SOCIAL MEDIA

The SOCIAL CLUB

Are you maximizing—and monetizing—your social media initiatives?

BY ERINN MORGAN

ARE YOU SOCIAL? With 1.4 billion Facebook users (that’s 11 percent of Earth’s population) and 190 million Tweets twittering across the ’Net daily, chances are you and your business are engaged with social media.

Businesses both large and small have found that social media channels—from Twitter and Facebook to Instagram and Pinterest—offer a perfect, and mostly free, platform to interact with existing and prospective customers and build brand awareness.

In fact, according to Gartner Research, 79 percent of a business’ Facebook fans are more likely to make a purchase from that brand.

“Social media is a critical part of an overall marketing and engagement strategy for retailers of all sizes,” says Artemis Berry, vice president of digital retail for Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation.

The same holds true for optical retailers and offices. “I’ve seen many great social media campaigns beginning to come from optical stores,” says Louis J L Fullagar, founder of the Luxury Eyewear Forum, the East Coast representative for Bevel Eyewear, and a former optical store owner. “From promoting store events such as trunk shows to community involvement with well-known local charities, people are now looking outside the box for marketing ideas. This medium offers unique ways to recruit ambassadors for your business’ brand.”

But posting, tweeting, pinning, and loading photos onto sharing sites is a time-intensive endeavor, especially for smaller optical retailers with limited staff resources. This reality may have you wondering just how much effort makes sense to put into social media—and how you can measure the return on your investment.

“It’s a balance for retailers that may be more strapped for resources and may only have a few employees,” says Berry. “But there is a payoff. You can think of social media as a sales channel, but it really is primarily an engagement tool and a way to tell your brand story.”

MARKETERS WHO FOUND A CUSTOMER VIA SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS

Source: Hubspot 2013 State of Inbound Marketing

WHY GET SOCIAL?

Today, more and more eyecare professionals are putting a focus on building a social media presence. Why? Many say the main reason they do it is to communicate more directly—and regularly—with their current and potential customers. The payoff is realized in increased sales and referrals.

“We do print media advertising, but for the last year and a half a big marketing focus for us has been engaging more directly with our clientele through social media—Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter,” says Pierce Voorthuis, general manager of the three-location Georgetown Opticians in the Washington, DC, area. “Our goal with all our social media outreach is to be top of mind with existing clients while also introducing ourselves to new clients.”

Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter make it easy for users to communicate regularly with their followers—and generate strong brand awareness for their business. “For a store to establish itself as its own brand you need to have constant communication of your message and engagement with your customer on a daily basis, and sometimes even more often,” says Julia Gogosha, owner of the two-location, Los Angeles-based Gogosha Optique.

Though most ECPs may have a website dedicated to their business, Gogosha says that, today, this is not enough. “Static websites are just placeholders in this day and age,” she says. “It’s all about engaging. Figure out who you are and who you want your customer to be, and be consistent and always evolve.”

Adds Fullagar, “I think it’s vitally important—social media has given every store owner an extra opportunity to engage their existing and potential customers. Previously, the most common forms of reaching people were all very static—newspaper ads, Yellow Pages listings, magazines, etcetera. Social media provides this opportunity to engage people like never before, so that there is a conversation rather than a one-dimensional communication of an idea.”

{BY THE NUMBERS}
MONETIZING SOCIAL MEDIA

79% of a business’ Facebook fans are more likely to make a purchase from that brand, while 41% of non-fans are more likely to make a purchase from a brand

74% of Facebook fans are more likely to recommend a product or brand, but only 38% of non-fans are more likely to recommend a product or brand

Social commerce sales will reach $30 billion a year by 2015 with 50% of web sales occurring through social media

Source: Gartner Research

CALCULATING THE RETURN

Can businesses really calculate ROI on their social media efforts? “This is the multi-billion dollar question right now,” says Berry. And, though big brands and chains have done a lot of testing to determine the answer to this question, the answer remains unclear.

Still, there are ways to view the actions of your “followers” and methods to track return more directly. “Some of the social platforms have awesome measurement records,” says Berry, who notes that Facebook page managers can target specific groups with ads and post promotions.

In addition, some retailers run sales and promos on Facebook or Twitter featuring a specific promotion code that’s exclusive to that social media channel so they can specifically track the usage of that code—and the return on their social investment.

“We have also seen that exclusive deals are a huge hit,” says Berry, who notes that the deal could be a first-right access to something, such as a free exclusive eyeglass case with purchase. “A lot of luxury brands have done this and previewed deals with their Facebook followers, which makes it easier to track the ROI.”

