Maximum Impact

You Have a Facebook Page, a Twitter Account, but Is Your Brand Getting All It Can out of Social Media?

The big challenge for retailers? "Uncovering how to build a social media mix that focuses on their total brand and their location-based social media programs," Stuart said. "This is the biggest area of opportunity for retailers, but also the biggest weakness for smaller regionally branded chains, manufacturer/retailers and nationally branded chains alike. This would include understanding how to segment and manage pages, places and check-in locations for retail storefronts. Lots of great tools and technologies exist, but retailers currently lack the strategy to connect the two areas of social media."

PROJECTING THE BRAND What can home furnishings retailers do to ensure their social media presence projects the brand image they see for their stores?

"The first answer is starting to evaluate where the relationship should be—social media is a tool to build relationships," Stuart said. "Are we looking for customers to relate to the brand at the store level, with a particular person, or at the local or national market?"

A national brand might want to encourage relationship building at local stores, for example, while a high-end retailer might foster relationships between consumers and design consultants in the store.

Balancing brand channels and weaving in location-based channels can be a challenge: "Crate & Barrel has thousands of Facebook Pages—for the company, for product segments, for stores," Stuart said, adding that's not necessarily a good thing. "Some (Pages) have just one or two fans or check-ins, and no new posts or responses for over a year. One problem retailers have is: Are you talking about one brick-and-mortar location or multiple locations? There's not a lot of discussion about how to attach the corporate brand and local stores."

Once retailers identify where they want the relationship, they can start on the process of research.

"Research is designed to figure out which channels to use; and focus not only on what you want to say, but on what customers are looking for. It's about 50-50, a handshake versus a push of information," Stuart said. "You can put a display at point of purchase and capitalize on the fact that you have a captive audience inside the store. With social media, the customer has to want to engage. We understand that through data (research and testing). That's the beauty of social media. We have the data to understand what users are reacting to."

When it comes to projecting brand image, Kaleidoscope Partnership CEO Leslie Carothers said the first step is pulling together a visual representation of all existing branding points of identity—direct mailers, e-mail, catalogs, jpegs of television ads, any print materials.

"Second, decide on a 'voice'—what type of voice do you want to present in social media that's in line with what the consumer is already aware of when you're making these brand impressions with all these other forms of advertising?," she said. "Is the voice of your brand normally a 'fun' voice? A sincere voice, a discount voice, a helpful voice, a gracious living voice? What is your brand messaging already saying? That will drive the type of content and the type of presence you'll put on social sites, so that it's consistent with existing brand messaging."

What the consumer wants, she added, is seamless integration between the online marketing experience, the traditional advertising experience and the in-store experience.

CONSISTENT, ACTIVE, PRO-ACTIVE Brand consistency throughout a retailer's chosen social media channels is a priority for projecting the right image said Leah Singer, senior client success specialist, Oneupweb, Traverse City, Mich.

"If you have a particular style guide or look for your stores, make sure that's reflected in all the channels. For example, if you look at what we do with social media, the different channels will have a particular look or feel even though the channels' formats are different," she said. "We recommend developing a persona for social media channels. Think of how your brand is projected in terms of voice or personality."

Base that persona in each channel and each consumer touch poin,t such as customer service: "We don't tell clients to pretend to be someone they aren't, but to base their social media personality on what's best for that brand, and use it to interact with people across different social media channels," Singer said.

Make sure all social media profiles—Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, for example—are represented with company logos and brand image, said Christi Tullis, CEO of the Las Vegas-based agency Puttin' Out.

"When hopping from social site to social site, I shouldn't wonder if it's the same company," she said. "I should know by a first-glance appearance and branding."

And stay active in your social media challenges. One of the biggest mistakes retailers make, according to independent consultant Sev Ritchie, is putting up a Facebook Page—and then just letting it sit there.

"It's vanilla, no graphics, no opportunity for interaction with consumers, and then they wonder why it's not working for them," he said. "Would you put a print ad out there in black and white? The same logic applies to the visual impression of your social media presence.

"The other side of that is retailers need to reach out to their consumer audience, and if they're doing nothing to engage their audience locally, they're wasting time. You don't have to throw the investment at social media that Ikea does, but even some of the things they do, small retailers can do. Throw something out there: 'Which room set do you like the best?' Make it fun."

Make sure your social media program is in capable hands, he added: "Some retailers, and not just in furniture, will delegate (social media) to a clerk level in the organization. They just put out what they think is right, but that content might not be right for the organization. Are you going to delegate your identity to a clerk? Make sure there's someone who understands the goals and objectives of the organization and the marketing platform of the organization."

Your customers can assist you in projecting your image on social media, said Mark Preble, national managing consultant, Reputation Accelerator, Vancouver, Wash.

