Social Media Analytics

New York - Despite having more data and insights into consumer desires and preferences, companies in the U.S. have failed to meaningfully improve customer satisfaction or reverse rising switching rates among their customers. As a result, there is a potential $1.3 trillion of revenue at play in the U.S. market represented by the ‘switching economy’, according to new research released by Accenture.

Plano, Texas – J.C. Penney Co. has reportedly been defending itself against anonymous allegations made on Twitter. According to Bloomberg, J.C. Penney recently had to publicly deny tweets saying the company had hired a bankruptcy attorney and no longer had Canadian credit.

New York – Duane Reade is running a three week, omnichannel social media marketing campaign to raise awareness of Duane Reade brand hosiery products. The "Boo-tiful Legs" Halloween contest calls for entrants to upload their original photos wearing Duane Reade brand hosiery with their Halloween costume, via a Duane Reade Facebook page FanGate, through Nov. 3.

Cincinnati -- Americans are increasing their use of social media for discussions about favorite brands, while slowing down on face-to-face and phone conversations about product likes and dislikes, according to a report by Colloquy, the research arm of LoyaltyOne, a global provider of loyalty and marketing programs.

Social media brand recommendations have grown 4% since Colloquy conducted survey research in 2011 on the word-of-mouth habits of U.S. consumers, while face-to-face recommendations have declined 4% in that time period.

Most retailers now have some sort of social presence, but too often it consists of having an account on popular social media networks and little more. Following are five examples of recent retail social media offerings that leverage social media’s unique ability to engage consumers, improve operations and boost profits.

American Eagle – ‘Rock Your Walk’

Los Angeles – The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has experienced significant lift across key social metrics such as local Facebook fans and impressions using the MomentFeed location-based marketing platform.

In a move designed to expand its existing consumer base, Gerber has launched its 2013 photo search, leveraging social media to encourage parents or legal guardians of children up to 48 months of age to participate. 

Participants are asked to upload a recent photo of their children on the Gerber Facebook page for a chance to win a grand prize of $50,000 as well as the chance for their child to star in a future advertisement for Gerber. In addition, six Milestone winners will be selected based on Facebook fan votes. Photo entries are being accepted now through Oct. 27.

New York -- New York City drugstore operator Duane Reade, a division of Walgreens, on Tuesday celebrated an important social milestone — surpassing one million followers on Twitter — with a gala event at the chain’s flagship on Wall Street. From September 2012 to date, the regional retailer has organically grown its Twitter following by 6,709%, making it one of the fastest-growing accounts on Twitter year over year. With 1.1 million followers at latest count, the chain is believed to be the most followed retailer in the drug, food and mass arena.

New York – Gap Inc. is launching a fall global marketing campaign called “Back to Blue” that features two videos with musicians Dhani Harrison and Alexa Ray Joel, which consumers can watch on TV, desktops and smartphones/tablets.

Gap will launch a fall global marketing campaign called “Back to Blue,” featuring two videos with musicians Dhani Harrison and Alexa Ray Joel, which consumers can watch on TV, desktops and smartphones and tablets.