Businesses that link their social channels back to their own website can also track traffic analytics to see where the traffic is coming from—and determine which social platform sends the most visitors your way.

“A lot of brands are trying to get a stronger pulse on what the ROI is,” says Berry. “That’s just the sales pulse; what’s even harder to measure is the effect social media has on the brand pulse and customer engagement.”

{CASE STUDY}
A TWITTER PARTY

A relatively new trend on the social media front, Twitter parties create a buzz for something new that brands and businesses are launching, including new products and new campaigns. In February, ClearVision Optical held its first Twitter party to promote the new PuriTi collection of titanium eyewear.

All in 140-character tweets, attendees learned about the features and benefits of the collection, received tips on how to maximize this brand’s experience, and saw the debut of in-store merchandising items. They were also entered to win prizes every five minutes.

Linked to the event by placing the #PuriTi hashtag into their tweet, virtual partygoers also discussed design details and brand positioning directly with ClearVision’s senior product brand manager and PuriTi designer Cathy Kaye (@K97Cathy). In addition, they were able to connect directly with ClearVision’s special guest and social media guru, Alan Glazier, O.D. (@Eyeinfo), and they even chatted live with ClearVision’s president David Friedfeld (@OpticalBuddy).

The event’s results reveal just how effective Twitter parties can be for the optical market. ClearVision’s Twitter party resulted in nearly 430 tweets from ECPs, buying groups, and consumers—reaching nearly 19,000 Twitter followers.

“We use social media to engage with our customers on a daily basis, posting short snippets of information on everything from new releases and brand information to optical news and fashion—you name it,” says Alida Almonte, ClearVision’s public relations and social media specialist. “We often correlate our content with monthly/bimonthly sales programs to enhance the visibility of those brands/styles. A great example is the PuriTi Twitter party we held this past February in conjunction with the PuriTi brand launch.”

BUILDING YOUR OWN BRAND

Though social media is an integral part of a business’ marketing mix today, experts suggest that it is also important to maintain an investment in your own proprietary branding mediums such as your website, e-newsletter, and blog. “I don’t think enough time is being spent by retailers on their own brand as a platform,” says Berry. “But these things will remain your own properties and no one can change them. Balance is the winning formula—social infused with your own branding efforts.”

l.a.Eyeworks, which has two retail store locations in Los Angeles and a wholesale frame business, also promotes its own blog posts from its website through Facebook, says Brent Zerger, the company’s director of communications & retail operations.

Don’t have a blog or unsure if you can muster the time commitment? You still have options. “For a lot of retailers that don’t know what they would blog about, a platform like tumblr might work very well for them,” says Berry.

Source: Shop.org

4 WAYS TO MAXIMIZE SOCIAL EFFORTS

1. GET STARTED. New to the social media landscape? This tangled web can feel daunting, but there are simple ways to get started. “Get out there and see what other similar retailers and offices are doing,” says Berry. “Look at what your competition and other local companies are doing [online] to get a baseline of what businesses are doing that have a similar [customer] demographic.”

This research will help narrow down social platforms. At l.a.Eyeworks, the platforms used most actively are Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. “Instagram is our fastest-growing audience, especially with the younger opticians coming in. But Facebook is our longest-held medium, and it has more international reach,” says Zerger.

Taking the first step is the most important part of the process. “I speak to a lot of people who simply don’t understand social media and are reluctant to start,” says Fullagar. “The easiest way is to use the young people around you who do get it. It could be family or people who already work in the stores that are social-media savvy. Get them to help you begin and get some kind of presence happening for the business.”

2. POST REGULARLY. ECPs will benefit from posting photos or content several times a week. “We post almost every day or at least every other day,” says Georgetown Opticals’ Voorthuis. Posts can be as simple as a photo of the day, but consistency is key.

To simplify efforts, ECPs can reuse content across platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, making minor tweaks to make it suitable for the chosen medium. “We do a mirror cut of photos and content between Facebook and Instagram, but we try to change the content across platforms for events,” says Voorthuis.

3. HAVE FOCUS. Black Optical in Tulsa, OK, has been successful on the social media front by trying to tell a story visually using a mix of product-, studio-, and lifestyle-driven images. Says owner Gary Black: “The main advice I can offer is to create your own point of view on social media, develop a style, stay true to your brand, be consistent, don’t chase trends, and engage, engage, engage.”

Georgetown Opticians gives its social media posts a pure and consistent focus by featuring a Face of the Day once a week and Product of the Day four to five days a week, notes Voorthuis.

