Social Climbing: Niche Marketers are Finding New Customers Thanks to Social Media

Previous Page: Great expectations

The power of YouTube

Carolina Rustica has made some attempts on Facebook and MySpace, says Richard Sexton, president/CEO of the furniture and home decor merchant. “But we really need to improve these and make the content more relevant and valuable to visitors.”

The fact is, Sexton says, “it is really time consuming keeping those pages current when we also devote time to our more visible blog.” But some social media networks “have really blossomed as a viable driver of traffic, both paid and nonpaid,” he notes.

For example, Sexton says Carolina Rustica gets solid Web traffic — about 500 visits alone for a showcase of fine art lamps — from its YouTube posts that tell the story of its product line.

Customers often comment that they like dealing with a small, family-owned company that has a real face behind it, he says. “YouTube allows us to take a more personal approach, and I think has a broader demographic.”

Blogging provides a serious opportunity to highlight products, trends, customer feedback and occasional promotions, Sexton says. Carolina Rustica's blog, The Daily Designer, is about 80% informational and 20% promotional. Sexton says with the blog, as with Twitter or any other social medium, the approach has to be soft-sell.

The blog has not proven to be a big driver of traffic: Sexton says right now it accounts for only 2% to 3% of traffic. “But as we add content and build up our followers, I think it will become more significant,” he says.

Don't be a gate crasher

But merchants need to understand one thing about social media, says Chris Baggott, CEO/founder of software provider Compendium Blogware. Just because your customers are on a social network does not mean that your brand is valued or even welcome there.

“The social phenomenon is all about people,” Baggott says. “We don't care about your brand, we don't trust your institution, and — as the collapse of the advertising industry is showing us — we are tired of businesses trying to sell us stuff through interruption.”

Erik Hauser, vice president/executive creative director of targeted marketing firm Euro RSCG Impact, agrees. “Just because people are there doesn't mean they will be receptive to your message,” says Hauser, who helped usher in Wells Fargo's Stagecoach Island social network as an educational tool for teens in 2004.

“People just don't understand that if our goal as marketers is to create compelling experiences to drive acquisition, we have to be somewhere where we're welcome, and have a message that fits the media,” he notes.

And the social network penetration is still rather low: Twitter has 5 million users and Facebook has 175 million users, but there are 7.5 billion online searches every month just for people's names, Baggott says.

“There are 3 million searches a month for toasters and 20 million searches a month for laptops,” he notes.

When considering any marketing strategy, social or otherwise, start with ROI, Baggott says. “Where can you get the biggest bang for your buck? Online, that's search.”

Indeed, says David Wertheimer, director of strategy for e-commerce agency Alexander Interactive, “some marketing managers say that unless it's making us money, we shouldn't be diving in.” But social media is cost effective, “and it's great for engaging in a two-way conversation.”

Blog takes off like a prom dress

One Alexander Interactive client, women's apparel merchant Caché, is using Facebook, Twitter and blogs to reach out to a younger audience: high school girls getting ready for the prom, Wertheimer says.

Caché's Dream Prom Blog is written by five high school girls who — with full editorial freedom — dispense advice on shopping, dating and planning.

The Dream Prom Blog lives on Cache.com and is cross-published to Facebook, reaching teenagers in a popular destination. The Facebook page encouraged use with a prom-season giveaway; Cache.com awarded $500 to one of the fans of the Facebook page.

Fans who registered for the Caché Dream Prom Giveaway were driven to an off-Facebook registration page so their data could be used for future e-mails and mailings. By the time the four-week contest concluded on April 20, Caché's Facebook page had more than 1,200 fans.

“It was a brand-awareness item,” Wertheimer says. “We wanted to be in places where teenagers are being social, and speak directly to them.”

But you need a proper marketing plan for social media before jumping in. “You can't just stick an application up there and have everyone go to it,” Wertheimer says. “Ask yourself how you're going to speak to your audience and be relevant.”

Done correctly, social media can be used as a key acquisition tool for the right type of brand, says Hauser. “But if it is done incorrectly, it can send loyal customers into the arms of your chief competitors.”

Birth of a notion Due Maternity in November launched its LookWhosPrego.com microsite. Expectant moms log on to LookWhosPrego.com and build an announcement — using their headshot superimposed on an animated body — to send to family and friends, says Due Maternity cofounder Albert DiPadova. The company offered users a chance to win a prize from U.K.-based skincare brand Mama Mio.

More than 60,000 people sent announcements over a six-month period, DiPadova says, adding that the company built the microsite inhouse. Due Maternity saw a 2% conversion rate through LookWhosPrego.com.

The merchant plans to launch a sequel — LetsMakeABaby.com — that will allow expectant parents to morph a baby out of each other's photos.

“It's not about generating a humongous number of names, but about generating qualified niche traffic,” DiPadova says. “They're playing with us because they are pregnant.”
— TP