The Social Network: Monetizing New Media
One of the main topics at the recent 2011 Tech Conference West was how retailers can make money or at least build awareness of their product through social-media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Dave Bruno, director of marketing for San Diego–based RedPrairie Inc., led a seminar on capitalizing on social media. Bruno said social-media users are more-avid consumers, so it is crucial to at least have a page on Facebook and offer coupons and special online deals on those pages.
He said that retailers should make social-media sites destinations. To drive online traffic on the Nine West site, the footwear brand made onlinethe only place where pre-orders were permitted for its Joss Stone brand. He also encouraged companies to build presences on mobile-phone sites visited by consumers and even gaming sites such as Pop Sugar’s Retail Therapy, where participants build virtual boutiques. The shops might be fake, but they stock products with physical-world counterparts. —Andrew Asch