4. BOOST YOUR FOLLOWERS. How many “followers” do you have? Growing the number of people who “follow” or “like” your pages, tweets, and boards will increase your reach—and your business.

But how can you grow your numbers?

“Our technique for increasing that is to use hashtags and connect on social media with local tastemakers and local businesses,” says Voorthuis. “We then pick up on some of their followers.” Though organic growth is always preferable, most social media platforms offer effective paid promotions models to help boost follower numbers.

“A lot of retailers that see huge numbers are doing a good mix of organic and paid models,” says Berry. “But if you stay true to what your brand is about, it will happen organically. Encourage a conversation with your followers—not just one-way communication—and give them reasons to share your content with their friends.”

Source: Shop.org

The Next BIG Thing:
Retail gurus share the hot retailing trend you need to know about—right now

Ask a large retailer what it’s investing in and it will likely tell you its main focus is on mobile marketing. According to Artemis Berry, vice president of digital retail for Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation, this is a wise move. “Mobile in general was one of largest investment areas that retailers of different sizes and offerings cited for their 2014 priorities,” she says.

In fact, according to Shop.org, 53 percent of retailers listed mobile among their leading “key initiatives” this year and 46 percent had website overhaul as their second most-important initiative in 2014.

Why? Because retailers recognize the growth opportunity in this arena. Goldman Sachs projects U.S. retail sales made directly on smartphones will more than double from $70 billion this year to a whopping $173 billion by 2018. At the same time, tablet sales will more than triple from $130 billion this year to $453 billion in 2018.

“The mobile user experience is a huge initiative for retail as a whole,” says Berry. “It’s been a focus for several years, but it continues to be a game-changer for retail.”

DOES MOBILE MATTER?

Is mobile marketing really key for optical retailers as well? Research shows that the growth of online sales in the optical market—including sales done via smartphones and tablets—is definitely something to reckon with. According to The Vision Council’s Vision Watch, the share of eyeglass unit purchases made online (as a part of all unit purchases) increased from 1.9 percent in 2009 to 3.2 percent in 2013.

The growth is even more impressive when looking at the overall retail arena. According to Shop.org, in 2014, store-based retailers experienced an average of 135 percent year-over-year growth in sales from smartphones, and 86 percent via tablets. Store-based retailers also reported that an average 9 percent of online revenue in 2013 came via smartphones, 14 percent from tablets, and the remaining 77 percent from desktop computers.

“Our market is certainly ripe for disruption, and my guess is that the sale of products via the Internet will continue to grow at large rates,” says Ed Greene, CEO, The Vision Council. “There are obvious limitations with this channel, but many will be worked out in the future. The optical retail market as we know it will have to evolve to a less costly model, probably a combination of different things with less brick and mortar.”

YOUR MOBILE STRATEGY

How can mobile work for your business? According to the NRF’s Berry, retailers of all shapes and sizes will benefit from a focus on mobile marketing. “A mobile strategy is a must for most retailers, but that will mean different things to different stores—it might just mean that you should be optimizing certain things for your customers’ mobile experience.”

One of the key things to consider is if your store’s website is easily viewable on mobile devices. For instance, are customers able to easily find and view your location’s contact information, including store hours, address, and phone number?

“A mobile-friendly website is really important,” says Berry. “You also want to consider optimizing your website’s social media channels for mobile devices. You just have to decide how far you want to go into mobile depending on the type of retail brand you have and the products you sell.”

BRANDING ACROSS DEVICES

Though it’s important to optimize your website for mobile viewing, today that fact means that it needs to be optimized for viewing across a variety of platforms, from smartphone models to tablets.

“You have to ask yourself how your content looks across six devices,” says Bob Phibbs, a speaker and retail consultant known as The Retail Doctor. “You didn’t used to think about that, but you’re doing yourself a disservice if your website or even emails look bad when they come across on a mobile device.”

YOUR FOUR WALLS

Though retail experts espouse the value of a mobile strategy for your business, they also say that, in the end, there is no better focus than on the service and experience provided within your own brick-and-mortar walls.

“Retailers are returning to a greater focus on customer service, and it’s crucial to look at how you can positively impact the customer experience,” says Daniel Butler, vice president of retail operations at the National Retail Federation.

So, though a mobile strategy is a wise thing to implement for your business, it shouldn’t detract from your main focus on customer service.

“You may hear a lot of chatter about needing to be on Twitter or needing to focus on mobile, but the reality is that you need to be doing an exceptional job within your own four walls,” says Phibbs. “You must pick your battles wisely—but the one many retailers continue to avoid (or to not focus on) is the customer experience and getting your customer out the door with eyeglasses.”