Social Media Marketing

We’re living in the era of “do not disturb.” Consumers mute notifications, skip ads, and unfollow brands without hesitation. Marketing channels are saturated and attention is strained. Trust is harder to earn because audiences are more selective about what they let in. Success in breaking through hinges on understanding the signals audiences are sending and…

For years, retail marketers have measured influence in scale: follower counts, impressions, and reach. However, as the cost of influencer partnerships rises and trust in polished sponsorships declines, another form of influence is emerging. Welcome to the era of the neighborhood influencer. This is the suburban mom recommending her favorite contractor on Reddit, the local…

Holiday marketing is no longer just a three-day shopping sprint, but a three-month marathon requiring strategic planning, consistency and community stamina. Social commerce has collapsed awareness, consideration and purchase into a single scroll. Projected to account for 17 percent of total e-commerce sales by 2025, this shift demands a new playbook for social media managers,…

In episode 494 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Kaitlyn Hebert, global chief marketing officer for the Ninja brand of SharkNinja, a leading global product design and technology company. The interview was recorded at Shoptalk Fall in Chicago. Hebert explains how Ninja’s organizational structure and innovation hub speed up product development (2:00). She…

For too long, retail marketers sought out the brightest social stars, chasing millions of followers like they're golden tickets. But here’s the twist: real influence isn’t always found in the loudest megawatt names; sometimes it's the quietly powerful creators nestled in the mid-tier. The ROI Reality Check Let’s cut to the numbers: Campaigns with micro-influencers…

For years, the path to grocery store shelves was predictable. Today, however, direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands are rewriting that playbook. By combining direct sales with a powerful social presence, they enter retail buyer conversations with something that once took years to build: a loyal customer base and real-time proof of demand. This built-in momentum changes the…

Over the past decade, brands have tapped creators to reach new audiences without spending too much upfront. When social media was buzzing with activity, affiliate links and sponsored posts worked well: creators earned good commissions, and brands saw extra sales. But now, as economic challenges grow and budgets shrink, the creator economy needs a more…

In a first-of-its-kind move for a specialty fashion retailer, American Eagle (AE) has teamed up with Snap Inc. to launch over 800 U.S. store locations as Promoted Places on Snap Map, Snapchat’s real-time, location-based discovery tool. The integration, which went live on July 9, is designed to meet Gen Z consumers where they already spend…

Once seen as a tactical extension of wider digital campaigns, influencer marketing has quickly established itself as a discipline in its own right. In the last few months alone, we’ve seen Unilever dedicate half of its ad budget to social channels in an “influencer first” push, Publicis Groupe acquired Captiv8, and WPP created an entire…

The fate of TikTok in the U.S. is still in flux. At DMi Partners, from the beginning of regulation discussions, we’ve done more than stay the course for our clients; we’ve doubled down on channel investment, with great return on ad spend to show for it. One of the primary reasons? TikTok Shop. In this…