Macy's, Sears Use Social Media To Sell Prom Dresses

Prom preparations are underway around the country and retailers are taking full advantage of the occasion. Teenagers wield substantial spending power, typically thanks to their parents – just try telling your daughter she can’t have THAT dress – and this time of year translates into profits for any brand that succeeds in reaching the high school demographic.

Retailers are using social networking sites to promote their particular lines. Macy's and Sears, for example, have created digital projects in an effort to boost flagging sales while targeting younger consumers planning to attend prom. Both Macy's and Sears are known to stock large quantities of dresses in early spring with the hope that young women everywhere will don their dresses during prom season.

Sears has designed an "Ultimate Prom Experience" website featuring beauty tips, fashion trends posts, and a contest that offers a $1,000 prize. Users have the option to publish their personal results from the site's personality-based quizzes on Twitter and Facebook, which are particularly popular with high school students.

Macy's has added a “Prom 2010” section to its popular Facebook profile, garnering almost 400,000 followers, where members can post prom related pictures. In celebration of the upcoming event, the department store will also host events where teenage consumers are encouraged to use the #prom2010 hashtag on their Twitter pages. Brand representative Orlando Veras revealed that participants will receive additional discounts for texting specified “codes.”

Social networking websites are clearly effective, economical tools for marketing to specific audiences. But the teen demographic is particularly accessible via web-based efforts as they spend large amounts of their time communicating to each other via various devices. And many retails brands are hoping teens are asking their friends, “Where’d you buy your dress?”