Half-Day Webinar for Communicators at Food Manufacturers, Beverage Producers, Grocery Stores, Kitchen Suppliers, and Specialty Food Retailers.  Moderated by renowned social media expert, blogger, consultant and trainer, Sally Falkow, APR.

Use advanced social media marketing strategies to skyrocket visibility and sales— frontline practitioners reveal how to build loyalty, website traffic, press coverage, client satisfaction and sales

In just one-half day, you’ll cover:

• Best practices for using Twitter as a food and beverage marketing tool
• Key elements every food or beverage online newsroom must have to boost press coverage and Google search ranking
• Which social media promotions work best to boost trackable sales now?
• How to create communities of evangelists for your food or beverage
• How to track online conversations and mentions of your product—and how to respond when you don’t like what you hear
• How to create a cost-effective social media strategic plan “step-by-step”
• A bad review on food and beverage websites and blogs: What you can and should do about it
• Cultivating food and beverage bloggers and websites: What works and what doesn’t
• How to decide which social media are most valuable for your product . . . and which you can ignore
• What should your online messaging strategy be—and how can you communicate it in just 140 characters?
• To blog or not to blog: How to assess blogging costs vs. benefits
• How to build a large and loyal following on Facebook
• Most effective uses of online video—and what you need (and don’t need) to produce your own
• And many, many more tips, tricks, trends and inside approaches

Hear and confer with communicators from General Mills, Campbell Soup, and other food and beverage brands like yours, as well as other social media experts, who will share their “war stories” and valuable lessons learned.

Register Now (Early-Bird Discounts Available)

Here’s why:

This holiday season is brewing up a “perfect storm” for a financial disaster when it comes to Q4 sales for retailers.  Not only is 2008′s holiday shopping season five days shorter (thanks to the floating Thanksgiving holiday and leap year), it also has one fewer weekends than last year.  Add to that the fact that we’ve all just learned that the US has been in a financial recession since last December (still not clear as to what took so damn long to figure that one out) and a majority of consumers are saying they’re tightening their spending belt this year.

The result: it looks like the first few days of the holiday shopping season will be the only chance any retailer stands for making a “silk purse” out of the sow’s ear that is 2008.

Prelminary reports on Black Friday and the following weekend were that sales figures were up marginally over 2007 (+3%) – but none of the pundits are expecting that positive margin to hold.

Monday was a bad time to have your server go down.

I’m sure we’ll get plenty of explanations as to “why” things happened the way they did.  Let’s hope these retailers are around next year to put the lessons they’ve learned to good use.

For retailers of all size, this report is worth reading:

From Mintel International’s Chicago Office 
Stockings may not be as stuffed this year, as new research from Mintel reports that three in five Americans (60%) say they’re trying to stick to a budget more this year than they were last year. In an exclusive consumer survey done to understand budget shopping habits, Mintel found that over half of people in all income groups are trying to budget their money more than they did in 2007.

“Economic struggles – from rising food and energy prices to declining home values to spiraling consumer debt?are seriously impacting people’s shopping habits,” states David Morris, senior analyst at Mintel and editor of the new Budget Shopper report. “This coming retail season, we expect many people to tighten their purse strings even more, spending more consciously than they have in the past. Retailers need to recognize, empathize and quickly react to consumers’ need to budget their holiday gift and entertainment dollar.”

Mintel’s study found that young adults and women are most likely to be budgeting and looking for savings across the board. While young adults tend to “always look for the cheapest product possible” more than older adults, women of all age groups are more likely than men to practice budgeting behaviors such as using coupons and reading newspaper sales fliers. Additionally, 64% of women (versus 59% of men) say they’re trying to stick to a budget more this year than they were in 2007.

Mintel found that people’s budget shopping habits differ from store to store. “The way that shoppers ‘look for a deal’ in one store is often very different from how they try to save money in another. Retailers who understand the nuances of budget shopping will best be able to give people the deals they’re looking for this holiday season,” comments Morris.

Suggestions include:

Online retailers: Four in five female survey respondents (85%) say they buy more online with free shipping, while 64% of 18-24 year olds say they always look for the cheapest product available online. Mintel recommends that online retailers advertise free or flat-rate shipping deals and sales promotions on their home pages.

Mass merchandisers: In mass merchandise stores like Target and Big Lots, two-thirds of shoppers (67%) always look at sale items before non-sale items. Also, 59% of 18-24 year olds always look for the cheapest product available. Mass merchandisers may be able to catch the business of affluent shoppers as they “trade down” to cheaper retailers.

Clothing retailers: For clothing retailers in particular, expanding return policies for women, who often control spending, may help them develop trusting, loyal relationships. “Showing a budget-savvy woman that you understand her shopping preferences is paramount to keeping her from trading down to a discount or thrift retailer. Clothing stores need to promote deep discounts and ‘buy one get one’ offers to tap into bargain-hunters’ shopping preferences,” says Morris.

David Morris points out that above all, “now, more than ever, it’s important for retailers to be honest with consumers.” Helping shoppers understand value, while continuing to cater to their specific needs, should provide the best solution for retailers looking to glow this holiday season.

About Mintel
Mintel is a leading global supplier of consumer, product and media intelligence. For more than 35 years, Mintel has provided insight into key worldwide trends, offering unique data that directly impacts client success. With offices in Chicago, London, Belfast, Sydney, Shanghai and Tokyo, Mintel has forged a unique reputation as a world-renowned business brand. For more information on Mintel, please visit www.mintel.com .