As we work to gear up with new campaigns for our clients in 2011 – using a digitally ahead- total communications outlook – leveraging tools like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube do and can work - not only for consumer engagement but to increase sales too! In a great article posted on Brandchannel.com – Going Social: Brands Large and Small Must Adapt to Social Media in 2011, Author Barry Silverstein says” Going social will demand a whole new level of consumer responsiveness from brand marketers – and a whole new way of looking at lead generation and qualifications process. Those who rise to that challenge will have the distinct advantage over their competitors in 2011. Click here to read more of this article.

For us the proof is always in the case studies and examples of success to show how powerful something can become. Everyone by now is familiar with the Old Spice campaign. That campaign garnered 140 million views on Twitter, an increase of Facebook fans of 2700% and 1.2 million Facebook fans. Sales rose 107%, according to Neilsen Data. You can’t get better than that. Here’s a link to a video from CREATIVITY that provides a case study for you to see how it worked so well.

The famed agency Weiden Kennedy knocked it out of the park with this one. What are you gonna do?

Best Nicole

Our guest blogger Blair Currie who we introduced to you last week and is working with BCAD Group on some new projects, has written a post to answer one of those questions. What will be the future for search. We feel there are some very important points to consider here – as this is one of the sure fire ways -  your can ensure your business will make money, garner new customers, improve your page ranking on search engines which in turn will help you sell more products and services.

How you are you leveraging search engine marketing in your business?

Best Nicole

There is no crystal ball to tell what the future holds; however, in the area of search engine marketing, there are a number of developments in the areas of audio search, location-based technology and personalization, that one can paint a pretty good picture of what is to come. Here are a few signs of where search appears to be headed:

1.Audio

Search by voice command will become increasingly common, especially for mobile devices. This will help speed up search and making it more personal.

In Stanley Kubrik’s classic film “2001: A Space Odyssey”, we were introduced to HAL, an intelligent computer that talked with the protagonists in the film. Speaking directly to HAL seemed much more natural and much faster than using a keyboard, trackball and/or mouse. This movie, albeit released in 1968, provides a glimpse at the future of search.

2.  Augmented

Search will continue to be augmented by both past behavior of you and “others like you” to speed up the process of delivering results. This is what Google Instant does when it shaves seconds off the search process letting you see results before you finish tying your search query.

The second form of augmented is “Augmented reality” (AR) where a real image is enhanced or augmented by digital imagery. An image captured on a mobile device can be identified with GPS technology and this image can be augmented or over-laid with search data, such as history of a building in the picture or availability and pricing of rooms in a particular hotel.  Companies that do this include Layar.

A third form of augmented is what can be referred to as  “Augmented humanity”. In this case an engine will search for things without being asked to. For example if you are walking down a street Google will use GPS data to search for history of the area as an example. This requires that your computing device continuously search and anticipate your questions – augmenting humanity in a way.

3.) Broader – will include the Internet of Things.

Everyday objects in the physical world will become searchable with the help of radio frequency identifications chips (RFID). Physical objects are being increasingly embedded with tiny identifying chips with valuable data including country of origin, component parts, manufacturing dates etc.. These chips are decreasing in prices so that more and more objects can be “connected” to the Internet.  Alternately put, there will be an “Internet of things”.

With the ability to search, identify and track physical goods, companies and individuals can manage inventories more effectively and consumers or customers can find and products more readily and compare prices at different vendors.  Individuals can also find lost objects – to mention a couple of functions related to the Internet of things, which is sometimes referred to as “Ambient intelligence”.

4.) Customizable

Search companies will include more tools to allow users to set priorities in what they are looking for and what they want to screen from their searches.

For example an individual may want to exclude social media or video searches and concentrate only on blogs. This will be possible because the search engines will allow us to set these filters.

5.) Future oriented

Major search trends will increasingly be used as “Future data now” that will be used to create new products and services. As such, Search will be used more proactively than reactively and become a more important tool for companies.

While in the past companies produced products and services and then figured out the best way to market them, search will accelerate the use of insights to develop products.

6.) Global

Language barriers to finding search results will decrease, as translation software will permit multiple language searches. The world’s data is not all recorded in one common language making it difficult to find Arabic results using a Japanese search engine. To help overcome this problem technology is being developed that will allow search in many languages.

