In the world of online marketing, social media is a new popular channel – every retail merchant wants to develop their social presence and have Facebook, Twitter and YouTube channels. However, simply creating profiles isn't enough, asserts industry expert Steve Cohen, there is a great deal of optimization that must be done before merchants will see big results.

"How you're using social media should really mirror how your customers purchase their products from you," he explains. "In line with this, retailers should understand what their customers are looking for in order to optimize their social media offerings and how they communicate with them through social media."

For example, retailers could take a look at which products are selling well, then offer discounts on them to social media fans, providing existing followers with value and others with an incentive to subscribe to the brand on Facebook, Twitter or whichever social site they use.

Many retailers are quickly integrating social media into store operations. If they aren't leveraging the platform as an online shopping platform, they may be using it for customer service or to get feedback on products and services.