Retailers 'looking to social media marketing'

19/08/2008

An increasing number of retail organisations are making use of social media to target young people during the back-to-school season.

This is according to a new report from JupiterResearch, which showed that retailers are utilising social networking sites, virtual worlds, social shopping platforms, widgets, videos and visual search to increase brand awareness among teenagers and young people.

"With the shaky economy expected to impact the amount of money consumers spend on back-to-school shopping, retailers are using social media to capture the attention of younger consumers," remarked Patti Freeman Evans, research director and online retail analyst at JupiterResearch.

Despite this, retailers should not rely on social media to have a direct impact on sales, as the platform is more beneficial for brand promotion purposes, David Schatsky, president of JupiterResearch, added.

According to the SEOUnique blog, search engine optimisation can play a key role in social media marketing campaigns.