7.) Location based applications

Location and mobile are really the “Third Wave” of the Internet following “Pages and Search” in the First Wave and “Social and Interactive” in the Second Wave. As mobile e-commerce develops, location based search will become more important.

When consumers are mobile they are generally interested in location based search. By combining search with GPS technology many services are developing that facilitate local navigation and marketing.

8.) Mobile

Mobile search will take an increasing share over the overall search market as mobile penetration overtakes PC penetration and as mobile devices – smart phones, computers in automobiles and wearable devices gain acceptance. .

This is a key reason why all the major search companies Google (including YouTube), Microsoft, Yahoo! and Facebook are all competing in the mobile space many of them developing operating systems and/or telephones of their own.

Audio search will greatly help out the spread of mobile search because of the difficulty of using keyboards and touch-screens for sending text.

9.) Personalized

Search will become more personalized and tailored to the individual as the search engine learns and knows more about an individual’s tastes and preferences. For example a search engine should be able to determine whether an individual  is looking for Seal the Musical performer vs. Seal the mammal based on his or her history.

As search gets more personalized search engines will need to increasingly need to better deal with privacy issues through opt-in agreements, full disclosure etc..

10.) Private

The Search Engines will ultimately need to develop a Bill of Rights to deal with the privacy of information and legal access rights by government bodies and the length of time information can be retained.

11.) Specialized

While some search engines will remain focused on mass search there will be niche search engines. For example, Wolfram Alpha, which is a fact based search engine. The user interfaces of specialized search engines may be better equipped to display the results of searched items, just as YouTube has evolved to best present video search results.

12.) Universal and more

Search will become increasing “Universal” in that it will continue to expand in scope moving from websites, books, news, images and videos to video and television as are now being introduced by Google and Apple.

Like anything – for some – the internet can be a place of wonder and for others too much information can ultimately be confusing. Yet the sharing of information with the people who have the same interests, values and passions – is easy with social media – to zero in on the things that YOU want or need and even those things for which you may have forgotten and wish to remember…like the rows of vanilla and chocolate Girl Guide cookies!
My go to resource for case studies and great, yet simple info. on the topics I decide to write about Mashable.com and its author for this article – Zachary Sniderman, posted an article that shows how some of these savvy sales people and small companies are using social media with success. From Twitter to geo location tools like Foursquare – these companies are finding ways to get the most out of their social network efforts and communities and best of all seeing great results!

Being authentic, remembering how you build relationships offline and using those same thoughtful gestures to build transparent and honest relationships online are – ways to leverage the traditional sales techniques with greater success via social media!

Best Nicole

The days of door-to-door salespeople might be drawing to a close, but that doesn’t mean that people have stopped selling things. The Internet is a great resource to get your goods into the right hands, but it can also be a confusing mess of options. How do you find the right people online? How can you get your products to them?

We’ve found a collection of small companies and websites that can help you get the most out of your social media network. Whether you’re a tiny Italian ice shop, a regular seller, or a seasoned vet – these resources can help you get real results.

Online Vendors

One of social media’s greatest benefits is how easy it is to get brand exposure. Your products aren’t limited by having to set up a physical shop or take out ads in the local newspaper. However, with so many online vendor websites (such as eBay or even Craigslist) available, it can be difficult to find your customers through all the noise.

Craigslist and eBay are expansive platforms that reach a huge swathe of customers. While this is great for reaching a large market, it can be difficult for individual salespeople to get their products featured, or noticed. Instead, look to niche online markets that suit the kind of products you’re selling.

Imagine you’re a local farmer selling honey. Selling a jar on eBay might be tricky, however, sites like Foodzie or Foodoro that focus on selling goods from small food producers is a more focused way to get exposure and sell your product. A quick search can turn up other niche online vendor hubs.

Creating Updates

Once you’ve found a place to sell your goods, you need to let people know about it. Facebook fan pages and Twitter accounts are two great ways to let existing or potential customers know about your product. Food carts across the country have already jumped on the wagon in order to let their customers know where they’ll be parked. For example, New York’s Rickshaw Dumpling Truck regularly tweets its location for the day with light-hearted updates and customer service.

