This week’s hot news, events and videos from the online marketing and social media world.

From the Position² Blog This Week: What To Expect From The Social Consumer In 2012 Part One: The Power of User Generated Content and Social Mobile Usage. Part Two: Social E-Commerce Influencers, Daily Deals and Special Offers.

Facebook 101: Is Your Brand Worth a Like? Infographic: Pinterest’s Role As A Referrer For Retailers Grows. Twitter CEO: Google Has All The Data They Need. Survey Report: Women’s Influence On Purchase Decisions On The Rise. Social Media Strategy: How Small Businesses Can Thrive With Google+. Position² Blog: Paid Search (PPC) In 2012: 7 Key Areas To Focus. SEO Tips: Google Begins Crackdown On Misuse Of Rich Snippets. Research: Will 2012 Become the Year of Mobile SEO? E-Mail Spam: Facebook, Google, Microsoft Team Up To Target Phishing. Find New Keywords: Simplifying Keyword Research.

Video of the Week How Social Media Keeps Leaders Honest. Mashable founder and CEO Pete Cashmore sat down with David Jones of Havas to talk about the new responsibilities of today’s leaders to respond to social media, as part of Mashable and Scribd’s Documented@Davos series.

Position² Brand Monitor™ is Now Free to use! Social Media Monitoring Just Got a Whole Lot Easier With Brand Monitor™, you can: Monitor social media conversations in real-time Track brands across social media, blogs, news, discussion forums, video and photo sharing sites Get detailed analytics and in-depth reports on the entire process Sign Up for Position² Brand Monitor™!

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If you are reading this you are probably a digital marketer, and that too one in the Search space. Have you made any resolutions for your PPC campaigns yet? Have you committed to doing something different from what you did last year?

At Position² we have compiled a list of 7 PPC resolutions to abide by this year. We strongly believe that you will benefit from this information, a compilation of our focus areas, driven by our experiences, learning, strategies and best practices.

Wishing you the best for a fantastic and a profitable 2012! Let’s get started with the PPC’s 7 key Areas of Focus in 2012.

Get Critiqued:

Kick start 2012 with a audit of your PPC campaigns. Identify if your campaigns are hitting target metrics, measure your ROI – is it what you or your clients expected, study the pitfalls and evaluate things you have not done in a while (may be testing or adding negatives). Identify opportunities right from keywords to ads to landing pages.

PPC accounts can be audited on a variety of parameters. At Position² we use a 40 point benchmark checklist that is built on industry and Position² best practices. Our in-house experts audit across Campaign Structures, Competition, Keywords, Bid Management and Ads to name a few. At the end of the audit your campaigns receives a Best Practices Benchmark Score that tells you how effective your campaigns are.

Cut that Fat:

Evaluate your keywords thoroughly. Identify “the budget hogs”, those that eat-up your budget but do not convert or convert at a high cost per acquisition. Weed them out. Analyze your search query reports and think wisely about keywords that do not make sense for your business- add them as negatives. Dump keywords you should not be bidding on to start with.

Search space will likely get expensive by the day, so focus on common misspellings and long tail keywords for efficiency. Put yourself in the searchers shoes. What would they think of when they need your product or a service? Do they search in short phrases or long or do they search in questions?

This is not limited to just search, target content as well. Look at placement reports, find sites that are working for you and those that are not. Add negative sites. Select sites manually if that is what if required.

Be Relentless:

Conduct tests regularly in 2012 and learn from both success and failure. The flexibility to conduct tests frequently is the beauty of PPC. Testing is one sure way to improve your campaign performance. Start testing keyword positions, ads and landing pages. Test keywords in different match types.

Tests can be as simple as bumping your keywords to top positions for a day or longer and observing the impact or trying new ad messaging (text and images). Eventually you want to get to more detailed tests such as launching large MVTs or SEO VS. PPC testing for example.

Make Friends:

With SEO and Analytics that is. Do not forget, valuable learnings can be drawn from anywhere. So keep evaluating SEO and Analytics performance and reports regularly – at least once a month in our opinion.

You can get significant learnings from SEO and Analytics. For example organic headlines, title tags etc. can be tested in PPC. PPC’s quick customizability and turnaround time could benefit SEO, i.e. if you identify a winner from text ads testing, you could test that message on the site. You can also test landing pages with different designs, layout and content by drawing learnings from PPC and SEO.

It goes without saying that everything you do in digital should be measured and fed right into a robust analytics platform. Study the user behavior, do they stay on your pages once there, if so for how long, where do they go from landing pages, what is the bounce rate, time spent, depth etc.. All this information will help you optimize your PPC campaigns down to a keyword level. There are many benefits of capturing keyword level data within analytics tools, so go ahead and do that.

Improve Your Communication:

Marketing is all about communication. Paid search is no different. In PPC you have a governing principle of Quality Score (QS) that plays a major role in your visibility or lack thereof, therefore the overall performance.

Regularly monitor your QS this year. Analyze why the QS is low or high. Develop appropriate communication strategies to counter low QS. Always look for relevancy across your keywords, ads and landing pages. Modify messaging in your ads and the content on the destination pages to increase relevancy. The higher the relevancy, the higher the QS and better the performance- which means happy customers and a happy you in 2012!

Try Something New:

Go beyond regular Adowrds or MSN. Try Youtube, Linkedin, Facebook, and social and PPC integration with features like Google+ Project. Use Click-to-Call Extension, Communication Extensions and Social Extensions. All these could help you reach targeted audience and some of these, depending on your business, could be more useful than expected. Test these new features and always watch out for latest industry developments and case studies to learn what worked. Be sure to track and measure!

