Helping a College Bookstore Make the Grade in Social Media
IMPAQT Case Study: Retail
The popularity and influence of social media sites has skyrocketed over the past few years, with Facebook now being the most visited Web site in the online space. Social media has come a long way from its “Wild West” days, yet it still represents a “new frontier” for reaching current and potential customers.
A large chain of college bookstores sought to take advantage of social media for more than 30 of its locations. Although this client was aware of the importance of social media to its target market, they were unfamiliar with best practices for utilizing it. They needed to understand how customers were interacting with their brand through social media and what type of message was being broadcasted about their brand through social members.
QUESTION:
How could IMPAQT help the client create a positive presence on the top social networking sites to improve brand reputation and increase online revenue for textbooks and other merchandise?
REVELATION:
IMPAQT first conducted an audit of Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter to determine the number and tonality of videos, posts, groups and tweets about the bookstores. In this audit, IMPAQT focused on keywords related to college textbooks and college bookstores, as well as general textbook-related terms. Results showed that the client had little or no presence in these sites and that the tonality of the nominal content that did exist was, for the most part, neutral.
We helped each bookstore create branded accounts on these sites. IMPAQT gave each bookstore a plan of action for maintaining their social media account to grow and manage the brand’s online reputation. We educated the bookstores on their plan and best practices to ensure a cohesive approach to each social media site across the entire company. Our team also provided recommendations on how the bookstore could let consumers know about their social media presence.
The IMPAQT:
As a result of IMPAQT’s efforts, the client was able to show customers its personal touch and build brand credibility among its target market. In addition, the client was better able to educate its customers on individual bookstore policies and more effectively answer questions.
Over the course of this effort:
- YouTube views increased more than 1000%.
- Facebook fans increased by more than 400%.
- Twitter followers increased by more than 200%.
"Our observations of the vendor's management team show them to have two refreshing attributes that are disappointingly absent from other vendors we reviewed: 1) they take an emotional stake in their company and in their clients' welfare, and 2) they're a practical group who focuses more on doing the work than on how they spin what they do."
The Forrester Wave™: US Search Marketing Agencies, Q1 2011 (January 2011)
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Helping a College Bookstore Make the Grade in Social Media