But what if you don’t have a food cart? Twitter updates are still a good way to build buzz and excitement and create a community of customers.

Group Buying

Group buying (or mob buying) is becoming increasingly popular as a win-win for businesses and customers alike. Sites like Groupon, Deals for Deeds, Buy with Me, and Social Buy provide its users with large discounts on businesses. While there is an expected discount in the transaction, group buying sites allow salespeople to reach new customers and draw in large chunks of profit. Most group buying sites (including the three listed) have a section where buyers can sign up to be a featured vendor. Some sites, like Deals for Deeds (based in Washington D.C.), include an option for buyers to donate their savings to charity.

Sellers beware: Because of the nature of group buying, most sites are regionally based so make sure you find a site or group that is around your area or willing to sell your products online.

Foursquare Specials

Foursquare is more than just an invasive new technology for young folk; it’s a powerful tool for salespeople to share their products through social media. Sellers now have access to a small business dashboard that allows them to offer rewards and special deals to their most loyal customers. One such example is Rita’s Ice in Bellmore, NY. The Italian ice shop was able to attract customers over its competitors because of its specials and offers – some of which were only accessible via Foursquare.

Foursquare is a good way to both find new customers and reward long-time patrons for their loyalty.

The Dangers

Yup, even the Girl Scouts – long-known for their door-to-door cookie drives — have turned to social media in order to sell their strangely addictive cookies. The Girl Scouts previously shunned the online world for safety reasons but are just now experimenting with a new, safe online outreach to allow customers to buy their favorites. You can find corporate accounts for Girls Scouts on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube. But more importantly, you’ll find Girl Scouts everywhere sending Facebook messages to their friends and family members, inquiring on cookie orders.

While they are reaching a much larger audience, the Girl Scouts illustrates the danger of tarnishing a traditional brand image through selling via social media. They are so associated with door-to-door sales, that some see the turn online as a step backwards for the Girl Scouts’ image.

Branding is just as important for any other business or salesperson. Define your brand and decide how you can market it online without compromising your authenticity. With a little bit of forethought and tenacity, you can use social media to sell your goods with real results.

What really touched me is to see when someone from the traditional world realizing the opportunities of the digital world and is transitioning his career from the old world of media and sportscasting where he worked for 40 years – to the new world of Twitter, Facebook and Youtube. That would be sports caster Len Berman.  This morning I came across this video from my favorite site Mashable.com. Author Adam Ostrow, posted a beautiful piece which includes video from Len Berman himself who talks about his transition to social media and how he is finding success – that he may not have had – with some of his current business endeavors.

There are two videos included in this post and I encourage you to watch both of them and be inspired. As he says “whats an old fart like me doing on Twitter”?! To me he is a leader in the world of change and a great example of someone who saw success in the world of old media but was savvy and courageous enough to embrace the new media and is reaping the rewards of success in new ways. Bravo to Len Berman!

For all those business people and companies that sit caught in the old world media and still hedging on leaping into the new world – I say watch these videos and join in! Hope you will pass this on!

Best Nicole

One of my personal favorite moments of this week’s Mashable Media Summit was when long-time sportscaster Len Berman took the stage to talk about his transition from a nightly TV reporter in New York to a new media persona — a presentation he prefaced with the question “what’s an old fart like me doing on Twitter?”

Aside from the fact that I watched Berman growing up, his tale is an interesting one that points to the ongoing trend of old media personalities reinventing themselves in the social media world.

In Mashable’s backstage interview, we talked to Berman about the move, how he thinks social media helped him get a book on The New York Times Best Seller List, and which of the Fantastic Four’s powers he’d want. Check it out in the video above.

Also, watchBerman, an Emmy Award-winning sportscaster and New York Times bestselling author, talk about the transition from old media to new media during his speech in this livestream video:

There was also a big exchange on Facebook where people went when the video was removed – to post their discontent on the Nestle Fan page and altering the Nestle logo in a show of protest among other things. Nestle began by removing the posts and referring to a policy that said we will select any posts to be removed that do not use our logo in it’s correct format. Out cry began – because the whole point of social media and engagement is honesty and transparency. This is the place where businesses can listen and take in the criticism – with the chance to respond and build relationships. Not shut those voices down. The discontent then spread to Twitter and Nestle had to go back and apologize for removing those posts on Facebook and changed their policy.