Train your Teams:

All of the above that you plan to accomplish this year is possible only if you have disciplined, subject matter expert, motivated and dedicated PPC professionals. So, make sure you train your employees and team members effectively. Take time out for formal education, set-up casual sessions and most importantly ensure they get enough practical exposure to PPC. If you are a single man/woman team, motivate yourself to learn. Teach yourself and learn from others.

In the spirit of learning and teaching, here are a few great sources to follow: ClickZ, SearchEngineLand, Adwords Blog, Hubspot and Sempo.

• Google Instant: Impact Assessment & Action Checklists (0)
• Automated Bid Management – Get More From Your #PPC Campaigns (0)
• Improving Performance of PPC Campaigns (0)

A Brief Recap: Previously in part one, we discussed two important consumer trends that marketers should focus on in 2012, i.e. the growing use of mobile devices and smartphones by the social consumer and the importance of user-generated content. Our research shows that there are two more key consumer trends that brands need to keep in mind while designing their social media marketing strategies for 2012; the social consumer’s quest for discounts and bargains and one demographic that is expected to drive the most e-commerce spending, women.

Women to Drive More E-Commerce Spending

While brands have always understood the importance of the female demographic (Read our previous blog on ‘The Importance of Marketing to Women Online‘ for more), recent studies indicate that women will soon overtake men as far as being social media-savvy, staying connected and shopping online are considered. According to recent research by Zmags, today’s new connected customer is a ‘40 something woman (mean age), with a mean household income of $63,000, is super-social, and carries multiple internet connected devices, besides owning a PC or laptop. This means, brands and online marketers can expect to see more of this demographic researching their products, exchanging reviews and clicking on the ‘buy now’ option on their websites and social media pages.

• ‘40 Something Female Shoppers? While the popular assumption is that the average connected customers are millennials, recent studies indicate otherwise. There are several factors that support ZMags’ study: a) women in this age bracket are better financially empowered than their younger counterparts, who have either just started their careers or have personal financial commitments b) less impulsive and more interested in comparing prices and exchanging opinions, the ‘40 something female customer is likely to invest more time in researching products before actually buying them online c) going by Microsoft Tag’s 2011 study, women in the 35-54 (approximate) age bracket are most active in group mobile socialization; which means, the likelihood of this demographic exchanging information, comparing prices or simply checking out a new product online is high.
• No More Gender Stereotypes: While apparel and cosmetics will continue to be the top category for female shoppers, the stereotypical divide that dictates what men are most likely to buy and what women will look for online has blurred over the last few years. Traditionally male-dominated categories such as cars and electronics have seen a rapid increase in female customers in recent times. With the ‘40 something woman changing her role from that of a homemaker to a buyer of luxury products and gadgets, going forward, brands will need to keep this affluent, social-savvy demographic in mind while designing their marketing messages.

Bargain Hunting Here to Stay

With daily-deal spending expected to reach 1.7 billion in 2012(U.S Gross revenues) and 3.9 billion in 2015, it is safe to assume that bargain hunting is here to stay. Considering the fact that deals and special offers are among the top reasons why consumers check out a retailer’s social media page or website, this is one crucial area where online retailers must continue to focus on. Let us examine some of the consumer key trends in this space:

• Daily Deal Sites: With daily deal sites like Groupon and LivingSocial gaining momentum last year, we expect to see more of the coupon collector crowd throng these sites in 2012 as well. For retailers and brands, this could be the best opportunity to market those slow-moving products and give their sales charts a shot-in-the-arm.
• The Motives of Coupons Collectors Will Change: Although shoppers will still seek out coupons to save money, coupon hunting, especially over the last few months, has become more of a sport. Trendwatching notes that the motives of coupon collectors are changing, with shoppers using deal aggregators like Groupon for “the thrill, the pursuit, the control, the perceived smartness, and thus a sense of status, too.” With bargain hunting set to be a status symbol, the pressure on retailers and brands to offer more discounts, deals and offers will increase.
• Facebook Coupons and Special Offers: With the bargain hunters looking for the best deals and offers on daily deal sites, it was not surprising to see Facebook entering this space as well. Facebook will soon approach the 1 billion milestone; and if the social networking giant’s decision to test out Coupon Posts and Ads on a select group of existing advertisers works, then we can expect to see a) increased engagement between brands and their consumers and b) a substantial rise in users who want to check out what brands have to offer on their Facebook pages. Several retailers are already ahead of the game and have welcomed the New Year by offering discounts and deals on various products on their Facebook pages.

Conclusion

If 2011 saw the strengthening of the brand-customer relationship, 2012 is expected to be the year when this relationship is taken to the next level. Our research highlights four key consumer trends that online marketers will need to focus on in 2012; one of these will be the increased use of mobile internet for everything from browsing social media sites to downloading coupons and shopping for products. With mobile internet usage expected to overtake PCs and laptops in the next few months, retailers and online marketers can expect to see an increase in ‘consumers-on-the-go’. Meanwhile, recent studies have established that the social consumer no longer wants to be at the receiving end of marketing messages. In 2011, we saw consumers interact and engage with brands for customer support, to post queries and make their opinions heard. In 2012, consumers will redefine this ‘engagement’ by significantly contributing to marketing content.

The e-commerce space, in 2012, is expected to have a large number of active female customers, specifically the ‘40 something age bracket. With women in this age group better economically empowered, less tied down by personal and financial constraints and more tech-savvy than before, brands need to design their marketing messages keeping this demographic in mind. One key consumer trend that has been consistent over the years is the bargain hunting phenomenon. While coupon collectors and bargain hunters show no signs of slowing down, the reasons why they throng daily deal sites are gradually changing. Unlike before, when the quest for coupons and discounts was motivated by the need to save money, today’s social consumers consider bargain hunting to be more of a status symbol.

