It’s a channel with a host of potential benefits, but SMS marketing has fallen out of fashion somewhat recently with marketers in the US and Europe, prompting the question: is SMS still relevant?

Retailers and marketers are seeing great value in incorporating limited editions into their business plans, even in a world of digital goods and unlimited shelf space. But while selling high-value, limited-edition products is big business, so is scalping them. How can retailers fight back?

For years, brands have used microsites, in many cases to great effect. But not all microsites deliver results. So what separates the effective microsites from the ineffective ones? Here are eight components of a successful microsite, together with brands who are putting them into action.

The vast majority of brands are familiar with how to use social media mainstays like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. But each of these social networks came from somewhere – and those brands who were prescient enough to get in on the ground floor were able to reap the “early adopter” rewards.