The Value of Experimentation in Social Media for Retailers

Retailers everywhere are feeling the pain of the slow
economic recovery. In June retail sales rose
0.4% ,short of the estimated 0.8%.  Wary consumers are exercising great self-restrain
while shopping, uncertain of the future. The initial instinct for retailers is
to stay conservative with their advertising budgets, but instead they should experiment
with social media by taking advantage of the emerging trends and low cost of
failure.

Social Shopping
Mobile devices are inseparable from shoppers. Smartphones are frequently used
to compare prices with retail competitors, interact with retail brands on
social media and get advice from friends on what to buy in real time.  Being connected to a peer network provides a
significant amount of information for shoppers and presents an opportunity as
an extra touch point to reach customers. Ebay took advantage of this trend by
creating a social shopping tool designed to help customers stay social and tap
into customer’s network of friends for recommendation. By staying involved and
helpful throughout the shopping process, Ebay is increasingly more on the minds
of consumers as a go-to place to shop, while exposing the tool to customers’
friends.

 Ebay: Help Me Shop Video

Your Competitors are Already Using It
In recent survey
from KPMG, 71% of retailers admitted that social media has a significant
impact on their business. With showrooming becoming a major problem in retail,
the key is enhancing the customer experience with the brand. Whether it’s
customer service, special offers for followers or an app that keeps consumers
up to date on your brand, enhancing and delighting shoppers creates an emotional
connection with the brand. You want to delight your customer because it will
create positive word of mouth for your brand, as another survey
points out, 90% of customers will recommend brands after social media
interactions.

Quick Experiments equal Quick Results
Recently we ran an experiment using calls to action with the goal of driving
registration and generating leads through Facebook. By combining eye catching
pictures, persuasive copy and a trackable link, we were able to measure how
many people actually follow through from Facebook to our registration page. The
result was positive, as more than 80% of the people who ‘Liked’ the post followed
the link to the website. We’ve replicated the experiment a few more times and
after receiving more positive response are scaling-up our efforts by involving
other regionalized Facebook pages owned by our client.

Fail Faster
One of the advantages digital has over other mediums is transparency.  If a campaign is not working you will know
it, and will have an opportunity for a quick turnaround. You’ll know within
days if not hours. Lack of comments, likes and small reach will give you a signal
that something isn’t working. Go back to the drawing board and try again. You
didn’t pour thousands of dollars into the campaign, but simply tested out a
prototype.  On the other hand, if it’s
something that is working, then you can add it to your toolbox.

The unfortunate truth for a lot of executives who don’t have
digital in their blood, is that social is all about innovation and it is here
to stay. It is dynamic and an exciting medium which is being adopted by
customers during shopping at a break-neck speed. Humans are social creatures
and mobile devices keep us connected 24/7, giving retailers another touchpoint
to reach customers through. Experimenting with social media yields great
rewards at a lower cost compared to traditional advertising.

Have you tried experimenting with digital or social media?
What results have you seen?

Dmitri Pivtorak, social media mad scientist

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