The dynamism of the social media landscape and the constantly changing tastes of the social consumer indicate that brands have to be on their toes all the time. While marketers are unsure about what to expect from their consumers, the trends discussed above attempt to provide a glimpse into the mindset of the social consumer, helping brands better design campaigns and create marketing messages with more confidence than before.

• What To Expect From The Social Consumer In 2012: Part One (1)
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• CPG Brands on Social Media, Brand Monitor Free Edition and much more… | Best of the Week (0)

2012: The Year of the Social Consumer

From Papa Johns tweeting a formal apology to an annoyed customer, to Nike’s impressive user-generated campaign, ‘The Chosen‘, 2011 was a year when the social consumer made her presence felt. Rather than being mere recipients of marketing messages, today’s consumers are engaged with brands, contribute to campaigns and exchange product information; an indication that people’s buying behavior has evolved over the years. While the likes of Nike, Dell and Coca-Cola have worked towards strengthening the brand-customer relationship, there are a few others who are yet to understand who their customers are, what their needs are and how best these can be met. According to research conducted by the Pivot team, in partnership with the Hudson Group:

• 23% companies felt that they didn’t know their customers as well as they should.
• 76.8% were confident about their understanding of the social consumer.

Although the above research indicates that some brands need to work towards getting to know their customers better, the fact that a majority of companies actually invested time and resources for the betterment of their relationship with customers shows that 2011 was a year when a) social media advanced rapidly as a communication channel b) the brand-customer relationship was cemented further c) marketers made themselves available for customers via networking channels d) customers increasingly depended on social CRM for assistance.

As far as 2011 is concerned, we would say it was mixed bag with its fair share of success stories as well as instances where marketers could have better engaged with their customers. That was then; as far as predicting exactly how 2012 will span out, the major challenge for marketers is keeping up with ever-changing tastes of the social consumer and the dynamism of the digital space. Let us look at how online marketers are prepping up for, what we call, ‘the year of the social consumer‘:

• Retaining and engaging with customers continues to be one of the biggest challenges for marketers; which is why, in 2012 businesses will develop more effective customer loyalty strategies (Loyalty 360).
• Brands will focus more on customer loyalty and retention vs. acquiring more customers (Protiviti).
• Increased focus on daily-deals sites.
• Following the launch of Google+ Pages for Business, brands are expected to target the growing user base of this channel in 2012.

The relationship between brands and customers and the level of engagement is likely to affect how consumers shop online and their loyalty towards a brand. For online marketers, having a better understanding of consumer trends means better chances at success, improved returns and building up of a loyal customer base. In a two part series, the Brand Monitor Team has researched and unearthed some key consumer trends, which will give marketers an idea of what they can expect from the social consumer in 2012.

Social Consumers and their Relationship with Mobile Devices

In August 2011, eMarketer predicted that almost 100 million consumers in the U.S. will be on the mobile web by the end of the year, with this number expected to increase to nearly 113 million by 2012. The rapid expansion in the smartphone and mobile internet market is a testimony to the fact that the modern consumer is time-strapped, constantly on the move and expects instant access to information. This means online retailers and marketers can expect to see an exponential increase in mobile usage by their consumers in 2012. Let us look at what social consumers are likely to use their mobile devices and smartphones for:

• Mobile Coupons: The number of consumers redeeming mobile coupons will jump to 28.7 million, or 13.5%, in 2012, says a study by eMarketer. According to Noah Elkin, principal analyst at the research firm, the growth in use of mobile is being driven by a number of factors, including the fast-growing adoption of smartphones by consumers and subsequent increased use of the mobile web and mobile apps. This means, in 2012 and going forward, retailers will have to increase focus on making mobile coupons available to consumers via various apps and m-commerce sites.
• Change in Mode of Retail Payments: The launch of Google Wallet (in the USA) in the second half of 2011 signaled a shift in the method of retail payments. With Forrester predicting that by 2016 consumers may say goodbye to their traditional wallets and use their handsets for transactions, retailers need to keep in mind the impact of mobile wallets as they design their customer loyalty programs. Starbucks, for instance, allows consumers to make mobile payments through the use of a mobile app. The Starbucks mobile app is very popular on both Blackberry and iOS.
• M-Commerce & Networking Activities: In 2012, we expect to see significant growth in the m-commerce space as well as an increase in social networking via mobile and smartphones. From purchasing directly via Facebook, to posting product reviews on social networks and using location based services to find stores, today’s consumer prefers using mobile devices over PCs and laptops. With mobile internet usage expected to soon overtake desktop internet usage, the future of m-commerce sure looks optimistic.

User-Generated Content

Our research on what influences purchase decisions online showed that word-of-mouth and consumer reviews and recommendations have played a significant role in the e-commerce space in the last few years. User-generated content, which contributed to some winning social media campaigns in 2011, is expected to further gain momentum in 2012. Here’s why we think marketers and brands should focus on user-generated content going forward:

• Consumers Want to Contribute to Marketing Content: With the voice of the social consumer set to grow significantly in 2012, we won’t be surprised to see users increasingly contributing to marketing content over the next few months. This is an excellent opportunity for online marketers to convert these social-savvy consumers into ‘brand advocates’, allowing them to be a part of the brand’s promotional strategy. Coca-Cola, for instance, has been ranked number one in social media marketing thanks to user-generated content. The company’s “Happiness is…” campaign, launched just after Christmas, features plenty of user-generated content on Tumblr.
• Reviews & Recommendations Are Highly Valued: Consumers greatly value product recommendations and reviews posted by other shoppers and expect brands to feature these on their social media pages and websites. From YouTube videos demonstrating how to use a product, to consumers posting either positive or negative reviews, content that comes from other customers is much more valued than content that is posted by brands themselves. As the year progresses, we expect to see increased dependence on user-generated content in the form of reviews and recommendations. For marketers, the task ahead lies in harnessing the concept of ’social proof’ to influence prospective customers.