What comes next is amazing as this is the POWER of SOCIAL MEDIA! Nestle then took the aggressive measures to alter its palm oil practices as this was the issue of contention.“Greenpeace U.K. touts, “With nearly 1.5 million views of our Kit Kat advert, over 200,000 emails sent, hundreds of phone calls and countless Facebook comments, you made it clear to Nestle that it had to address the problems with the palm oil and paper products it buys.”

The outcome for which Nestle has not only changed it practices – but has also joined forces with The Forest Trust. This is yet another example of the power that can be wielded by a community to force even the biggest of corporations to change their tune. The beauty is that if you establish an ongoing dialog now – that engages, shares, connects, creates and cutlivates – a give and take with  your customer you do not need to be the next business – being used as a case study for issues management! Mashable.com features this story written by Jennifer Van Grove and included  is the controversial and shocking video. I will attach here but PLEASE BE WARNED OF ITS SHOCKING CONTENT.

For those that still sit on the fence of social media and how to begin to leverage it’s tools for your business – this is a case study worth the due diligence!

Best Nicole

oday Nestle announced a “zero deforestation” policy in partnership with The Forest Trust (TFT), which will initially focus on amending its palm oil purchasing practices. The move follows a full blown Facebook attack initiated by Greenpeace earlier this year.

Eight weeks ago, Greenpeace UK released a provocative YouTube () video calling into question Nestle’s methods for acquiring palm oil. Greenpeace claims that the company’s practices contribute to rainforest deforestation and used YouTube as a platform to shock viewers with a video that likens eating a Kit Kat to eating an orangutan (the graphic video is embedded below).

The video caught the attention of Nestle, who had it removed from YouTube and consequently incited Greenpeace to rally the troops to call, send emails and leave chastising comments on Nestle’s Facebook Page. The situation created by the cacophony of updates worsened after a Nestle representative threatened to delete any comments by users whose profile pics included an altered version of the Nestle logo.

What followed is quite remarkable from a social media standpoint, and has much to do with Nestle’s more aggressive plan to alter its palm oil practices. Greenpeace U.K. touts, “With nearly 1.5 million views of our Kit Kat advert, over 200,000 emails sent, hundreds of phone calls and countless Facebook comments, you made it clear to Nestle that it had to address the problems with the palm oil and paper products it buys.”

Nestle is most certainly changing its tune, and its partnership with The Forest Trust means that Greenpeace can go after its next target, HSBC.

[img credit: Greenpeace U.K.]

This mindset from my perspective – is sure to provide you with a way to connect not only your target market – but also connect all of the social networks that you participate. You can  ensure that you include all of the different types of communicators in a way that is authentic and true to them. I came across an article today that talks about a bakery business, that has done just that. They have connected several of the social networks they participate – so that they include everyone – where they  most like to reside. Clever. The article comes from a blog Marketingsherpa and is written by Adam T Sutton. The company Panna Dolce is located in Chicago, Ill. For all you dessert lovers out there, they specialize in macaroons!

The results are pretty impressive. They say that “The team estimates 35% of ecommerce sales come from referral traffic from social networks. That number jumped to about 50% during Valentine’s Day. Also, the team’s work is earning them valuable business contacts.”

If you think about it – it really comes back to the basics. Some people love to text or email. Others like to communicate via social networks and then there are those like me – that still like to pick up the phone. I know myself I tend to try and communicate with people in the way they like to engage – for ease of connection and relationship building too. Many businesses have yet to grasp this multi pronged approach. How many ways are you engaging with your customers?

Best Nicole

When working in social media, many marketers stick to a few areas, such as Facebook, Twitter and blogging. Justin Greis, Owner, Panna Dolce, chose a broader approach.

The Chicago-based French maracron, cookie and brownie bakery relaunched in December 2009 after perfecting their macron recipe for five years. Now, they have a blog and also work in Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo, Flickr, YouTube and other networks.

“We don’t discriminate,” says Greis. “We found there are different types of people who connect through different types of networks, and the more we’re connected and linked up through a central hub, which ends up being our blog and our ecommerce site, the better.”

