Learn how Hot Topic leverages Shoutlet and IBM Digital Analytics to prove direct social media impact on sales.

1. Shoutlet, Inc. 2014 • v14.02 shoutlet.com • facebook.com/shoutlet • twitter.com/shoutlet
HOW RETAILER TRACKS
SOCIAL MEDIA CONVERSION
SHOUTLET AND IBM DIGITAL ANALYTICS INTEGRATION
PROVE DIRECT SOCIAL MEDIA IMPACT ON SALES
GOAL
UNDERSTAND SOCIAL CONTENT DRIVING CONVERSION EVENTS
Mall and online specialty retailer Hot Topic has more than 600 stores in the
United States and Canada, specializing in music and pop culture-related clothing
and accessories. With 5.5 million fans on Facebook and 300,000 on Twitter,
Hot Topic looked to understand what social media content drove conversion
events, including sales, adding product to wishlists, and account log ins.
CAMPAIGN
4-MONTH CONTENT CAMPAIGN WITH
SHOUTLET-IBM DIGITAL ANALYTICS INTEGRATION
For four months, the team posted content to Facebook
and Twitter with Shoutlet utilizing the link tracking
integration with IBM Digital Analytics (previously
Coremetrics). Content ranged from latest movie releases
to classic rock bands, Disney, and vinyl, drawing a diverse
customer base. Each link was automatically appended
with unique parameters that explain the conversion
path and consumer behavior for each piece of content.
The data was pulled back into Shoutlet for the team
to analyze in real-time.

2. Shoutlet, Inc. 2014 • v14.02 shoutlet.com • facebook.com/shoutlet • twitter.com/shoutlet
ABOUT SHOUTLET, INC.
Shoutlet is a leading independent enterprise-class cloud-based social marketing platform that
enables marketers to publish, engage, and measure social marketing campaigns and activities
on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare, and YouTube. Its
industry-leading, enterprise class functionality includes tools for social CRM, creative design,
social listening, ads, workflow management, contest design and execution, and top-notch
analytics for easy integration with the industry’s leading web analytics tools from Google
Analytics, IBM Digital Analytics, Omniture, and Webtrends. Shoutlet’s SaaS-based model gives
customers the control and flexibility they want and need, and is rooted in a strategic partnership
that provides the necessary resources and counsel to execute successful social campaigns.
RESULTS
FACEBOOK: 3X
CONVERSION EVENTS PER
POST THAN TWITTER
56% HIGHER
REVENUE PER ORDER –
CONTENT WITH SPECIAL OFFER
6X HIGHER
REVENUE PER POST –
CONTENT WITH SPECIAL OFFER
12
CONVERSION
EVENTS PER POST
Because of the ability to easily
monitor trends in social conversions
through Shoutlet and IBM DDX,
we’ve become quicker to react and
smarter in our posting strategy.
This will help us decide which posts
to promote which is very important
with the decline of Facebook’s
organic reach.
Katherine Hernandez
Hot Topic
The team gathered valuable data on conversion events from social media. Not only are total
orders and total order value important, but because of the young demographic, wishlist items
and accounts log ins are critical to understanding the level of influence social media has on orders.
Overall, Hot Topic content drove more than 12 conversion events per post, and their Facebook posts
influenced three times the conversion events than Twitter posts. The type of content driving the
most sales included promotions and special offers, but the team also discovered that posts with
a sense of urgency performed higher.
With this data, the team can make quick decisions on what type of posts are more effective,
and in the future, tie into their advertising strategy for cost-effective social ads.
SOLUTION
The team used the Shoutlet and IBM Digital Analytics
integration to gain insight into high performing posts
that drove actual revenue for the company.
IBM Digital Analytics parameters were automatically
appended to each outbound link sent from Shoutlet
to their social media accounts. IBM Digital Analytics
then recognized the activity on their website, and
tracked brand, channel, campaign, order, and
revenue data.
These data points were packaged up and delivered
back to the Shoutlet platform, so the social media
team could immediately see timely feedback on
how their campaigns performed and then optimize
content to drive more efficient revenue.