Wait…There’s More…

While user-generated content will be the next big thing in the online marketing space this year, another area that marketers need to focus on will be the growing use of mobile devices and smartphones by consumers. Our research on consumer trends in 2012 indicates that brands will also have to keep in mind an important, rapidly growing demographic while designing their online marketing strategies; i.e. women. In addition to this, part two of this series will also explore the bargain hunting trend, and will find out if this will continue to influence consumers’ purchasing behavior in 2012.

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This week’s hot news, events and videos from the online marketing and social media world.

From the Position² Blog This Week: E-Commerce and the Social Consumer – Making Online Shopping Hassle-Free Part One: Insufficient Information and Abandoned Shopping Carts. Part Two: Special Offers, After-Sales and Customer Support.

DLD 2012 – @Jack Dorsey: “Twitter Has A Business Model That Works”. “Don’t Be Evil” Tool – Backed By Facebook & Twitter – Shows Google’s “Search Plus Your World” Can Go Beyond Google+. Survey: Marketers Follow Users to More Social Sites. Social Monitoring: Listen To Social Media And Find Out What’s Trending. Infographic: How to Get More Clicks on Twitter. Paid Search: Seven Changes Search Plus Your World Brings To PPC. Data Consolidation: Google To Merge User Data Across Its Services. Enterprise SEM: What The Holidays Tell Search Marketers. Google Algorithm Update: Understanding Google’s New Page Layout Algorithm. Google Analytics Update: Update To Search Engine Optimization Reports.

Video of the Week Social Media Trends for Small Businesses. Anita Campbell, founder of Small Business Trends and BizSugar shares how social media impacts small businesses. You’ll discover which small businesses are slow to adopt social media and where social media brings the best results.

Position² Brand Monitor™ is Now Free to use! Social Media Monitoring Just Got a Whole Lot Easier With Brand Monitor™, you can: Monitor social media conversations in real-time Track brands across social media, blogs, news, discussion forums, video and photo sharing sites Get detailed analytics and in-depth reports on the entire process Sign Up for Position² Brand Monitor™!

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In part one of Brand Monitor’s ‘E-Commerce and the Social Consumer: Making Online Shopping Hassle-Free‘ series, we discussed two of the most common hurdles that online customers faced and what retailers can do to make online shopping an enjoyable and problem-free experience. While insufficient information on brands’ websites, high shipping costs, along with the worry of the product being damaged, are among the biggest reasons that discouraged people from selecting the ‘buy now’ option, our research highlights two other factors that can deter prospective shoppers from making a purchase via digital and social media channels. In part two, we will focus on how brands can provide better after-sales support and service to customers and the importance of offers and deals and how these can convert prospective customers to loyal shoppers.

Resolving Common Consumer Woes: Part Two

Poor After-Sales and Customer Support:

Approachability and the constant availability of sales persons and attendants give brick-and-mortar stores that enviable edge over e-stores. Although there has been significant progress as far as social customer support by brands is concerned, customers are still daunted by questions like ‘I have a problem, who do I contact?’ or ‘the product purchased online isn’t up to my expectations, what do I do now?’ According to a recent study (conducted by an Assistant Professor of Communications at New York University for Conversocial), 49% customers said that they would be far less likely to buy a product from a company if they went to their Facebook page and found a bunch of unanswered questions or unresolved complaints from customers. Statistics like these highlight the importance of offering timely and efficient online support and service to customers. Let us look at some ways how retailers can do this:

• Timely Response: Online customer support is not just about being there for the customer, it is more about responding to the customer on time or at the earliest. Here’s a hypothetical situation: i)Customer notifies brand about a problem ii) brand takes time to respond or does not inform the customer that they have taken note iii) confused and frustrated customer takes to social media channels to vent his ire iv) what could have been a small, easily-resolvable issue eventually snowballs. Going by the CMO Council study, customers expect response within 24 hours after they engage with a brand online for support issues. For brands that need more time find solutions, we think a simple ‘we understand your concern and are working on resolving it at the earliest’ response should do the trick.
• Identify Customers in Need of Support: Not all customers will immediately reach out to the brand when faced with a problem. It is not uncommon to see customers talking about issues or asking for assistance by posting an open question on the web. In such cases, it would be wise to identify these customers by using social media monitoring tools like Brand Monitor, listening to conversations concerning your brand and focusing on those which need to be acted upon. Good customer support is resolving issues when customers contact the brand; great customer support is addressing concerns even before asked.
• Twitter is a Great Customer Support Tool: Twitter can be an excellent customer service and support platform. Most customers like the idea of ‘tweeting’ their concerns in a crisp, to-the-point format, using a platform that is public. For dissatisfied customers, using this microblogging site is mainly about getting the brand’s attention and expecting a quick response. One company that offers unparalleled customer service via Twitter is Dell. Check out the @Dellcares handle to know how it’s done.

Where are the Special Offers and Deals?

