Exciting Retail Possibilities with Facebook Graph Search

| Ben Straley

In the coming months, Facebook plans to make Graph Search more widely available. So what are the implications for retailers? It means that retail customers will soon have a powerful tool to discover the products and stores online or near them that are liked by their friends and friends-of-friends. Here are three specific things retailers can do right now, which are in accordance with best search marketing and social media practices.

Why Your CMO Needs to Guide Your Ecommerce

| Mark Simpson

The modern day merchant must have an intimate understanding of the importance of online and mobile commerce, access to a vast array of customer data, and a strategy for transforming this analytical data into winning online experiences. The question is: who inside the company can embody these traits and help the CEO rule the roost?

Differentiating an App from a Website

| Bob Moul

When the mobile app economy exploded, few merchants understood how apps could benefit their business. Here’s why part of the solution to this problem for marketers and retailers is gaining a better understanding of how mobile usage differs from traditional web browsing, and the other part is finding the right tools to craft an app experience that will measurably deliver value and strengthen customer relationships over time.

Search and Deploy: The B2B Marketing Trends of 2012

| MCM staff

The digital marketing landscape has drastically shifted in the last year, and therefore so have online marketing strategies. Optfiy’s infographic on B2B online marketing trends in 2012 includes findings from its research around Google’s search market share, Google’s “Not Provided” update, trends in paid search, traffic and leads from social media, and more.

Fulfillment Companies Target 3 Ecommerce Trends for Business Expansion

| Mike DeFabis

Since 2012 departed with a bang, 2013 is primed to follow right in its footsteps. Ecommerce retailers saw an excellent fourth quarter. According to comScore, holiday sales approached a record $3.6 billion, a roughly 16% increase over the same time last year, so it’s no surprise that the ecommerce industry is expected to continue to grow. Here are 3 trends to look for in 2013 that will surely help to keep the ecommerce industry on its path of continued growth.

Social ROI is All About Strategy, Sharing and Data

| Todd Parsons

Ten thousand Facebook fans are not translating into 10,000 eager customers. And 50,000 Twitter followers don’t necessarily mean a ready supply of buyers. The hard truth is that most retailers haven’t a clue about the bottom-line impact of social marketing. Meanwhile, efforts to acquire fans and followers aren’t getting any cheaper.

Is Social Media a Corporate Reputation Blind Spot?

| MCM staff

When it analyzed its Digital Readiness Survey in December, Zeno Group found stark differences between B2C and B2B companies, as well as large and small firms, in both CEO attitudes toward social media and in the company’s ability to respond to an online challenge. This infographic breaks down what Zeno found.