Golf, Fans, and Brands, the Golfsmith case

The growing popularity of Facebook fan pages or their equivalent on Twitter indicates a major change in E-marketing and the direction it is taking.

No longer is it enough to give consumers the floor on Internet sites, which, in reality, few sites do. From now on it is necessary to start multiple conversations with fan pages on Facebook and followers on Twitter.

With 7000 fans on Facebook and 1200 followers on Twitter, Golfsmith, a producer and distributor of golf equipment, has a notable and innovative presence on social networks, yet remains average.

Eric Mahlstadt, Senior Online Store Manager, talks of his business strategy in relation to social networks.

“The value right now to us as a retailer is not as much about what kind of people these are, but what kinds of experiences they’re having.  We’re interested in providing as many choices and platforms as possible for our customers to share thoughts and ideas and provide input.  The struggle then becomes having enough engaged ears to hear all the feedback and to be nimble enough to act on that feedback” 

Golfsmith already has an open website where comments are welcome and the home page strongly encourages users to leave feedback.

In order to link user feedback on its site and those from fan pages on Facebook or followers on Twitter, Golfsmith chose a social marketing solution proposed by Bazaarvoice, a specialist in “community management”, called Social Network Accelerators.

How does it work?

 

“With the new Social Network Accelerators, Bazaarvoice ensures that companies achieve more from social commerce by using social networks like Facebook and Twitter as a distribution channel for user-generated content created on brand sites.”