Content about Web 2.0

Chicago -- For pure play premium pet food and accessories retailer PetFlow, online marketing is a crucial component of its business. Initially, PetFlow used Google AdWords to direct consumers searching for specific pet products to its site. However, as PetFlow co-founder Alex Zhardanovsky told the audience during a morning keynote session at the Internet Retailer Conference in Chicago, initial efforts by the retailer to expand its online marketing activities to Facebook did not work so well.

San Francisco – Pinterest, the social sharing network that many retailers use to promote products, is allowing users to share more information with their pins. Pins may now include data such as pricing, availability and where to buy products, recipe information and detailed information about movies.

So far, retailers including Home Depot, Anthropologie, eBay, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Wal-Mart are partnering with Pinterest to make more product information available on pins originating from their e-commerce sites.

According to Rick Chavie, VP of OmniCommerce at hybris Software in Atlanta, there are a few steps brands can take to make the most of Facebook Home.

"Give customers an incentive to activate push notifications through to Facebook," Chavie said. "You may not be able to get people to check your brand app regularly, but you indirectly feed it through Facebook Home."

Another way is to focus on time-of-day placement based on extrapolation of when customers tend to use your own app.

Manners mistress Emily Post wouldn’t recognize today’s social skills.

Communication styles have changed, with the once-mandatory handwritten thank-you note supplanted by a tweet or a family email blast. These days, good table manners are far less important than proper posting protocol.

New York -- Facebook has added a new service, called Gifts, which allows Facebook users in the United States to buy gifts for their friends on the social media platform. The new feature, rolled out just in time for the holiday shopping season, has the potential to give Facebook an ongoing supply of valuable personal information.

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens on Tuesday announced a new application built into Facebook that allows desktop computer users to print their favorite photos, complete with likes and comments, at any Walgreens location nationwide as part of a feature called PrintWorthy.
 
With the “Photo by Walgreens” app, Facebook users can print photos that include all the context that comes with a photo on Facebook, including location, description, who was in the photo as well as likes and comments posted by friends.

A lot has changed in the past year on the social media block. Facebook and Twitter are no longer the only two major players helping retailers connect and engage with their shoppers in real time. Consumers are flocking to platforms such as social-photo sharing sites Pinterest and Instagram, and some brands are even creating their own social blog accounts on Tumblr.

Retailers are always looking for new ways to reach customers, and the race to get onto Facebook walls and news feeds to increase brand exposure has never been greater.

But instead of shelling out dollars to pay for traditional Facebook ads and online banners, many companies are allowing shoppers to do the grunt work for them in an organic way. One of the latest trends is combining social sharing with gift giving, so consumers can send presents — from gift cards to apparel — to others via Facebook.

Washington, D.C. -- Consumers are using Pinterest to engage with retailers more than Facebook or Twitter, according to a survey released Thursday by Shop.org, comScore and The Partnering Group.

Additionally, the “2012 Social and Mobile Commerce Study” discovered that one third of smartphone owners who shop online share their location with a retailer.

By Elizabeth Cogswell Baskin

Editor’s note: Launched in March 2010, Pinterest now ranks as the third most-visited social-networking site in the United States, according to a recent report by Experian Marketing Services. Pinterest, which lets its users “pin” photos and information onto virtual boards, ranks behind only Facebook and Twitter in terms of total visitors, according to the report. It also skews heavily female — about 60% of users are women.

Coral Gables, Fla. -- A University of Miami study found that the display of a social media icon such as a Facebook “Like” button or a Twitter symbol on a shopping website influences a consumer’s buying decision.

Boston -- A report released Wednesday by Boston Consulting Group said that, while 96% of companies are using Facebook and 83% are using Twitter, few have an overall marketing strategy that incorporates digital and includes clear metrics for success.

The report, Marketing Capabilities for the Digital Age, presents the findings of a BCG survey of marketing executives at 31 major corporations globally and presents an overview of the digital landscape.