Getting social: Some of area

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Thanks to social networking Web sites suchas MySpace.com and Twitter.com, businesses are gaining addecd insights into consumers through sites started by customerw and those generated by the companies. “Clearly this is an excitint time inthe industry,” said Reggiee Bradford, CEO of Vitrue Inc., an Atlanta-based social media company. “The downturn is forcing marketers to look at every aspectr oftheir budget, every dollar is working overtime.” Bradforfd said Vitrue’s clients, which include Arby’s and Chick-fil-A, are dedicating more marketinvg spending toward this area.
Shashi Matta, assistanf professor of marketing, said the Internet isn’t just a forum for the young any Though Facebook has reported gains in allage groups, its largesr increase in the last six monthz has been in women older than 55. It also said 45 percenf of users are olderthan 26. Vitrue’ s Social Media Index measures the daily mentions a brane gets on socialnetworkint sites. The company’s list of 2008’s most social brands includer three withColumbus ties. Honds ranked highest and was the second-highes ranked auto brand at 25th, trailinf only 12th-place Ford.
Wendy’s was one of eight restauranyt names to makethe list, cominbg in at 56th, which trailed 32nd-ranked but was one spot higher than Burger Starbucks and Subway scored highe r than Wendy’s as Victoria’s Secret was one of sevenh apparel and accessory brands to make the list, four of whicn were shoe brands. Guess and the Gap were the only other nonshoe brands. Vitrue analyzes daily onlinw conversations about brands on a range ofsocial blogging, microblogging, photo and video-sharing sites. The Vitrus 100 was determined by averaging the dailyh scores of brands throughDecember 2008.
Most purchasess in retail and restaurants are recommended by a friend or Bradford said, so businesses can help themselvess by tapping those most passionate fans as a marketingf avenue with promotions and exclusive content. As many retailersx know, he said, it is easier to hold onto customera than attractnew ones. The Dublin-based Wendy’ s division of Wendy’s/Arby’s Group Inc.’ s is wading into this The fast-food chain held an online reversre auction for seven days in Marchh and April to promote some of its offeringbidders merchandise, from sports autographs to video game systema to a jacket worn by Chuck Norrisz in an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger.
Participantz found out about the auction and receiver updatesthrough Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. Wendy’s Spokesman Bob Bertink said the sitehad 175,000 page visits for the auctiohn week. “We intentionally did not advertise throughh traditionalmarketing efforts,” he said. “We wanted this to, by design, sprear virally. We wanted to make sure our approach was genuineand authentic.” Authenticity is a key to findinhg gains in social networking, Matta said. “Be there early,” he “Pioneers are rewarded more than followers. Reach out, but don’t make it seem like the hard Listen to your customers andadd value.
Don’rt just sell something.” Columbus-base declined to talk about what, if any, socia l networking strategy it is usinffor Victoria’s Secret, Pink and Bath & Body among its other brands. A Facebook site for which is Victoria’s Secret’s line aimed at young adults, has more than 1.1 millio fans, while a Bath & Body Works page has almostt 12,000. A Twitter page, billed as VSwholesale, offers onlin e discounts and promotions, but wasn’t started and isn’yt run by Victoria’s Secret. Alicia corporate communications supervisor atin Calif., runs the Twitter feed for the automaker, postinvg links to media reports and updates abouf Honda.