According to a Nielsen survey, the main reason why people engage with or interact with brands and companies via social media is for special offers and discounts. North American consumers showed the strongest interest in using social media for deals (45%), followed by consumers in Asia-Pacific (34%) and Latin America (33%). Consumers getting onto social media sites with the anticipation of finding discounts and deals are often disappointed when they find none being offered and look for alternatives elsewhere. While offering discounts may translate into additional costs for marketers initially, there are long-term benefits to this. Deals and discounts mean more customers, more customers mean more sales and more sales mean healthy revenues and profits.

• Making Online Shopping a Fun Experience: Why do many people think of online shopping as a dull experience? For consumers used to browsing through traditional stores and checking out the latest sales, the idea of filling up virtual carts may not sound appealing. Offering discounts to customers who ‘like’ a page, or allowing them to download coupons is a great idea to add the fun factor to the online shopping experience and keep them from getting easily bored.
• Giving Consumers a Reason to Loosen Those Purse-Strings: It is a common sight to see consumers thronging traditional stores during those Independence Day or Black-Friday sales. What motivates these coupon-collectors and discount-seekers to brave those long queues is the prospect of saving money, while loading up their shopping carts. While traditional stores have been successful in luring shoppers with special offers and discounts, where e-commerce stores gain the edge is in the absence of billing queues. Yet, consumers who visit a brand’s ‘Shop Now’ section on Facebook sometimes don’t complete their purchase because of lack of discounts. Our suggestion? Featuring offers and discounts at regular intervals gives consumers a good reason to loosen their purse strings.

Conclusion

The inability to physically be able to handle the product and not finding sufficient information are some of the most common reasons that deter online consumers from selecting the ‘buy now’ option. Research shows that some of the more serious reasons included credit card security issues, high shipping costs and poor after sales and customer support. With ‘high shipping costs’ being the number one reason for customers to opt for traditional stores, we expect online retailers to work towards either reducing this or completely obliterating costs associated with the delivery process.

Another area where brick-and-mortar stores win over virtual shopping is the physical presence of sales personnel to answer queries and look into customer complaints. However, as seen in the case of Dell, online customer support has come a long way in terms of timely response, identification of customers in need of assistance and making optimum use of social media platforms as customer support tools. Twitter being the preferred customer support platform currently, both online retailers and customers are likely use this microblogging channel much more than before. From resolving issues, listening to complaints or simply interacting with customers, the next few years will see an increase in use of Twitter as a customer support channel. As for online deals and discounts, brands appear to be working on how they can make the virtual shopping experience more fun by increasing the number of special offers and allowing shoppers to download coupons. According to Jeffrey Grau, eMarketer principal analyst, daily deal sites like Groupon are expected to fuel substantial growth in the next five years.

The time-strapped modern consumer is social-savvy and willing to shop online. For brands, this means tremendous opportunity to up those revenues and send the sales charts soaring. The one thing that brands need to keep in mind before venturing into this space is that there’s more to online marketing than fancy promotions and sales talk; converting prospective customers into loyal shoppers greatly depends on how much effort marketers put in towards making online shopping a hassle-free process.

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Keeping up with the Social-Savvy Consumer

The ever-changing taste of the social consumer, along with the dynamism of the social media space, sometimes makes it difficult for online retailers to keep up. The online buying process has undergone some radical changes over the last few years. The modern shopper a) is greatly influenced by recommendations, reviews and price-comparisons posted on social media sites b) uses location-based services to find brick-and-mortar stores c) is short on time and prefers the convenience of shopping online instead of spending hours in billing queues and d) favors the choice online stores have to offer as opposed to the limited variety of products in traditional stores. Going by eMarketer’s 2011 study, by 2015, 170.3 million people, or 76.3% of the online population, will make a purchase on the web. While the figures sound optimistic, online shoppers presently face what is known as the ‘abandoned shopping cart’ syndrome. Research by the Brand Monitor team unveiled some of the typical reasons why people are hesitant to loosen their purse strings as far as purchasing online is concerned:

• Inability to browse through stores and physically try-on and purchase products. For many shoppers, the prospect of clicking on products and adding them to their carts is considered to be a dull experience.
• People are worried about sharing credit card information and personal details on social media channels and websites.
• Are not sure about the exchange and refund policies.
• Some shoppers are of the opinion that the shipping charges are too high and there are risks of the product being misplaced or damaged.

For online retailers, these may be minor hiccups that can be easily taken care of. However, for some consumers, especially those who are buying something online for the first time, these minor glitches, along with some major ones, are reasons enough to discourage them from filling up their e-shopping carts. In our two part series, we share some tips and suggestions on how brands can make online shopping an enjoyable and a hassle-free experience.

Resolving Common Consumer Woes: Part One

Insufficient Information:

Although the price is great, lack of information can be a major deterrent for prospective customers. According to a survey by Cone, in 2011, 69% shoppers looked for product/service information online before deciding if they should make the purchase. Websites and social media sites that go all out on advertising, without including the necessary information required to complete the purchase, often risk losing their customers mid-way. Here are some symptoms that indicate that your brand’s e-commerce site is in need for a revamp:

• Not Enough Customer Reviews: The fear of negative reviews could be a major reason why some brands are unsure about posting customer reviews on their websites or social media pages. Considering the fact that 90% of people said reviews have an impact on their decision and 60% say they’re the most important factor (PowerReviews and the e-tailing group), we say including customer reviews is a good idea. After all, it is true that people tend to trust the opinions of other shoppers or their friends more than they would trust brands’ opinions and recommendations. What about negative reviews? Simple… let your social customer service team a) engage with the unhappy customer b) try and resolve the issue c) post the responses online and d) make them feel you care.
• What are the Payment Options? It’s not uncommon to see a brands Facebook page or website that is rich in most of the information, yet, does not see the sales charts moving in the expected direction. Although the pricing information and special offers are featured, there are instances where the payment options are relegated to an obscure corner of the website. For time-strapped customers, who have little patience to actually browse through and locate this information, the simpler option would be to move on to your competitor’s website. Does your brand’s ‘Shop Now’ section fall under this category? Perhaps it’s time for a revamp.
• Where are the Product/Service Details? The advantages that brick-and-mortar stores have over online channels are a) the presence of sales personnel to describe the product in detail and b) the convenience of reading the details on the package or manual provided. For online retailers, overcoming this challenge lies in providing extensive details concerning the merchandise, including instructions on how a product may be used. Looking for examples and ideas on how to design that perfect webpage? Check out the ASOS Facebook page, which is complete with all the required information in an easy-to-assimilate and creative format.

