Getting social: Some of area

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Thanks to social networking Web sites suchas Facebook.com, MySpace.cok and Twitter.com, businesses are gaining added insights into consumersa through sites started by customers and thosw generated by the companies. “Clearly this is an excitin g time inthe industry,” said Reggie CEO of Vitrue Inc., an Atlanta-basedc social media company. “The downturn is forcing marketersw to look at every aspect oftheier budget, every dollar is working overtime.” Bradforrd said Vitrue’s clients, which includw Pepsi, Arby’s and Chick-fil-A, are dedicatinfg more marketing spending towarf this area.
Shashi assistant professor of marketing, said the Internet isn’y just a forum for the young any Though Facebook has reported gains in allage groups, its largesrt increase in the last six months has been in womenj older than 55. It also said 45 percent of users are olderthan 26. Vitrue’s Sociall Media Index measures the daily mentions a braned gets on socialnetworking sites. The company’ss list of 2008’s most social brandzs included three withColumbue ties. Honda ranked highest and was the second-highest ranked auto brand at 25th, trailinf only 12th-place Ford.
Wendy’s was one of eight restauranty names to makethe list, coming in at 56th, whicnh trailed 32nd-ranked McDonald’s, but was one spot highefr than Burger King. Starbucks and Subway scored higherthan Wendy’s as Victoria’s Secret was one of seven apparel and accessory brandx to make the list, four of which were shoe Guess and the Gap were the only otheer nonshoe brands. Vitrue analyzes dailh online conversations about brands on a range ofsociakl networking, blogging, microblogging, photo and video-sharing The Vitrue 100 was determined by averaging the dailyt scores of brands through Decembedr 2008.
Most purchases in retaiol and restaurants are recommended by a frienrdor peer, Bradford said, so businesses can help themselvees by tapping those most passionater fans as a marketing avenue with promotionds and exclusive content. As many retailers he said, it is easier to hold onto customers than attractgnew ones. The Dublin-based Wendy’s divisioj of Wendy’s/Arby’s Group Inc.’s is wading into this The fast-food chain held an online reverse auctiob for seven days in March and April to promote some of its offeringbidders merchandise, from sportw autographs to video game systems to a jacket worn by Chuck Norrisx in an episode of Walker, Texasw Ranger.
Participants found out about the auction and received updatesdthrough Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. Wendy’s Spokesman Bob Bertinu said the sitehad 175,000 page visite for the auction week. “We intentionallt did not advertise through traditional marketing he said. “We wanted this to, by design, spreacd virally. We wanted to make sure our approacu was genuineand authentic.” Authenticity is a key to findingf gains in social networking, Matta “Be there early,” he said. “Pioneers are rewarded more than Reach out, but don’t make it seem like the hard Listen to your customerx and add value.
Don’t just sell Columbus-based declined to talk about what, if any, sociap networking strategy it is usingfor Victoria’sd Secret, Pink and Bath & Body among its other brands. A Facebook site for which is Victoria’s Secret’ds line aimed at young adults, has more than 1.1 millioj fans, while a Bath & Body Works page has almosty 12,000. A Twitter page, billed as offers online discounts and but wasn’t started and isn’t run by Victoria’s Alicia Jones, corporate communications supervisor at in Torrance, runs the Twitter feed for the posting links to media reports and updates aboutg Honda.