Amazingly, Panna Dolce’s three-member team is able to keep content fresh in all these networks while maintaining their business. They do so, in part, by connecting as many accounts as possible, so a blog post becomes a tweet, a video becomes a Facebook update, and so on.

“We haven’t seen a lot of interaction on our blogs. But when you link your blog to Facebook, when you like it to Twitter, when you link it to YouTube and Vimeo, you connect with people the way they want to be connected to — and that is absolutely essential.”

The team also generates content by partnering with and writing about relevant sites, as well as covering their own:
o Charity work
o New flavor launches
o Events attended
o Press mentions

The team’s website, powered by Volusion, enables shoppers to share links to their product pages, further increasing their content on the  networks.

All this work is paying off. The team estimates 35% of ecommerce sales come from referral traffic from social networks. That number jumped to about 50% during Valentine’s Day. Also, the team’s work is earning them valuable business contacts.

“We’ve had several offers from big retail department stores that are tasting our products right now to see if they want to pick them up. We’ve had a lot of interest from bigger boutique grocery stores…All of those contacts were made through [online social networks].”

Most people want to just dive in and side step this strategic planning – as it is so much easier and much cheaper to just put up your own pages and get started. Which by the way I advocate – if you do not dive in – you cannot understand how this social media, networking community building, engagement and collaboration works. This must not take away from the importance of the strategy to understand who those influencers are and how to connect directly with them.  Relationships can mean profiling them and having them speak about your products, providing them with special offers or product trials prior to launch. Being true with the ways that you engage them and allowing them to provide their thoughts opinions and challenges – rather than “selling” them is an honest way to say – you appreciate their support.

Mashable.com provides some great examples which is why I feature their articles so often. Author Ben Straley gives some great ideas on how to connect with your top 1%. As I said in my speech understanding where they go and how they connect is vital – but it is also important to understand how they want to connect with you. Are the on Facebook, that now commands 41% of the social media traffic as reported by comscore media or are they on Twitter, Myspace or Linkedin? Are they spectators where they read blogs and newsletters or are they posting comments and engaging with the things they like to read?

This vital information will clearly allow you to tap into sourcing the influencer you are looking for. Your commitment to them will  encourage them to galvanize their  followers to your community and the followers -to whom follow them – do the same. This traffic boost can only lead to growth in sales for your business and better yet a vibrant community to which you can engage and connect with the people who love what you offer.

Have you identified your influencers and the ways that you are  targeting them?

Best Nicole

our brand has 10,000 Twitter () followers and 2,000 fans on Facebook (). Does that mean your social media marketing efforts are paying off? Maybe not. As the old adage goes, it’s quality, not quantity, that counts.

Recent data that Meteor Solutions collected from across more than 20 brand marketer clients shows that the type of friends, fans and followers a brand amasses on social media sites matters more than the number. On average, approximately 1% of a site’s audience generates 20% of all its traffic through sharing of the brand’s content or site links with others. And these “influencers” drive an even higher share of conversion. These very important Internet users can directly influence 30% or more of overall end actions on brand websites by recommending the brand’s site, products or promotions to friends.

As this data shows, successful social media marketing isn’t simply about amassing thousands of followers, but instead precisely identifying the most influential members of your audience and recognizing them for their value. By directly engaging one influencer with exclusive opportunities, special offers, and unique content, you are indirectly engaging thousands of other people who are part of this influencer’s social sphere.

Sounds pretty enticing, right? But the challenge in crafting a successful marketing program that activates influencers is two-fold. First, you have to use the right data and traffic analysis tools to find out who your most influential followers are. Second, you have to connect with these people in an authentic, “non-salesy” way, and truly build a relationship with them –- because if you overly “sell” to your influencers, you’ll burn a bridge and potentially turn your biggest fans into your worst detractors.

Here are a few concrete tips brands can use to get started marketing with influencers.

Find Out Who Is In Your 1%

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Find Out What Your 1% Likes to Share

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After you’ve identified these individuals, use your social media analytics platform to dig down into the content they like to share most often. Do they tend to share deals and discounts? Or do they prefer to share links to your branded entertainment content, like YouTube () videos, social games and contests, or informational articles? At this stage, you can separate your 1% into groups, such as “shopping mavens” who love to pass along deals and discounts; “experts” who love to share new research, top-10 lists, how-to articles, and other educational content; “gaming gurus” who like to share information about contests and games; or “entertainers” who like to share movie trailers, YouTube clips, and social media apps.

