Retailers plan to step up mobile and social presence in 2011

Wednesday 04 May 2011 00:00 BST

(AFP PHOTO/Nicholas KAMM)

Seventy-two percent of retailers plan to spend more on their social network presence in 2011 than they did in 2010, and 91 percent either have a mobile strategy or are in the process of developing one according to the results of a new survey.

The results of the survey conducted by Forester Research Inc on behalf of Shop.org, the digital division of the American National Retail Federation, were released on May 3.

Among the key findings of the report was that 72 percent of American retailers surveyed aim to spend more on increasing their social network presence in 2011 than they did in 2010; and the number of retailers either "with a mobile strategy" or with one "in development" has increased from 74 percent in 2010 to 91 percent in 2011.

Brands that do present a strong presence on social networking site Facebook and rank as most popular in terms of overall worldwide fans tend to be a combination of those that are instantly recognizable - such as Coca-Cola - and those that combine brand imagery with strong fan interaction such as energy drinks brand Red Bull.

The energy drinks brand often posts videos of the extreme or alternative sports with which it is associated and the brand's most recent Facebook video posted on May 2 showing extreme skateboarding attracted over 5,000 likes in under 48 hours; the video is available to watch via http://win.gs/m1K7oa

According to data from social media monitoring site www.famecount.com the current top ten brands on Facebook worldwide in terms of total fans are:

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