The Abandoned Shopping Cart Phenomenon:

Convenience being one of the biggest reasons to shop online, it is important that retailers make the delivery process hassle-free. Shoppers, who have no problem with the prices, fill up their e-carts, only to decide on the last minute to abandon their shopping efforts. Research indicates ‘high shipping costs’ to be the biggest cause of the ‘abandoned shopping cart’ phenomenon:

• High Shipping Costs: A study conducted on Shopping Cart Abandonment by Forrester Research shows that ‘high shipping and handling charges’ was the #1 reason why customers abandoned their shopping carts at the check-out step. While it is not always feasible for brands to lure shoppers with the promise of ‘free-shipping’, there couldn’t be a better way of increasing shoppers’ likelihood of purchasing products online. With e-commerce being all about price and convenience, trimming down shipping costs, or even better, removing them entirely could result in massive increase in sales for retailers. The additional orders gained by brands that offer free-shipping can offset the burden of shouldering the initial costs.
• Damage During the Delivery Process: Remember the recent FedEx video of the delivery man tossing a fragile package over the gate and walking off? The company’s senior vice president of U.S. operations, Matthew Thornton, apologized with a video of his own, preventing the incident from snowballing further. This incident highlights one of the biggest reasons why shoppers would rather go to traditional stores and buy the items themselves, than entrust the responsibility of delivering the goods, ordered online, to someone else. The key to persuading people not to abandon their shopping carts lies in the marketer’s ability to convince buyers that they are capable of delivering the products to the expected standards. We suggest a) engaging with prospective customers during the initial stages of purchase and assuring them of safe delivery and b) highlighting the return policy and/or money-back guarantee (in case of damaged goods) on the website or the brand’s social media page. This feeling of reassurance can go a long way in converting those hesitant prospective customers to loyal shoppers.

Where are the Special Offers? What about After-Sales Support?

The brand’s social media site/webpage includes all the required information and consumers are no longer burdened with high shipping costs; is there more to a comfortable online shopping experience? We say yes. While insufficient information and high shipping costs can be major deterrents, there are other challenges that consumers face while buying online. In the second part of the series, the Brand Monitor research team will discuss how marketers can improve the online shopping experience by providing after-sales support and entice them to buy more by offering discounts and deals on their websites and social media pages.

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This week’s hot news, events and videos from the online marketing and social media world.

From the Position² Blog This Week: Online Marketing for Luxury Brands – Simplifying a Complicated Relationship Part One: Information Mining, Online Engagement. Part Two: Social Media Content Creation, Contests, Discounts and Exclusivity.

Social Networks Show Deeper Penetration, More Trust in Emerging Markets. Advertising Report: Facebook Now Earns 23% More Per Impression Than In Q1 2011. Bookmark: 11 Useful Tips for Marketing Your Brand on LinkedIn. Social Media in Asia: Understanding the Numbers. Marketing Strategy: Integrating Social Media Still Challenges Marketers. Social SEO: How Google’s Search Plus Will Impact SEO And Why It Matters. Web Analytics Tools: 7 Alternatives to Google Analytics. Search+: Why Every Marketer Now Needs a Google+ Strategy. Google+ Update: Google Says Social Network Has 90M Users. According to Google: SOPA Bill Petition Collects 7 Million Signatures.

Video of the Week Digital and Mobile are Underspent Says Sir Martin Sorrell at CES 2012. WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell talks to Mel Carson from Microsoft Advertising about where advertisers should be spending their money online and says his agencies will be concentrating on mobile devices as one of the growing contexts marketers should be looking to target consumers.

Position² Brand Monitor™ is Now Free to use! Social Media Monitoring Just Got a Whole Lot Easier With Brand Monitor™, you can: Monitor social media conversations in real-time Track brands across social media, blogs, news, discussion forums, video and photo sharing sites Get detailed analytics and in-depth reports on the entire process Sign Up for Position² Brand Monitor™!

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A Brief Recap: In the first part of Position²’s ‘Online Marketing for Luxury Brands’ series, we discussed two important aspects of online marketing that prestige brands should focus on; a) social media as a crucial source of information for affluent customers looking for product reviews and information and b) the need to better engage with customers online and what the owners of high-end brands can do to make this possible. Considering how much difference content can make to luxury brands’ sales charts and revenues, we decided to focus on the content aspect in part two. Also featured is a section on contests, deals and offers, where we explore the idea of luxury brands marketing products in the form of special offers via social media sites.

Approaching Social Media Content

While marketers of luxury brands religiously follow the four Ps of marketing (Product, Place, Price and Promotion), there is one crucial C that is sometimes relegated to the background; content. One of the first rules of approaching content that luxury brands need to keep in mind is that they cannot follow the one-size-fits-all approach. The content type for a brand, aimed at the general population, for instance, will be completely different from that for a prestige brand’s social media site or webpage.