Find Out Where Your 1% Goes to Connect and Share

Now you need to identify which social networks, blogs, forums, and websites your 1% hangs out on, and which methods they use to share your content (e-mail, social updates, tweets, etc.). One thing you’re likely to find out is that while Facebook and Twitter undoubtedly play major roles in the spread of your brand’s content, major social networking sites are not where you’re likely to find and reach your 1%.

Think about it — if you are someone extremely passionate about cars, are you really going to bore and alienate your family and friends on Facebook? Some of them might (and lose friends and followers in the process), but for the rest, they have a blog, post comments on other blogs, and interact with niche communities of like-minded influencers, advocates, and fans.

Finding these sites and communities on the web requires some sleuthing. Aside from digging deep into the traffic data provided by your social media analytics platform, another way to find these niche sites is to follow a number of active “experts” on Twitter in your topic of choice. Ask them where they go to learn about and share the content that matters most to them.

Find Out What Motivates Your 1%

Do your influencers share content about your brand in pursuit of fame, fortune, or a bit of both? Understanding what motivates your 1% to share is key to finding out what makes them tick, and what types of content they will respond to favorably.

For most people that spend time creating and sharing content, it’s not about fortune, it’s about fame. They share links with friends and their wider social network because it makes them feel important, special, and useful. That doesn’t mean influential people don’t like deals as a rule — they’re just like the rest of us in that regard. But they respond most positively to the attention and recognition they get from sharing useful content and valuable information with others.

For example, we’ve seen on several marketing programs that the percent of incremental unique visitors to a site from shared links more than doubled when the names of the top sharers where posted on an online leader board, and top-sharers were given access to exclusive content.

Make ‘Em Famous

Use your company’s Twitter and Facebook pages to call out public achievements, like funny or useful YouTube videos on relevant topics posted by your top 1%. Blog () about an interesting article, post, or tweet an influential member of your customer base has written, and let them know what you’ve done. And make sure to extend special offers or direct access to top company executives to your influential users. A big part of making these people feel special involves granting insider access to people, deals, or information that is limited to a select few.

Conclusion

It got me thinking – as my response was immediately that social media is not akin to one product or style of business, but rather the idea of finding ways to communicate and engage your target market by connecting with them, them connecting with you and of course with each other – as members of a community who all have the same interests and goals. I think that this all relates back to understanding a target markets social computing behavior. This behavior is not referenced by a product or a brand – but rather by the way they choose to communicate, share and access information. It is your job to understand what it is that you want from this engagement as a business and then understand who it is that you want to engage – learn how they will best want to engage with you and then proceed with that strategy in a way that will involve them in a mutually beneficial relationship of sharing.

One of the great things I learned about the many years in the fashion business was – that understanding that consumer behavior can be vital and varied for different target markets. Their response to your designs, colors, fabrics and price points can be directly pointed to how well you listened to what it is that they wanted, needed and liked. That strategic planning and understanding of your target customer was part of the strategic DNA of each season’s line planning – long before social media or computers (when I first began (lol))! When you got it right – they kept coming back and the re-orders were unstoppable and when you didn’t listen – the repeated reductions of your product still didn’t move off the floor.

While thinking about this topic of pigeon holing the product – instead of understanding that social media is about networking, community, engagement, sharing and extending your reach – to a vast network or as Seth Godin, coined “a tribe of people” who all have shared goals and interests – has more to do with the format that you choose to engage – then what the product may be. I found an article from last year at Mashable.com written by Samir Balwani that features 10 of the smartest brands leveraging social media. Blendtec, Burger King, Starbucks, Sun Micro Systems, IBM, Zappos, Comcast, Ford, Graco and Dell – all using different tools to target very different customers with very different products and services.

As Samir says in his summation “Lesson: Social media isn’t all about ROI, but it is possible. Creating cross-platform strategies can lead to the most success, especially when your demographic is already Internet and technologically savvy.”

