1. An Ant's Eye Point-of-View: Tis the Season for Holiday "Social Media" Campaigns

    Tuesday, 20 Dec 2011 2 Comments Posted by:

    The countdown is on. With Hanukkah candles burning brightly, and with Christmas just around the corner, the energy of the holiday season is palpable.  With the hustle and bustle of shoppers scouring stores for that elusive last gift, it’s sometimes just easier to sit behind a computer and finish your holiday shopping in one fell swoop.

    According to Lab42, a Chicago market research firm, 61 percent of shoppers plan on finding ”the perfect gift” via social networks.  And retailers have responded. Almost 75 percent of retailers invested in their Facebook and Twitter accounts in advance of the holiday season.

    So what are retailers doing for the 2011 holiday season?

    Target: “Santa has elves. You have Target.“

    Who needs elves when you have Target? That’s the message at the heart of Target’s holiday advertising — and one that they successfully also extended on social media channels like Facebook. After clicking on the Target Christmas tab on Facebook, customers are treated to a blizzard of savings, free shipping and other coupons, making it easy for customers to tackle their to-do lists.

    TIP: Make it easy for customers to shop online by providing quick access to deals on social media channels and direct links back to online shopping destinations.

    Etsy: “Gift Ideas for Facebook Friends”

    Instead of painstakingly thinking through gift ideas for your friend (or boss), the handmade crafts e-commerce site makes it easy. With one simple click of a button, Etsy suggests an array of gift ideas based on the recipient’s Facebook preferences and at a range of different prices, too.

    TIP: Simplify the shopping process. Curate personalized content using social media data to create a gift list that customers can quickly find and purchase items on site.

    Nordstrom: “Nordstrom Santa”

    Rather than awkwardly dropping gift ideas to your friends and family, Nordstrom has made it fun and easy to “pick your must-have gift” with their Nordstrom Santa Facebook App. In short, you can choose what you’re wishing for, and their app will either post the hint on your Facebook wall or send a message to one of your friends via Twitter.

    @shaunacausey Ho ho ho! Psst, I know what @joannjen wants this year! Take a peek: is.gd/vfoAt5

    — Nordstrom Santa (@NordstromSanta) November 25, 2011

    TIP: Make it fun for customers to purchase products, and make it easy for them to suggest potential gifting ideas to their friends.

    For more helpful insights on how retailers can leverage social media to boost holiday sales, we recommend:

    What holiday social media campaigns grabbed your attention this holiday season? Which retailer wins in your book?

    An Ant’s Eye Point-of-View is curated and written by Senior Social Business Consultants: Kristy Bolsinger, Joann Jen, Geoff Knox, Ali McCourt, Laura Feeney, Anthony Garcia and Sam Eder. Ideas and reactions are welcome in the comments section.

  2. An Ant’s Eye Point-of-View: Tis the Season for Holiday “Social Media” Campaigns

    Tuesday, 20 Dec 2011 3 Comments Posted by:

    The countdown is on. With Hanukkah candles burning brightly, and with Christmas just around the corner, the energy of the holiday season is palpable.  With the hustle and bustle of shoppers scouring stores for that elusive last gift, it’s sometimes just easier to sit behind a computer and finish your holiday shopping in one fell swoop.

    According to Lab42, a Chicago market research firm, 61 percent of shoppers plan on finding ”the perfect gift” via social networks.  And retailers have responded. Almost 75 percent of retailers invested in their Facebook and Twitter accounts in advance of the holiday season.

    So what are retailers doing for the 2011 holiday season?

    Target: “Santa has elves. You have Target.“

    Who needs elves when you have Target? That’s the message at the heart of Target’s holiday advertising — and one that they successfully also extended on social media channels like Facebook. After clicking on the Target Christmas tab on Facebook, customers are treated to a blizzard of savings, free shipping and other coupons, making it easy for customers to tackle their to-do lists.

    TIP: Make it easy for customers to shop online by providing quick access to deals on social media channels and direct links back to online shopping destinations.

    Etsy: “Gift Ideas for Facebook Friends”

    Instead of painstakingly thinking through gift ideas for your friend (or boss), the handmade crafts e-commerce site makes it easy. With one simple click of a button, Etsy suggests an array of gift ideas based on the recipient’s Facebook preferences and at a range of different prices, too.

    TIP: Simplify the shopping process. Curate personalized content using social media data to create a gift list that customers can quickly find and purchase items on site.

    Nordstrom: “Nordstrom Santa”

    Rather than awkwardly dropping gift ideas to your friends and family, Nordstrom has made it fun and easy to “pick your must-have gift” with their Nordstrom Santa Facebook App. In short, you can choose what you’re wishing for, and their app will either post the hint on your Facebook wall or send a message to one of your friends via Twitter.

    @shaunacausey Ho ho ho! Psst, I know what @joannjen wants this year! Take a peek: is.gd/vfoAt5

    — Nordstrom Santa (@NordstromSanta) November 25, 2011

    TIP: Make it fun for customers to purchase products, and make it easy for them to suggest potential gifting ideas to their friends.

    For more helpful insights on how retailers can leverage social media to boost holiday sales, we recommend:

    What holiday social media campaigns grabbed your attention this holiday season? Which retailer wins in your book?

    An Ant’s Eye Point-of-View is curated and written by Senior Social Business Consultants: Kristy Bolsinger, Joann Jen, Geoff Knox, Ali McCourt, Laura Feeney, Anthony Garcia and Sam Eder. Ideas and reactions are welcome in the comments section.

  3. An Ant's Eye Point-of-View: Measuring Social Influence

    Tuesday, 6 Dec 2011 7 Comments Posted by:

    One of the hottest topics on the minds of social media marketers is the concept of quantifying influence, or the power of an individual’s voice on social channels. There are many vendors that offer solutions that analyze a user’s activity and network to deliver an “influencer” score.

    While these services are far from perfect due to questions about scoring algorithms and the ability for individuals to artificially inflate scores, they can be integral parts of social marketing and CRM efforts. In the last year influence monitoring services have started to segment into three main categories.

    Social Analytics:  These services are built to measure and score activity, friend/follower growth, and track common post topics. Social analytics can be useful to track a brand’s effectiveness on social channels. Some examples of these types include:

    Influencer Identification:  The next level of social services includes features that identify the top social influencers on particular topics. Influencer identification is particularly helpful for blogger outreach.  Examples of influencer identification services include:

    Reputation Quantification:  Turning social reputation into an actionable asset for marketers and customer service is the next evolution of influence monitoring service.  By taking social analytics, influencer identification, and adding user vouching these services enable marketers toeffectively target influencers. Examples:

    There are many new competitors entering the market and companies are constantly refining their services. As of now, however, social influence monitoring services are useful to social marketers even if there is some debate about accuracy.

    Here are some more helpful articles on quantifying influencer scores:

    We’re curious to hear your thoughts on this much debated topic. What tools have you used to measure social influence?
    An Ant’s Eye Point-of-View is curated and written by Senior Social Business Consultants: Kristy Bolsinger, Joann Jen, Geoff Knox, Ali McCourt, Laura Feeney and Sam Eder. Ideas and reactions are welcome in the comments section.