Using Social Media to drive footfall and customer retention

I've just been reading Joe McKendrick's SOA blog over at ZDNet where he's been blogging from the Microsoft Fastforward conference in Las Vegas. He's described what he calls the LIFT phenomenon; Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter.

I was thinking, with a good Social Media marketing strategy in place a retailer could really benefit from these platforms, gaining insight, introducing rich interaction with their followings.

Many retailers have RSS enabled their websites, but what if it were just as easy on their eCommerce platform or Enterprise Marketing Mgmt (EMM) tool to click a box when creating that latest and greatest promotion and it to appear directly on those Social Media sites?

With the advent of FaceBook Connect and the Twitter APIs that shouldn't be so difficult should it?

If these customers have already pledged allegiance by following on Twitter or becoming a Fan on Facebook, imagine how special they'll feel if they're always the first to know about special offers and discounts.