In the past, online marketing campaigns focused primarily on their “official” websites . They chose to direct resources to their websites because the sites were the first place most consumers searching for a product or service online would be able to interact with their brand. However, a recent study performed by comScore indicates that Facebook pages now receive more consumer traffic on average than a brand’s or retailer’s website receives. This is a shift that has some serious implications for brand-to-retailer marketing.
When you think about current consumer dynamics, the shift in traffic isn’t all that surprising. Most consumers use at least one social media platform, and Facebook is the most popular. Because people are already on Facebook for other purposes, they are more comfortable with the platform, and therefore are more likely to use it for product research.
The move toward connecting with brands and retailers on Facebook has another component as well: social interaction. Whereas consumers of the past focused more on qualities like product specifications and price, today’s consumer is interested in engaging and building lasting relationships. By using Facebook, consumers are able to develop ongoing connections with the brands and retailers they love.
Websites will always be a key player in any brand’s or retailer’s online marketing strategy. However, the results of comScore’s study indicate that both need to also focus attention on their Facebook pages. While a website exists to educate and convert visitors into buyers, a Facebook page exists to engage consumers and build trust. Both are needed.
To effectively utilize social media platforms such as Facebook, brands must help retailers engage consumers with social marketing, as opposed to overt advertising. They must also be able to determine which marketing practices are working best and which practices require modification. Using the tools provided by Promoboxx, brands can easily collect and analyze social media marketing data of their retailers in order to help them continuously improve their social media marketing efforts.
Brands and their retailers can both benefit from a focused social media co-marketing strategy to reach more consumers online. To get the most out of co-marketing, brands need to find ways to support their retailers’ online marketing efforts, including social media marketing . That’s why Promoboxx offers a checklist of online tools that brands can use to improve online marketing efforts alongside their local retailers. In our opinion, it’s a win, win.
