Tag Archives: social engagement
October 25, 2012
Customer Insights for Banks via Social Media
Talk to a bank about social media, and you may see it shift or squirm in its chair a bit. But talk to a bank about customer data? Likely, it will lean in and listen carefully. So what happens when banks realize they can access customer feedback and observe consumer behavior via social media?
They start paying attention to the social networking sites, blogs and discussion forums, says Robert Stowe England in Learning from Customers in Social Media, a recent article at Banking Strategies.
Posted in Financial services
Tagged banks, marketing for a social world, social business, social engagement, Social Marketing
September 14, 2012
Retailers, Here’s Proof Social Engagement Drives Q4 Sales
When Media Logic’s Retail Social Juice Index was still in its infancy, we used it to predict big 2011 holiday sales for 10 brands. The question retailers always ask of marketers is, Can social media engagement track to sales? We’re happy to answer, Yes. High social engagement, as we measure it with the RSJI, does seem to correlate with increased sales.
And here’s more good news: There’s still time to plan your Q4 social content.
The brands we identified back in December 2011 – Yankee Candle, American Girl, Ann Taylor, LUSH Cosmetics, Lakeside Collection, Pandora, ShutterFly, ThinkGeek, LeapFrog and Bath & Body Works – remained at or near the top of the RSJI leading up to and through the 2011 holiday season. Each, in fact, averaged an engagement score of 150 or more (a rare honor) in the three weeks leading up to our prediction. This remarkably high – and consistent – engagement represents the kind of sustained customer enthusiasm we believed would result in revenue.
Public financial data is available for eight out of the 10 brands (LUSH Cosmetics and Lakeside Collection are private companies and do not publish financials). Of these eight, all but two – Pandora and Ann Taylor — showed an increase in comparable store sales (or in total sales, when comp numbers are not applicable) for the final quarter of 2011, which, of course, includes the holiday selling period. And despite a decrease in comparable store sales, Pandora still reported a 12.4% increase in North American revenue for 2011.
In addition to the brands on our list performing well in their year-over-year figures, we also saw this group realize growth in company stock prices …
July 26, 2012
Brands Turn to Faithful Friends – Promotions and Pictures – for Engagement
Promotions and pictures are tried and true methods of inspiring participation from fans, and all the Big Movers This Week on Media Logic’s Retail Social Juice Index (RSJI) turned to those faithful friends to boost engagement.
Stella & Dot’s #socialjuice score peaked at 969 last week, the result of a single-day gain of 877 points. How’d the brand do it? A photo of a box of Stella & Dot merchandise with a link to a sweepstakes entry form and a status that built excitement for the prize: “’Like’ this post if you’d like to receive a giant Stella & Dot delivery at your doorstep.” Nearly 50,000 fans did! With a fan base of around 228K, however, that kind of interest didn’t just happen. Contest aggregators helped spread the word, as did fans who were given incentive to do so. They qualified to win $500 in jewelry – a bigger prize than the main offer! – if they got three friends to enter.
July 19, 2012
Photos Continue to Heat Up Social Engagement for Brands
You may have heard us say this once or twice before, but your brand should be in pictures! A couple weeks ago, every one of the most engaging posts from brands on Media Logic’s Retail Social Juice Index (RSJI) was a photo. Well, as they say, “It’s déjà vu all over again!”
Every brand on our list of Big Movers This Week heated up summer social engagement by connecting with their fans through photos. However, even though the premise of the approach for these top brands was similar (post a photo!), each retailer pitched its photo from the angle that made it most interesting to its particular fan base.
Clothing retailer Wet Seal earned a 301-point spike when it posted a someecard message that struck a chord with fans. Who hasn’t emptied an entire closet of clothes trying to get dressed for the evening? The someecard caption read, “Choosing the perfect outfit for one night can destroy an entire room.” Wet Seal’s call to action – “’Like’ if you have the same problem … ” – encouraged fans to ‘fess up … and fess’ up they did: 472 comments, more than 2,800 shares and over 111,000 (yes, that’s a six-digit number) likes.