• Retaining the ‘Exclusivity’: Contrary to the myth that digital marketing risks luxury brands’ ‘exclusive’ status, online marketing can be an opportunity to actually enhance a brand’s ‘exclusivity’. Prestige brands can make the affluent customer feel ’special’ by smartly tweaking their webpage content. Take a look at the Lexus Drivers exclusive online community webpage. The site allows owners to manage information about their car and provides lifestyle content on their Lexus Magazine, which is available only to Lexus owners. While catering to the needs of their ‘niche’ audience, Lexus simultaneously provides information about the company and its products on their Facebook page; which means the affluent customer is happy, while the general population has nothing to complain about.
• The Power of Storytelling: Although social media pages and websites can be rich sources of information, nothing draws as much traffic to a brand’s site as stories do. Camouflaging unique lifestyle content in the guise of a story not only makes it an interesting read, but also encourages readers to share this content with others, thereby increasing traffic and visibility. The Chanel No.5 ‘Night Train’ video was a huge hit and generated considerable buzz online because of its impressive storytelling.

• Sharing Your Brand’s History: When it comes to prestige brands, the legacy and history associated with the brand increases the sense of being ’special’ among customers of luxury products. In addition to featuring content that includes the necessary details like product information, services provided etc, the affluent audience expects to know more about the company’s rich history. This type of information is not only educational in nature, but also provides audiences with a story about what makes a brand special, which in turn, influences their purchasing decisions.

The Impact of Contests, Discounts and Deals on Exclusivity

Where some luxury brands preferred keeping engagement to a minimum, there were others who felt that deals and offers would affect the brand’s ‘exclusive’ status. What also tilted the argument in their favor was the fact that the affluent crowd did not mind spending those extra dollars for high-end products they desired; which meant, the prospect of winning contests and discounts did not entice them as much as it attracted the general population. This, however, is gradually changing, with makers of luxury products starting to understand that today’s consumer actually looks forward to contests and deals as an exciting way to shop online. According to a November 2010 L2 Think Tank survey, affluent members of Gen Y (ages 19 to 33) cited promotions and offers as the main reason for engaging with brands via social media. The study also showed that women were more likely than men to engage with brands in general and to want to receive offers.

• Creating Buzz and Increasingly Visibility: Contests are a great way to promote new products and no one knows this better than Lexus. The company’s strategy to create online buzz and increase visibility during the launch of their latest hybrid model in 2010 saw Lexus allow their Facebook fans to post a statement about why they should win the one-year lease that was being offered for the model. Not only did this initiative positively impact the Lexus brand name, but also generated exponential online buzz.
• Building Followers: Gucci currently boasts +5,794,000 ‘likes’ on their Facebook page and has +224,000 Twitter followers. For a luxury brand, the numbers are rather good. While not going overboard with deals and contests, the luxury brand’s strategy to build followers and fans was subtle, but impressive. Gucci’s 12 days of Christmas promotion suggested 12 products that consumers could add to their shopping carts over the holiday season. On Facebook, the prestige brand allows fans access to complimentary iTunes downloads of the latest Gucci magazines.
• Members Only: ‘Members only’ sites like Gilt.com and RueLala.com have increased in popularity in the US over the last few years. The biggest USP of these sites is that they allow brands to retain their sense of exclusivity by limiting their sales notifications to members only. For brands looking to keep up with the competition, while protecting their ‘niche’ status, these sites are a definite ‘yes’.

Conclusion

When it comes to online marketing, especially social media, it would be safe to assume that luxury brands are no longer green-behind-the-ears. Although some brands are still worried about losing their ‘exclusive’ tag, the likes of Gucci and Bare Escentuals are proof enough that a smart social media marketing strategy will not only elevate their luxury statuses, but is also a great way of increasing visibility in the online space. As discussed in part one, today’s prestige brands are well aware of the fact that the affluent customer is no longer restricted to the well-off, 40-something. With increased spending power and willingness to shop online, the younger demographic demands attention as the next generation consumer of luxury products. That said, for luxury brands, one of the biggest challenges is standing out in a crowded online marketing space by sporting certain distinguishing qualities that separate them from the non-luxury labels. This is something many brands have successfully overcome by creating lifestyle content and featuring information that keeps the exclusivity intact, at the same time qualifies as compelling and creative. While these signs are encouraging and lay the foundation for luxury brands to explore social media marketing with fewer inhibitions than before, there are instances where brands are still unsure about the uncontrolled nature of social media. We expect this to change over the next few years, with marketers of prestige labels drawing inspiration from the likes of Lexus and Chanel who are now mavens in the online marketing space. Meanwhile, as far as the question of deals and discounts is concerned, luxury brands are wary of going overboard. While the older demographic does not consider deals as one of the reasons to shop via social media sites, this is changing with younger, affluent shoppers entering the e-commerce space.

Despite boarding the online marketing bandwagon a little later than they should have, luxury brands are rapidly integrating social media marketing with their traditional marketing strategies. Going by the success stories and the openness with which some brands are embracing social media, we expect the love-hate relationship between online marketing and high-end brands to change into a strong, inseparable bond.

