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Case Study

It is clear that Social Media is here to stay – not just a fad, but rather, an integral piece in a brand’s overall marketing strategy. Today, the average consumer fully expects brands they are interested in to have fully developed, robust Social Media Presences on the most popular networks, including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, among others. Cener Social Media strongly believes that fully utilizing and understanding Social Media is key to any business, especially one that deals exclusively with consumers.

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Cener Social Media partnered with ShopRunner, a service that offers free 2-day shipping across the world’s most popular online stores, to develop a strong Social Media Presence and Strategy in conjunction with a national launch. The ShopRunner team wanted to be present where their potential customers spent the most time – on the popular social networks. To reach this audience, Cener Social Media worked closely with the ShopRunner Team to develop Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube Pages. Goals and objectives were identified and it was Cener Social Media’s responsibility to develop presences to achieve those goals.

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Facebook was developed as ShopRunner’s Social Media hub. A robust user experience was created, utilizing the Facebook Platform (FBML) to develop Page Applications that would engage the consumer. Five Custom Tabs would compose the ShopRunner Facebook Page. A Free Trial Tab was created to describe the service’s benefits and offer a clear call-to-action to users to signup for a free trial. A YouTube Tab was also created to integrate ShopRunner’s YouTube channel, which housed both promotional and press videos. To further engage the consumer, a Contest Tab was created which integrated with a Re-Tweet driven Twitter Contest. How It Works, a step-by-step explanation of the service, and Stores, a directory of ShopRunner partner stores, rounded out the custom tabs on the Facebook Page.

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Twitter and YouTube pages were created and designed to match the look and feel of both the Facebook Page and ShopRunner.com Website. A custom Twitter background was designed and implemented. On YouTube, Cener Social Media created a branded channel for ShopRunner with a custom skin to extend branding. To increase reach and integration, the popular (and now ubiquitous) Social Media Icons were added to the ShopRunner.com website. Social Media needs to be fully integrated in all aspects, and thus, Cener Social Media designed all presences to be similar in look and feel and link to each other presence.

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The day-to-day updating strategy consisted of curating valuable shopping-related content to both Facebook and Twitter communities. Cener Social Media strongly believes in focusing on status updates and tweets that are valuable to the consumer. By becoming a source of valuable information, the consumer will look to the brand for more information, justifying repeat visits to the page. This, in turn, makes the page a valuable asset to ShopRunner and creates the sense of authority in the eyes of consumers – factors that are extremely valuable when building a brand.

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To spark engagement, a contest fueled by Twitter Re-Tweets was developed to be run every Friday. “Fast-Free-Fridays” would deliver a different message to Re-Tweet each week and one lucky re-tweeter would win a ShopRunner Partner Store-related prize. Instead of dedicating this contest to Twitter only, a custom Facebook Page Application was developed to allow Re-Tweeting directly from Facebook. By including both Facebook and Twitter communities, ShopRunner could be sure not to lose any impressions and potential re-tweets. Re-Tweet based contests have been incredibly successful as the entry method acts as a way for ShopRunner Fans and Followers to become brand advocates and marketers themselves. Recent research has shown that consumers are 91% more likely to trust a recommendation from a fellow consumer than from the brand itself. With over 570 entries for the latest contest, Fast-Free-Fridays has been a huge success.

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Within days of launch, the ShopRunner Facebook Page exploded with a strong base of Fans and Interactions. Press Hits spread throughout the web and relevant shopping-related links were spread frequently. The Wall Street Journal and CNN, among other media outlets, spent time covering the ShopRunner Launch.

So what was the return on investment (ROI) for ShopRunner’s Social Media Efforts?

  • 1000 Impressions/Day on Average on Facebook
  • 700+ ReTweets (as of 12/5/10) on Twitter from Fast-Free-Fridays Contest
  • 750+ Fans in first 45 Days with consistent, steady growth
  • 5,000+ YouTube Channel Views (as of 12/5/10)
  • Quick Placement onto 1st page of Google Search Results for our keywords
  • Strong referral traffic to ShopRunner.com Website from Facebook and Twitter
  • Numerous Free Trial Signups*
  • Creation of strong Social Media Presences to connect with potential consumers and active members

*From ShopRunner’s Chief Marketing Officer: “While it is our policy not to release numbers publicly, we can tell you that we are pleased with our results.”

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