Macy’s, Victoria’s Secret, Nordstrom Top Digital Retailers

Many department stores may have traditional roots, but that hasn’t stopped them as a category from establishing a strong presence in digital media, according to a new study. Finishing atop a ranking of 64 specialty retailers online was Macy’s, followed by Victoria’s Secret, Nordstrom, Sephora, Urban Outfitters and Threadless.com.

The study by digital think tank L2 and Facebook marketing firm Buddy Media evaluated retailers across four platforms: Web site, digital marketing, social media and mobile.

Based on those benchmarks, brands are assigned “IQ scores” from over 140 to under 70 that equate to ratings, including “genius,” “gifted,” “average,” “challenged” or “feeble.” The digital IQ Index created by L2 scores companies against 350 qualitative and quantitative individual data points.

In contrast to the mostly auto and beauty brands at the top of the list, those in the jewelry and watch category had the lowest average scores.

While 37% of the brands in the index were classified as gifted, only Macy’s, Victoria’s Secret and Nordstrom earned the genius distinction. Other top retailers included Bluefly, Bloomingdales, Gilt Groupe, Net-A-Porter and Pottery Barn. Department stores as a category performed well across the board, the study found.

Among other key findings, L2 said having a Facebook presence has become table stakes in social media, since every brand has put up its own fan page. But there remains a significant opportunity to monetize Facebook communities, given that only four brands developed fully functional Facebook storefronts.

Victoria’s Secret is the most popular brand in terms of Facebook fans, with almost 14.5 million. Abercrombie Fitch is a distant second, with about 5 million, followed by Ralph Lauren (3.4 million), Coach (2.1 million), and Bath Body Works (2 million).

When it comes to mobile for retailers, it’s all about the iPhone and iPad. Despite Android’s rapid expansion, only 5% of the companies covered in the study have released apps designed for the Google smartphone platform. More than two-thirds (67%) have mobile sites, almost triple the total from 2010. Near nine in 10 are e-commerce-enabled.

The research overall suggested that brands allocating resources toward digital see higher returns.

“In Q1 2011, e-commerce grew more than twice the pace of overall retail,” stated L2 founder and NYU marketing professor Scott Galloway. “Digital competence and mastery of mobile and social platforms will likely result in a bifurcation in retail between the haves (digitally competent) and have-nots (digitally challenged).”

A separate study by L2 and Buddy Media in June ranked the top 100 luxury brands on Facebook, with BMW, Clinique and Audi coming out on top. That research judged brands based on four criteria: size and growth of Facebook community, engagement, content, and integration across other online platforms.

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A Free Business Guide Helps Businesses Make the Most Out of Foursquare

Pottstown, PA (PRWEB) August 24, 2011

With the rise of people joining social media communities like Facebook, Google + and Twitter coinciding with the rise in adaption rates of smart phones, businesses are being taken by surprise by the gaining popularity of geo-social networks such as Foursquare, Gowalla and Facebook Places. This next generation of marketing is now leaving many businesses wondering how they can strategize using location based marketing to help increase their bottom line. The question “What is Foursquare” is asked a thousand times over each day by all types of businesses.

With just that question in mind, LiBeck Integrated Marketing released a free eBook that serves as a business guide to utilizing the popular geo-social network, Foursquare. The Foursquare guide covers everything from “what are geo-social networks and location based marketing”, explaining what area Foursquare Badges, to how businesses can utilize different aspects of Foursquare’s Merchant Platform such as creating specials and deals.

“We receive a growing number of inquiries every week into Foursquare and how businesses can integrate this geo-social community into their marketing strategies. Because of the growing interest, we thought it would be a great value to any business looking into incorporating Foursquare as a marketing tactic in their overall strategy to have a simple to understand guide,” stated Liana “Li” Evans, co-founder of LiBeck Integrated Marketing.

Evans, who is one of the two authors of the free eBook, along with Frank de Marchena, put together the Foursquare Business Guide after recognizing the conversations online around Foursquare and the responses to their blog posts about using the geo-social network. “Businesses just kept asking for more information, so we decided an easy to read, print and pass around guide would be the best way to give them valuable information about Foursquare that they were looking for,” explained Frank de Marchena.

The Foursquare eBook is free and businesses can download a copy at the LiBeck Integrated Marketing website (www.LiBeckIM.com), no email nor is registration required to get the Foursquare guide. The Foursquare guide includes steps , tips and images depicting both web based use and mobile phone use of Foursquare so that businesses can understand what their customers are seeing when then are using the geo-social network.

About LiBeck Integrated Marketing

LiBeck Integrated Marketing was created by Co-Founders Rebecca Ryan and Liana “Li” Evans with the idea to help businesses of all sizes and all types succeed in integrating their online marketing efforts cohesively together and also ensuring their offline efforts also integrate with the overall online marketing picture. So many companies are bombarded with agencies telling them what they “should” be doing, but are they really explaining “why you should” do what they are promoting to you?

LiBeck Integrated Marketing doesn’t just have a laundry list of “social media sites” that our clients are put on nor any magical tools that will hold our clients hostage to tactics in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or Pay Per Click (PPC) Marketing. Before we recommend any tactic of a strategy is implemented, we research to make sure its right for each and every clients end goals.

With over 25 years of combined experience in programming, public relations, search marketing, social media, website usability / conversion and analytics, the LiBeck Integrated Marketing team partners with their clients to implement strategies that are both efficient and successful. You can follow LiBeckIM on Twitter as @LiBeckIM

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For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prwebfoursquare-ebook/business-guide/prweb8742125.htm

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