Best Nicole

As we battle a global recession, corporations are looking for new ways to sell their products and engage their consumers. Many have turned to the Internet, with Social Media in particular, to market their goods. Let’s take a look at 10 companies that have done a phenomenal job of taking advantage of social media platforms.

1. Blendtec Blends it on YouTube

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Blendtec leveraged YouTube’s subscriber base and tried something fun and original. The campaign was a success and continues to entertain and sell.

Lesson: Social media marketing doesn’t always need to cost a lot of money. Creating funny, original video and leveraging an already large user base can be used to increase sales.

2. Burger King and the Sacrifice Facebook Application

Sadly, the application was shut down as quickly as it started by Facebook, citing privacy concerns. Regardless, the application was beautifully built and the idea was perfect. Burger King built in the ability to share it, the incentive to use it, and added just enough humor to make the campaign a hit.

Lesson: Successful and viral campaigns don’t just test out social media, they jump in it. Pushing the envelope can create the buzz that makes your campaign memorable.

3. Starbucks Asks for Your Advice

The site allows users to submit suggestions to be voted on by Starbucks consumers, and the most popular suggestions are highlighted and reviewed. Starbucks then took it a step further and added an “Ideas in Action” blog that gives updates to users on the status of changes suggested.

By empowering their exceptionally web savvy consumer, Starbucks strengthens their campaign to add a personal touch to coffee.

Lesson: Thinking of ways to build your company are great, but directly asking your consumers what they want, is better. Acting on that information and doing it publicly is key to the success of this campaign.

Starbucks has also embraced Twitter, you can see their stream at @Starbucks.

4. Sun Microsystems and the CEO Blog

It’s not the number of hits that make his blog a social media success, but the openness on it. Positive and negative comments are allowed, and even the most inane are approved. Transparency from the highest position in a company trickles down and increases trust from consumers.

Lesson: Social media is a culture of transparency and honesty that must be embraced, leading by example is one of the best ways to introduce it to a company. Few things are better than a CEO that blogs or uses twitter.

Sun Microsystems also has a network of blogs, friends on Facebook (), friends on Twitter, and their own Twitter account as well.

5. IBM With Lots of Blogs

IBM capitalizes on the intelligence of their employees to give consumers insight into what happens behind the scenes. By giving the industry experts they’ve hired a voice, IBM is able to highlight the people behind their products. Users get to see how IBM operates, and are given a direct connection with IBM employees.

Lesson: Having a CEO that blogs is great, but increase the number of blogs and you increase the number of connections. Leveraging your employees to write about what they love conveys the corporate dedication to the industry.

You can also find IBM on Twitter giving updates on events from their calendar.

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6. Zappos on Twitter

The idea of micro-blogging and the sense of exceptional customer service is ingrained in the corporate culture. Most Zappos employees have an active account, and the Zappos site has a page that aggregates all the streams.

The reason why Zappos stands out on Twitter is because of their ability to bring the company to life. The Zappos CEO has lent his personality to the company brand, a personality that is friendly, helpful, funny, and trustworthy. They use Twitter to highlight interesting facts, and to talk to their consumers. Talking to Zappos is like talking to a friend that happens to sell shoes.

Lesson: Take a CEO that twitters, add in a great personality and you have a recipe for social success. Ingraining social media into the culture of a corporation means that every consumer interaction is personal.

Zappos also does a great job of using their blog and Facebook to engage their avid fanbase.

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7. Comcast on Twitter too

Comcast has found a way to offer exceptional customer service to their consumers, but the thing that really makes them stand out is how well they monitor discontent. Complain about Comcast and you can bet you’ll hear from @comcastcares to see if they can help.

Lesson: Being active on Twitter is great but tracking and seeing who’s mentioning you, is the next step. Social media allows for the possibility of great customer service, and with it, better brand loyalty.

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8. Ford and Social Media PR

The basic story is that there was an internal gaffe where Ford’s legal department sent out cease and desist letters to forum owners using Ford trademarks. Obviously the story was twisted and changed, and in the end people were outraged.

What makes this a success story for social media is that Scott Monty (Ford’s community manager) was quick to find out what happened and let us know the true story. Not only that, but as things were being fixed and a compromise was ironed out, the public was informed every step of the way.

