Social Media emerges as important marketing platform
Social media is fast becoming a can't miss part of the marketing mix for retailers large and small, according to recent findings by JupiterResearch.
A growing number of retailers are using social media to target teens and young adults as evidenced by the 2008 back-to-school shopping season, the research firm reports.
"The back-to-school season has grown in importance for retailers and leads into the all important fourth quarter sales period," said Patti Freeman Evans, Research Director and Online Retail Analyst at JupiterResearch. "With the shaky economy expected to impact the amount of money consumers spend on back-to-school shopping, retailers are using social media to capture the attention of younger consumers."
The latest JupiterResearch analysis of social media marekting techniques revealed that retailers are experimenting with a variety of Web 2.0 technologies to host their back-to-school marketing campaigns, including the use of virtual worlds, social networks, social shopping sites, visual search engines, interactive video content, and widgets.
For example, J.C.Penney created an online game called "DorkDodge" to promote its new clothing lines. The game features a girl who has to navigate through a number of undesirable boyfriends to find her dream date. The retailer matched the new game with an integrated ad campaign that parodied iconic teen flick "The Breakfast Club."
"Retailers experimenting with Web 2.0 experiences will largely find benefit from them in the form of branding and awareness building rather than direct sales as social media has shown little direct impact on actual online retail sales," said David Schatsky, President of JupiterResearch.