartbrief.com email news aggregation service / Smartbrief on Social Business / Shop.Org Smartbrief, etc ! ! ! Sources: www.adweek.com/news/technology/which-three-department-stores-are-nailing- digital-160034 ! https://zephoria.com/social-media/top-15-valuable-facebook-statistics/ ! http://www.statisticbrain.com/instagram-company-statistics/ ! http://www.statisticbrain.com/instagram-company-statistics/ ! http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/resource-how-many-people-use-the-top-social- media/17/#.VBjwded8E6c ! http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/social-media-stats-2014_b54243 ! http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/files/2014/01/social-media-networks.png ! https://www.youtube.com/yt/press/statistics.html ! http://techforluddites.com/the-twitter-hashtag-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/ ! http://www.businessinsider.com/reverse-showrooming-bricks-and-mortar-retailers-fight- back-2-2014-2 ! http://www.businessinsider.com/how-retailers-are-using-social-media-in-stores-to-drive- sales-2014-6 ! http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-04-24/wanelo-deena-varshavskayas-site- takes-over-social-shopping ! http://www.l2thinktank.com/research/department-stores-2014-2 ! http://corp.wishpond.com/blog/2012/09/04/the-ultimate-guide-to-wanelo-and-why-it- matters/