July 12, 2012
Engagement Levels Soar High on Fourth of July
Holidays tend to be a surefire way to increase engagement across the board on Media Logic’s Retail Social Juice Index (RSJI), and last week’s Fourth of July was no exception! While T-Mobile was the only brand to earn a spot in the Big Movers This Week with a Fourth of July Facebook post, it certainly wasn’t the only brand to connect with likers on America’s birthday. T-Mobile shared a shot of luminescent fireworks taken on a T-Mobile device to major fan response. Tacori just barely missed the Big Movers This Week but garnered significant engagement by highlighting a photo of “red, white and Tacori blue” and sharing the story of a U.S. soldier’s patriotic proposal to his fiancé. HSN similarly relied on the holiday with a simple birthday wish to the nation—which earned 13 times more engagement than the brand’s previous 10 Facebook updates… combined!
July 3, 2012
From Product Announcements to Summery Scenes, Brands Rely on Photos to Spark Engagement
All five brands that made the list of Big Movers This Week on Media Logic’s Retail Social Juice Index (RSJI) had something in common—their use of pictures to engage fans. However, each retailer managed to find a unique way to connect with their respective fan bases.
American Girl has remained consistently among the top performers since the RSJI’s inception. This week, we witnessed one of the brand’s biggest spikes to-date with a much anticipated announcement. For years, American Girl customers have been asking the brand to offer a hair-optional doll for girls affected by medical conditions that cause hair loss. The brand took to its Facebook Timeline to unveil that doll after more than a year of development. Tens of thousands of fans liked, shared and wrote messages of excitement and thanks to the brand for finally unveiling this much-sought-after doll.
June 29, 2012
10 MORE Engaging Ways to Use Photos on Facebook Timeline
When we posted 10 engaging ways to use photos on Facebook Timeline, we promised you 10 MORE. Well, here they are! And just like the last batch, each of these strategies earned engagement spikes for retail brands on Media Logic’s Retail Social Juice Index in June (and each is featured in the image gallery):
June 27, 2012
10 Engaging Ways to Use Photos on Facebook Timeline
Your brand ought to be in pictures! It’s common knowledge that images get twice the play of other kinds of posts. In each of these examples (explained below and featured in the photo gallery), retail brands earned enough fan engagement to spike their #socialjuice scores and appear among our “Brands on the Move” – a snapshot of the top five movers on Media Logic’s Retail Social Juice Index (RSJI) each day of the week.
Here are 10 photo strategies that lead to measurable increases in Facebook engagement for brands this month:
April 5, 2012
Pinterest Becomes Definitively Social
When it comes to social, nothing makes me happier than when a Web-based platform claiming to be “social” really makes it possible for people to connect and build relationships in the real world. You know, getting so-called “friends,” “connections,” “likers,” etc. off their computer screens and mobile devices and into actual places like restaurants and living rooms. So when I heard about the latest Pinterest trend I got really excited.
Posted in Emerging Media
Tagged Facebook, marketing for a social world, Pinterest, social engagement
December 5, 2011
Cause Marketing: Engaging with Brand Advocates Online and Off
Retail brands, are you looking for a way to increase engagement, have consumers view your brand in a more positive light and make the world a better place all at the same time? Well, it’s not that easy, but a commitment to a social cause can help. Last week’s Retail Social Juice Index showed just how “sharable” causes can be, particularly during the holiday season.
Harry and David received a big spike by promoting its commitment to supplying treats to U.S. troops. Further digging showed that the brand’s “Moose Munch for the Troops” campaign time and again resulted in large numbers of likes, shares and comments. Build-A-Bear Workshop saw a spike when it thanked members of the Armed Forces and offered the group a discount. Ann Taylor and New York and Company increased engagement in promising to donate $1 to St. Jude’s Research Hospital for every new Facebook fan. The Home Depot runs regular charitable giveaways, including its recent “Give the Gift of Good” and “Aprons in Action” campaigns. The company’s philanthropic efforts are so popular that they have their own Facebook page: The Home Depot Foundation.
Clearly, a commitment to a charitable cause can get customers talking. But this is much more than a way to garner likes and generate shares.
