Following is Part 2 of the Retail TouchPoints series, titled: Next-Generation Social Media. This section spotlights three retailers that are embracing new social networks to optimize customer engagement and improve sales results. Part 3, which focuses on the emergence of social gifting solutions, will appear in the June 25 newsletter.
Consumers are leveraging social media to discover and validate potential purchases. In fact, they are beginning to rely more on digital feedback from friends, family and influencers, and less on brand-generated messages, according to Forrester Research.
Up to 70% of U.S. consumers trust brand and product recommendations from friends and family, noted the Forrester Research report, titled: How To Build Your Brand With Branded Content. Conversely, only 15% of respondents said they trust posts that brands create and share on their social networking accounts.
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Best-in-class retailers are keeping pace with these trends by initiating and encouraging conversations across new and emerging social networks. For example, C. Wonder, The Grommet and Pet360, all are leveraging sites such as Instagram, Pinterest and Vine, and implementing social crowdsourcing tools to:
- Create thriving communities;
- Turn their brands into lifestyles; and
- Participate in one-to-one social conversations.
These retailers are seeing business benefits from placing social media at the center of customer engagement strategies. As a result, they are developing long-term initiatives and strategies that strengthen their influence across new social media sites and trends.
Social Media “Deeply Embedded” Into C. Wonder Culture
For C. Wonder, social media is a core component of the entire organization and overall brand marketing strategy. Launched in 2011, C. Wonder harnesses social networks to help customers “connect with us in deep and personal ways,” according to Michael Chao, Director of Social and Mobile Engagement.
“Social media is not only a way for us to amplify brand awareness, but also create delightful customer experiences, improve product design and marketing, and build excitement for new store launches,” Chao said in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “The opportunities are limitless because social media is deeply embedded into our company culture.”
A key goal for the C. Wonder team is helping women celebrate design, discovery and surprises, Chao explained. Social media helps the retailer ensure great experiences at scale, as well as drive efficient brand exposure.
Currently, C. Wonder focuses on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Google+ to execute campaigns and contests. Each site, Chao stated, serves a “unique but complementary purpose as part of the total social ecosystem.”
However, all social initiatives integrate, in some way, with other channels, including the e-Commerce site and even brick-and-mortar locations. “Social media does not operate in a silo, nor is it considered as an afterthought,” Chao noted. “Social has a seat at the planning table and is embedded across all of the things we do.”
For instance, C. Wonder presented a Valentine’s Day campaign in which boxes of candy were given away in stores. To encourage social shares and generate user-generated content, the retailer ran a contest in which consumers took an Instagram a photo of their candy boxes and posted them with a specific hash tag. All entrants were eligible to win a $500 C. Wonder gift card.
“We saw hundreds of images submitted for this campaign,” Chao explained. “It was a simple task for participants to complete, and it gave them flexibility to really take the photo in whatever creative direction they wanted to. And for us, we saw branded candy box impressions across thousands of Instagram feeds.”
A variety of measurement and analytics tools are used to quantify the success of social efforts. For Facebook and Twitter, C. Wonder leverages a combination of Facebook Insights, Sprout Social and Google Analytics. Curalate helps the retailer collect detailed analytics on Pinterest and Instagram, and allows the retailer to measure the total reach of image-based content. All data points accumulated across social networks are integrated into custom weekly reports and discussed in company meetings.
Because the social media universe is in a state of ongoing change, C. Wonder is focused on researching and testing new social networks and sites. For example, the retailer is experimenting with Vine, a video app created by Twitter. In addition, the social team is testing strategies on Trendabl, an app designed to help consumers and brands share fashion trends and inspirations.
“We always are keeping an eye on high-potential, brand appropriate platforms as they arise,” Chao said. “We explore new social sites and selectively integrate them into our social strategy. Vine provides an interesting format that we can use in our storytelling. We also see unique opportunities in Trendabl, which is bridging that gap between an ‘Instagram-esque’ platform and commerce.”
As C. Wonder refines and optimizes social strategies, the retailer will continue to invest in the platforms that help grow social communities and also drive engagement among current customers and loyal brand fans.
