The Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce
\nlaunched a brand new social media shopping
\npromotion in September.<\/p>\n
The Chamber invited the general public
\nto help promote their favorite local stores
\nor unique gift ideas as part of the effort on
\nsocial media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and
\nInstagram using the hashtag #shopsaratoga.<\/p>\n
During this past summer, the Chamber
\ncollected stories and photos from more than
\n30 local independently owned stores across
\nSaratoga County, officials said. These stories
\nwill be shared online and via social media
\nby the Chamber until Black Friday, Nov. 28.<\/p>\n
The Chamber will add additional stories as
\nadditional interviews and photo shots are
\ncompleted later this month.<\/p>\n
“Using social media as a way to share stories
\nabout your favorite locally owned retail store is
\na simple way for someone to help that store and
\nyour neighbor who owns it to be successful,”
\nsaid Todd Shimkus, president of the Saratoga
\nCounty Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n
“We all know and understand that shopping
\nlocally strengthens our local economy
\nand makes our communities a better place
\nto live. But now with social media, we have a
\npowerful tool to really spread the word about
\nour favorite local stores and to encourage our
\nfriends, neighbors, fans and followers to shop
\nthere too.”<\/p>\n
According to Chamber officials, there is evidence
\nthat social media is playing a significant
\nrole in retail marketing. Some 64 percent of
\nrespondents to a national survey in 2013 indicated
\nthey bought a product because of something
\nthey saw on Twitter. Nearly 40 percent of
\nthose surveyed said Facebook influenced them
\nto buy a gift. And, nearly 45 percent of shoppers
\nsurveyed discovered gift ideas through online
\npeer recommendations.<\/p>\n
“We will encourage our customers to use
\nthe hashtag #shopsaratoga this fall,” said Mare
\nBarker, of Impressions of Saratoga. “We will use
\nit as well to promote special items and events.
\nWhile we certainly hope that this campaign will
\nhelp us reach new customers, it’s also important
\nto pay attention to the people who know us
\nthe best, our existing customers, and to remind
\nthem of what makes our store special.”<\/p>\n
According to the National Retail Foundation,
\n40 percent of consumers begin shopping for
\nthe holidays before Halloween. Likewise, more
\nthan half of the nation’s retailers are likely to
\nlaunch a holiday marketing campaign before
\nHalloween.<\/p>\n
“In the retail business, it is important to
\nprovide exceptional service to those customers
\ncoming in your door on that day but you
\nalso have to prepare for the future,” said Doug
\nFord, of Curtis Lumber in Ballston Spa. “Our
\nbusiness and product mix changes with every
\nseason and we’re not alone. We plan to use
\nthe #shopsaratoga program to let people know
\nwhen new products come in and we’ll hope that
\nour customers will in turn share this news with
\ntheir friends.”<\/p>\n
To participate, Chamber officials outlined
\nthe following steps:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Whenever visiting a local independently
\nowned store in Saratoga County, post the visit
\non Facebook, Twitter, Google + or Instagram
\naccounts and to use the hashtag #shopsaratoga.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Tag that store in the post in many cases or
\nsimply use the hashtag # followed by the name
\nof the store.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Post a picture of the store or the product
\nor the gift purchased with the hashtag #shopsaratoga.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Store owners in Saratoga County can
\nencourage customers to tell friends about the
\nstore and other stores they shop at by using
\nthe #shopsaratoga hashtag.<\/p>\n
Chamber officials said the use of the hashtag
\n#shopsaratoga will allow the Chamber and
\nothers to easily locate the posts being made
\nby local residents, customers, visitors and businesses.<\/p>\n
The Chamber will then be able to share
\nthe online recommendations with their social
\nmedia fans, friends, and followers.<\/p>\n
According to Shimkus, the Chamber will also
\nbe encouraging its retail members to share,
\nlike and favorite recommendations about other
\nindependently owned stores in their communities
\nto create a virtual and free cooperative
\nmarketing campaign.<\/p>\n
“Using social media, we all individually
\nhave the power to drive people and traffic to
\nour favorite locally owned businesses,”added
\nShimkus. “With #shopsaratoga, we’re trying to
\ncoordinate this word-of-mouth campaign like
\nnever before to be sure our independently
\nowned stores and local communities continue
\nto succeed, grow and thrive.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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