NEW YORK ? A ShopIgniter executive at the Luxury Interactive 2012 conference said that many marketers are still slow to embrace mobile. However, as more brands dive into the social space, it is imperative that they no longer ignore the emerging medium.

During the ?Leveraging Social Media ? Optimizing Your Presence Across Platforms? panel, executives discussed the big role that social plays in the luxury industry. Mobile and social complement each other and many marketers are not taking advantage and marrying the two channels to drive consumer engagement.

?We?re seeing this mobile/social connection,? said Marko Mueliner, senior director of marketing at ShopIgniter, Portland, OR. ?We?ve crossed this threshold with social customers using mobile devices.

?Mobile is important and when you do stuff on social you have to add mobile,? he said. ?There?s really interesting things happening in the space.

?Transactions are going to change radically and that?s been proven with mobile. The distributed commerce model is going to become a reality.?

Socially mobile
Social is a very important medium ? especially for the luxury industry.

Furthermore, marketers are ramping up their Facebook and Twitter presence like never before.

Companies are no longer using the channels to simply promote a new product or promotion. Facebook and Twitter, along with new social media giants such as Instagram and Pinterest, are becoming critical conversation tools that are now an essential part of a luxury marketer?s overall strategy.

?When you?re selling something so experiential, you really have to rely on rich content,? said Felicia Yukich, global social media marketing manager at Four Seasons Hotels and Resort, Toronto, Canada.

?We really rely on these social channels to get people on those sites,? she said. ?Social has been such a fantastic driver for us.?

According to Ms. Yukich, marketers need to look past simply getting ?Likes? from consumers.

With the thousands of comments posted on a brand?s page are leads ? and actionable leads at that.

Additionally, it is imperative that marketers not only take notice of positive comments, but negative ones as well.

?It really does take a human being to go through that and see that,? Ms. Yukich said. ?For someone to not jump on that in real-time is a missed opportunity.

?Negative social media is a huge opportunity to turn things around,? she said. ?The minute a consumer sees we respond and fix the problem, they are much more inclined to post how fantastic the recovery was.?

Loyal consumers
Social media helps reel in new consumers, but at the same engages loyal consumers.

Also, social is an ideal channel for marketers to learn more about their customers and better reach them going forward.

?Social is part of your communication strategy,? said Matt Edelman, CEO of Glossi.com. ?Take Pinterest, for example.

?There?s going to be a lot happening on that platform,? he said. ?Social is helping lead the conversation and there are many brands out there that are just participating.

?However, others like Diane von Furstenberg, Kate Spade and Helmut Lang are leading that discussion and that?s why they?re successful ? that?s why they have more followers. Rich content is where it?s all headed.?