• Online Marketing for Luxury Brands – Simplifying a Complicated Relationship: Part One (1)
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Luxury brands, until recently, were hesitant to explore the online marketing space. One of the main reasons for shying away from online, especially social media advertising was the prospect of losing the ‘exclusive’ tag. However, despite arriving a little late to the social media party, prestige brands have more than made-up for the lost time. What gives these ’select few’ the edge over other brands is the one-on-one relationship they share with their consumers. According to a recent study by ThreatMetrix in partnership with the Ponemon Institute, it is this close relationship that establishes the trust between luxury brands and their customers and allows them to succeed in areas where other brands have failed. Further supporting these findings are some interesting examples of prestige brands that have aced online marketing:

• The first luxury brand to launch an F-commerce initiative entirely on the social medium was Oscar de la Renta.
• Bulgari, which thrives on its ‘niche’ status, recently launched a Facebook storefront with jewelry retailing for $12,000 and up.
• The greater part of Burberry’s traffic comes from Facebook, when compared to Google.
• Footwear and handbag brand Jimmy Choo’s creative director and founder Tamara Mellon, decided to draw attention to the label’s first fragrance by launching a new blog, A Day, A Thrill.

PM Digital Research’s analysis on the luxury retail market shows that social media accounts for nearly 10% of traffic to the luxury category, Facebook being the most significant player, with its share ranging from 4% to 10%. Although this may not be much when compared to other channels like ‘Search’ and ‘Shopping’ sites, this figure is nevertheless on its way up.

With a large percentage of high-income shoppers using online media to purchase products currently, it has become a norm for most luxury brands to have a Facebook or Twitter presence. However, simply being present on a horde of networking sites does little to increase traffic or sales. In the first of a two part series, team Position² looks at how engaged these brands really are what influences the affluent customer to buy that expensive something via social media.

What Makes Social Media the Information Goldmine?

For 90% of affluent internet users who regularly shop online, digital media is their number one source of information (Digital Strategies for Luxury Brands for Publicis NY). With most of their prospective customers thronging social media sites for everything from product recommendations to posting reviews, it is not surprising to see previously social media-shy brands making the transition to e-commerce.

• The Impact of Third Party Information Sources: Converting prospective customers to regular shoppers and influencing their online purchasing behavior is largely dictated by third party information sources like customer reviews, discussions and price comparisons. Despite brands’ websites and social media pages featuring all the necessary information, nothing works as well as word-of-mouth recommendations. For luxury brands looking to increase their customer base, it is important to allow customers and visitors to have access to this information.
• How Bare Escentuals Nailed It: Previously, prestige brands were not comfortable about posting user reviews and allowing the general population to view and share this information via social media. However, one company that can serve as an example of how user reviews and information exchange can positively impact their brand’s image online and send the sales charts soaring is Bare Escentuals. The luxury brand invites users to review their products and post their thoughts on their Facebook page. By creating a feeling of being a ‘close-knit family’, Bare Escentuals encouraged users to share photos, stories, even going as far as allowing them to comment on sales via the “Global Family” Facebook tab. Still wondering about letting people in and losing the ‘exclusive tag? Bare Escentuals, boasting+484,000 ‘likes’, should be inspiration enough.

Engaging with the Niche Customer Online

Despite having a social media presence, many brands, until recently, did not allow fans to post on their page(s), restricting communication and leaving no room for engagement. According to L2 Prestige 100 study, 20% of prestige Facebook pages did not allow fans to post on the brand wall. This, however, changed after 15th August 2011 when Facebook made two-way interaction mandatory. In what we can call ‘a leap of faith’, luxury brands today are not only encouraging interaction in the form of user reviews, but are also going that extra mile to strengthen engagement with customers.

• Why Are Luxury Brands Hesitant to Engage Online? The L2 Prestige 100 study ranked L’Occitane #1, followed by Kiehl’s and Korbel in its list of most responsive Facebook brands. While the study certainly shows that prestige brands are better engaged than before, there are some other brands such as Prada, Marc Jacobs and Hugo Boss that have only recently opened up and, in some cases, are still only selling limited items such as accessories. Keeping up with the competition is one of the main reasons why these brands have joined social media sites. Studies show that this hesitancy stems from their worry of losing the coveted ‘exclusive’ statuses, considering the uncontrolled environment of social media.
• Engaging with the Younger Luxury Demographic: Where some brands are testing the waters when it comes to online engagement, there are others who have done their homework and know where their most important customers are. Although fairly new to the social media marketing space, today’s luxury brands understand the importance of reaching out to and engaging with the next generation of luxury customers i.e. the younger demographic. Financially empowered, more open to the idea of online shopping, and willing to connect with brands via social media, it would be unwise to ignore their potential as luxury customers. What we suggest? Listen to what they have to say and understand their needs before attempting to engage with them online.
• Beyond Geographical Boundaries: One of the great things about social media marketing is the power to reach across geographical boundaries and connect with customers from any part of the world. When French skincare line L’Occitane en Provence decided to take brand engagement to the next level by talking to potential customers from different parts of the world, the company decided to launch a social media-driven photo project in July 2011. By asking customers to snap photos of the brand’s Shea Butter Hand Cream against the backdrop of a landmark specific to their town or country, L’Occitane saw social media interaction from consumers in New Jersey, China and Amsterdam, to name a few. Allowing users to upload these photos on L’Occitane regional social media sites such as the U.S. Facebook and Twitter, the Korea Twitter and the Israel Facebook, the skin care company successfully engaged with global consumers and increased the brand’s visibility in the process.

How can luxury brands approach social media content? Will offering discounts and deals tarnish the ‘exclusive’ tag?

Having to choose between holding on to their ‘exclusive status’ and venturing into the unfettered world of social media marketing, luxury brands today are trying to find the middle ground; this they are doing by having a social media presence, but not completely letting go. Our first part of the series covered why prestige brands are hesitant to engage with customers online and how they can make their social media page a rich source of information. In the second and final installment, we will feature tips on how luxury brands can improve their online content and if offering deals and featuring contests is a wise move.

• Online Marketing for Luxury Brands – Simplifying a Complicated Relationship: Part Two (1)
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