"It's all about your relationship with them; you're not projecting to them, you're engaging them," he said. "Get testimonials—that's the No. 1 way to earn trust online."

Reputation Accelerator, for instance, provides clients with a portal for an online comment forum separate from the retailer's Web site.

When you have a satisfied customer, Preble said to get the testimonial then and there at the point of sale, and incorporate it into your social media. While not necessary from a legal standpoint, get the customer's permission.

"You can say, 'Thanks for doing business with us, we're collecting comments on how to better serve our customers,'" Preble said. "We don't use last names. They can put it on an iPad for delivery drivers to take with them. We'll distribute that review on the Worldwide Web and Facebook Page. It's important for any business to collect comments, even if you just use them internally. ... It's a proactive way to build your reputation."

Video reviews are great for an SEO-friendly channel such as YouTube.

"Take a video of a customer saying something nice about the store," Preble said. "People trust that, they respond to it. Eighty-one percent of people will Google a business after seeing an ad to get that sort of information about a company."

Preble's consulting colleague at Reputation Accelerator, Jeff Carrier, noted that one in 300 happy customers write a review on their own, while one in seven unhappy customers do so.

By being proactive with reviews, Carrier said a furniture dealer can get 90 percent participation, adding "The No. 1 reason a customer goes to the digital space with a critical review is lack of communication."

Facebook is very photo-friendly, but Tullis suggests that retailers avoid cluttering fans' news feeds with individual shots. It also offers an opportunity for that social media byword, "engagement."

"Sort your photos and publish as an album," she said, adding that Puttin' Out's software can preschedule album publishing. "When you post a photo album, be sure to make the description area 'post' worthy. Otherwise the photo albums come through blank and simply titled. The reader doesn't know why you posted the photos. Do you want to broadcast new product? If so, ask fans which products they like or what they would change about the products."

FINDING THE RIGHT MIX With multiple channels from which to choose, what are some issues to consider when selecting the right mix—for your store—of social media outlets?

Carothers believes a lot depends on whether you're a single- or multiple-store operation.

"If you're a single store, you want to draw traffic to that one location," she said, suggesting a combination of Twitter and Facebook ads: "Use Twitter for a lot of business-to-business communication with other local businesses, and Facebook ads to connect with consumers by ZIP code and demographics. It takes a little more money to get it started, but Facebook ads have been very successful for retailers, especially for retailers who are using sales and discounts, coupons to drive traffic."

Carothers believes multi-store retailers should have a Facebook Page for each location and a corporate Facebook Page.

"It's important individual locations show they're involved in the community, and each has different events at different times," Carothers said.

Stuart suggested using Facebook "children" for multiple-store retailers seeking to promote their brand at the local level.

"We'll have a brand Facebook Page, and set up children Pages for all our other stores, by region or individual location," she noted. "A tool in Facebook Places allows 50 stores under one parent."

Social media is not a "set-it-and-forget-it" marketing channel, OneUpWeb's Singer said, and they require a time investment in developing relationships with customers.

"If you're not active yet, don't just go and set up a Facebook Page because everyone else is doing it," she said. "Think about what you want to gain by having these profiles. Are you going to use Facebook for customer service, to let people know about your brand? Set goals and work backward.

"One thing that can be an issue, especially with Facebook, are continuous updates and changes. If a company has put a lot of time into a custom Facebook tab, and Facebook makes a change, that tab might not work. Make sure you're on top of Facebook's never-ending updates. They make more changes by far than any other channel."

That said, Singer believes that if they choose to participate in a single social channel, it should be Facebook, if only because of the 75 million participants it boasts. (For more along these lines, see another article in this package, "Value Scale.")

Preble at Reputation Accelerator agreed that Facebook should be a retailer's No. 1 choice in a mix, followed by Twitter and YouTube.

"Don't do anything else before getting proficient on those three," he said. "If you're the owner, it's a good idea to be on LinkedIn, and your employees might have friends there who are potential customers."

Make sure your customers know where they can find you in the social world.

"Link to all these things on your Web site," Preble said. "Have Facebook, Twitter, YouTube links and icons on outgoing e-mails."

Tullis pointed out that retailers must consider the time and personnel cost of managing and maintaining a positive impression in each profile.

"Keeping content fresh and responding daily will cost you time, essentially meaning to allocate marketing and/or sales resources to the project," she said. "For instance, if you don't have the time or resources to make a video every two to three months, don't create a YouTube profile."

Ritchie agreed that time's a factor in selecting a social mix.

"How much of a commitment do you want to make to time and resources?" he said. "A post a day on Facebook is very easy compared with Twitter interaction, which has to be constant if you want to maintain your community."

Don't forget the impact of mobile technology on social media.

"Foursquare, where they're tied into places for 'checking in' are extremely popular, especially in urban areas, and those where a lot of people use mobile technologies," Carothers noted.