“We will always be testing new ways to interact with our communities because we want to continue to be innovators in the types of social campaigns and programs we implement,” Chao said. “It’s through these campaigns and programs where we or retailers can drive really organic spikes in engagement and follower growth.”
The Grommet Increases Engagement And Sales With Pinterest
Consumers visit the The Grommet to discover new products and connect with independent merchants. This focus on discovery and interpersonal interaction makes social media a “natural extension” for the eTailer, according to Tori Tait, Senior Community Manager for The Grommet.
“Our target audiences are both creators and consumers,” Tait said. “Through social media, we can connect and build relationships with both of these groups. We use social media as a natural extension of what we are doing on our site.”
Tait told Retail TouchPoints that while Facebook, Twitter and YouTube all play a role in helping The Grommet drive awareness and engagement, Pinterest is proven to be the most valuable. In fact, both product creators and consumers turn to The Grommet Pinterest page to share products with the community, and comment on images.
“Each time we launch new products, they get nearly immediate amplification because people are pinning them on their individual Pinterest accounts,” Tait explained. By observing pinning behavior, The Grommet can learn “so much,” she added, such as what images are most impactful and/or sharable, as well as how consumers decide to organize and share products.
“For example, seeing a consumer pin a product that we label a ‘kitchen gadget’ onto a Pinterest board labeled ‘Great Gifts,’ is pretty meaningful,” Tait said. “This information may encourage us to re-think how we categorize products, or even how we market that specific item.”
The Grommet also has seen success with Pinterest promotions. The eTailer recently implemented the Curalate promotional tool for a “spring fever” themed contest. During the two-week promotion, The Grommet asked people to select a product from a gallery that they believed would help them tackle their spring cleaning lists. All participants were eligible to win a $200 gift card. Throughout the campaign, more than 4,000 product images were pinned on The Grommet Pinterest site. Those images encouraged an additional 555 re-pins and 136,000 impressions.
“In terms of referral traffic and sales, Pinterest does not disappoint,” Tait reported. “In fact, we are seeing results from Pinterest that are neck-in-neck with those coming from Facebook. Until recently, Facebook always was the leading platform for our business.”
Key to this success, Tait noted, is the ability to share photos as well as comment on specific image threads. “I think brands often see Pinterest as a one-way communication vehicle,” she said. “However, I think the site offers great potential for organizations to build relationships with consumers, and discuss specific images.”
Pet360 Embraces Social Crowdsourcing
Pet360 is striving to be considered the go-to source for consumers’ pet needs. As a result, the eTailer has focused on providing a hub of branded content and resources to educate consumers, as well as an outlet for “pet parents” to communicate with each other, share advice and ask questions.
Pet 360 has transformed the e-Commerce site into an educational outlet “that addresses pet parenting in a holistic way,” said Rose Hamilton, EVP and CMO of Pet360. “We wanted to create a new strategy focused on community experiences, content resources, expert insights, and products that are personalized to consumers’ unique needs.”
To create this community-focused environment, Pet360 partnered with Lithium, a provider of social community solutions. Using Lithium technology and tools, the eTailer has created a forum that features discussions covering pet health, care and parenting. In addition, the forum provides customers with an outlet to publish photos, access company blog posts, enter contests and query peers.
Providing this variety of content and communication tools helps Pet360 create a stronger bond with consumers, Hamilton explained. The community area also helps formulate relationships between consumers, which creates a stronger and more personal social experience.
Using Lithium, Pet360 can “spot active participants really engaged in our community then communicate with these consumers on a one-to-one basis,” Hamilton explained. This ongoing dialogue, she stated, helps team members identify which content and resources are most effective for consumers.
Additionally, Pet360 measures site traffic as well as visitor engagement behaviors such as the overall number and types of pages being visited. “We’re constantly analyzing the customer journey,” Hamilton stated, “which helps us understand how to spend our time and resources.”
Success stories and strategies provided by C. Wonder, The Grommet and Pet360 confirm the variety of ways retailers can connect and engage with consumers on social networks. In addition, these examples showcase the variety of tools and solutions currently available and designed to help organizations achieve social success.
Part 3 of the Next-Generation Social Media feature will appear in the June 25 newsletter