I first wrote this post for the Lift Summit blog, where I’ve been contracted to create promotional posts for the event (for money). They have been awesome enough to let me repost it here.

Social media offers a plethora of new ways to connect with customers. It can help you express to them how valuable they are to your company. It can create loyalty and longevity, enabling you to keep your customers instead of having to replace them. But can it help increase your sales? The social media community says yes.

How do you do this? What are the best practices to generate leads? How can you promote customer loyalty or obtain customer feedback? Lift Summit will answer these questions for you on September 23 with an afternoon panel, “Social Media Strategies and Tactics that Lift Sales”.

The panel members will include Bryan Simkins, Sam Decker, Jennie Ecclestone and Lisa Calhoun. Bryan Simkins is a Marketing Specialist for FedEx Advertising, where he heads up digital advertising strategies, search marketing, and web analytics. He has previously worked for agencies supporting brands such as Pepsi, Frito-Lay and DaimlerChrysler.

Sam Decker is the Chief Marketing Officer of Bazaarvoice. He frequently speaks at eCommerce and marketing events, and maintains an award-winning marketing blog. Sam has written two books on word of mouth and guerrilla marketing, and serves of the boards of both Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) and the Web Analytics Association.

Jennie Ecclestone is the Assistant Manager of Southeast Region Communications for General Motors. She leads grassroots communications and public relations, and manages all social media efforts in Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, West Virginia, Virginia and Kentucky. Jennie was previously GM’s Assistant Manager of Northeast Region Communications in Detroit.

Lisa Calhoun is President of Write2Market, an agency that creates recognizable industry leadership for companies like Aflac, Camp Coca-Cola and Motorola. Her company was recognized by Start-Up Nation as a Top 10 Financial Performer in 2007, and cited for its innovative approach to making business headlines by publications such as The Wall Street Journal and USA Today.

Hear from these experts on how social media and social commerce can help you generate sales while creating customer loyalty and gaining valuable feedback.

Lift: The B2B Social Commerce Summit is a “must attend” event for marketing executives, senior management and business owners looking to apply real-world social tactics that drive sales lift to their business. This year’s event will take place on September 23 in Atlanta.

Photo by timparkinson