Stuart at IMRE pointed out that for some clients, she recommends selecting one or two channels and doing those very well, while some might diversify more—no one size fits all retailers, but there are some common considerations.

"First, your mix needs in some degree to work together. Your social channels are designed not to repeat the same content, but work together," she said. "Let's say you decide you want to use Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. You might say YouTube will aggregate all your video; Twitter will promote your video content; and Facebook will build your community. Each cross-promotes the other. They aren't the same, but they complement each other. Map the inter-relationship that evolves." HFB

Measuring Social Media

There Ways to Measure Social Media's Impact on Your Store

While social media can help retailers tell their story and position their brand, the time it takes to use them effectively demands a payback at some point. Crystalyn Stuart, vice president of social marketing at IMRE, said research can help companies measure the impact of their Facebook Page or other social outlet.

"Too often, social media stories are skewed toward creating an experience, and brands want their investment to deliver," she said. "It's not all 'Kumbaya' with the customers, it's about blending what you have to offer with what the customer is seeking. Our approach at that level is auditing internally all the assets you have as a brand: goals, high quality, whatever you bring to the table."

Take a look at the social world outside your presence.

"If your focus is on particular styles and designs, what are people asking about that, what are they saying on social media?," Stuart said.

Try in-store customer surveys, monitoring what they're saying about brand, topics or your competitors on blogs and other social media forums.

Research leads to selecting channels and your social media "voice."

"Imre's point of view focuses on the art and science of segmentation," Stuart said. "Retailers have been quick to (put up) Pages, but they didn't do it in a scientific way."

Social media is testable as well.

"I think the data we're looking for needs to be actionable," Stuart pointed out. "Set key performance indicators for social media and select metrics for that actionable changes. Too many people say, 'Oh, I have 10 new fans, 12 percent fan growth for the past few months,' but they aren't helping you understand how to improve."

Stuart recommends that for every type of content retailers generate on social media, they should tag it to a category, for example, "sales," "design tips" or "designer profiles."

"Later, I can look at the data and see that more people commented on, viewed or shared a particular type of posting, and I can see whether that type of posting does better on Facebook or Twitter," she said. "Then you start breaking down the variables. That's what allows you to test. Retailers have long invested in search engine marketing, pay-per-clicks, so they should be good at that, but they rarely apply that to social media channels.

"That's how you get good at media buying, and it's the same sort of process for getting good at selecting and using social media. That's also why you shouldn't hire a college intern to run your social media program. It's a skill that requires an analytical mind."

Social Media Do's & Don'ts

Here Are Some Suggestions for How—and How Not—to Use Social Media

Following are some do's and don'ts when it comes to socializing online compiled from contributors to this month's cover package. Our thanks to Leslie Carothers, Jeff Carrier, Mark Preble, Sev Ritchie, Leah Singer, Crystalyn Stuart and Christi Tullis,

DON'T post ads for your latest sale on Facebook without asking a question to get a response consumers might care about hearing and sharing.

DON'T rely too much on Facebook "likes." Unless a shopper's in the market for something in your store, or unless she sees something she want to engage in on her feed, she's probably not going back to the page. Develop a deeper relationship through asking questions.

DO engage with Facebook around topics not directly related to selling. For example, when buying at Markets, post a couple of shots of product you're considering, and ask for customer feedback.

DO say "thank you" if someone mentions your store on Twitter. Twitter's all about good manners, and when a consumer starts talking about your brand, her friends see that.

DO say "good morning" to your Twitter followers.

DO take the time to tweet about your customers' own businesses. It gives them a chance to talk about themselves.

DON'T make social media all "me-me-me." To a point that makes sense, but don't make it all about you all the time.

DO respond to negative customer service comments or reviews you have on, say, your Facebook Page. If you ignore them, or even worse, delete the comments, there isn't any solution to the problem. The person might also go back to their Facebook wall and say, 'Thanks for taking care of this,' so it can end up being a real positive.

DO create a community and try to be as engaging as possible. Be social, ask questions, engage with fans. Be prepared to respond and engage with the audience, otherwise your brand will appear rude and stuffy. Don't talk to customers, engage them.

DON'T be preachy about product. Ask questions or host contests around product releases, new arrivals, or in general display of photos.

DON'T say anything if you have nothing to say. Most people aren't on social media to buy, but because there's social interaction, they get messages quick, with less clutter in their lives.

DON'T go more than a week without distributing any social media content. That creates the appearance of "I've closed my doors!"

DO allocate marketing resources to do it right the first time. You won't get a second chance to make a first impression.

DO create a culture around your business on social media.

DO respond to responses to posts. Keep the lines of communication flowing.

DO post interesting facts about the industry, about the brands you carry.