Retailers have an extra reason to raise their glasses in celebration this New Years. According to the stats, 2011 brought you a pretty juicy holiday season. How good was it? Try a 15% jump over last year’s seasonal take. Congratulations! You responded to the tough economic times with all the right moves — special promotions, longer store hours, free shipping, and heightened social media support. And you were amply rewarded.
But don’t expect the momentum to continue on its own. Things just don’t work that way in the real world. You’ve got to keep stroking the fires. And in the contemporary marketplace, that includes packing your social media efforts with plenty of muscle. Here are five ways to keep it vigorous and strong. Build Your Community – Seek out new customers, bring strays back into the fold, show plenty of gratitude to existing customers, and encourage everyone to join your social community. There’s no better way to get to know the likes and dislikes of the people interested in your products and services.Boost the Buzz – Conduct surveys to inspire buyers to shower your products with praise and spread the word across the social media landscape.Measure the Results – Analyze the numbers to determine the effectiveness of your social media efforts. Equally important, study the impact of your competitors’ social media efforts – and hopefully learn something. Innovate – Earmark a chunk of funds for the testing of new ideas, technologies, and programs that will take your social media to a whole new level. You could be the one who strikes gold. Others certainly have. Develop New Metrics – Things are expected to heat up in the social media sphere in 2012. Companies hoping to reap the rewards will need to create solid measurement tools to analyze and track the impact of their social media strategies. Do you have any comments or questions about social media, or about any other marketing topics? Feel free to send them our way. You can connect with the Young Company team at 949-376-8404 #205 or byoung@youngcompany.com. And be sure to follow us for the latest industry news and tips.From all of us at Young Company – Happy New Year! Let’s make 2012 a fantastic one!