Although we don’t know if social media has shown a direct return on investment for Ford, the public relations fiasco it helped avert (think Motrin) should help make the case for more funding for social media.

Lesson: Social media can be used to inform consumers in real-time of how a corporation is reacting to events that affect the customer. Transparency in the process and access to constant information can help stop a negative story from going viral.

9. Graco Uses Pictures on Flickr

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Flickr isn’t the center of their campaign, but they promote it heavily with the Graco blog which also creates an incentive for others to submit pictures. The photographs help highlight the people behind Graco and the consumers using their products.

Graco takes their strategy one step further by introducing offline marketing in the form of community gatherings. The pictures from these meet-ups are posted to the Flickr page, further humanizing the community around the product.

Lesson: Social media doesn’t have to exist wholly online. Blending offline marketing with online efforts can build a community around a brand.

Graco has a blog and leverages Lindsay Lebresco (the corporate blogger for Graco) to be active on Twitter.

10. Dell Doing it Everywhere

Dell is also one of the few companies to publicly state that they created a return on investment from Twitter. Apparently, Dell’s social media efforts help create “$1 million in revenue“.

Lesson: Social media isn’t all about ROI, but it is possible. Creating cross-platform strategies can lead to the most success, especially when your demographic is already Internet and technologically savvy.

Today’s post is going to do just that. In 2008, Starbucks (YES, I am one of their devotees ) found themselves in some serious hot water. Sales were down, there were major corporate management changes (which included Starbucks former CEO Howard Shultz returning and some management being let go), store closings, and some of the rapid rate expansion was slowed so that the company could go back to basics. The challenge? “How do they get back their relationship with their customer — the one they had when they first began?” Shultz claimed that, “Starbucks had lost its soul.”

They began with MyStarbucksidea.com, where customers could submit their ideas, frustrations, ask questions and share opinions. They have received 80,000 ideas thus far and implemented 50 of them—which shows they are listening. It has paid off.  What did the do right? They approached their social media campaign as a “customer relationship building movement”. Brilliant! They used their own blog, MyStarbucksidea.com, along with Facebook and Twitter. And in turn, they used those networks to feature promotions for “free” products that could be redeemed in-store. By melding both the online participation and offline engagement, they brought customers back into the stores. This relationship also allowed them to manage what is sometimes referred to as “issues management” rumors or negative press. Social media allowed them to clearly articulate the truth, answer questions and not let that negativity go unanswered.

The outcome? Starbucks is now beginning to see sales rise following its social media promotions and they posted in the U.S. their first same store sales gain in 2 years for the last quarter.

Can’t find a better example than this detailed blog article posted today by Ad Age Digital, written by Emily Bryson York. It shows what you can look forward to if you make the type of social media commitment that Starbucks has made and is making.  Sales gain is a pretty great reason to me! What are you waiting for?

Best Nicole

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) — Let’s get this straight right away: Return on investment in social media is not measured in how many friends you have on Facebook or how many followers you have on Twitter. It’s not calculated in trending topics or YouTube comments. It should, in fact, be held to the same criteria other marketing channels are: Did it move your business?

It’s done just that at Starbucks, which is a digital marketer worth watching.

No one would have guessed at that turn of events during the chain’s dark days of early 2008. Sales and traffic had begun to slip for the first time in its history as a public company. Founder Howard Schultz, returning to handle day-to-day management, even admitted that Starbucks had lost its soul. As part of Mr. Schultz’s multifaceted turnaround plan, the chain launched MyStarbucksIdea.com in July 2008 as a forum for consumers to make suggestions, ask questions and, in some cases, vent their frustrations. The website now has 180,000 registered users. Some 80,000 ideas have been submitted, 50 of which have been implemented in-store.

Chris Bruzzo, Starbucks’ VP-brand content and online, said amassing Starbucks’ 5.7 million Facebook fans and 775,000 Twitter followers could be tougher for a dental-floss brand. “Maybe we have an unfair advantage because in so many ways Starbucks and the store experience is like the original social network,” he said. Consumers “come in, hang out and talk to our store partners. They sort of got to know us as a brand in a very social way.”

But he’s quick to point out that Starbucks’ advantage could easily have been squandered. “If we had approached it not from ‘what you know and love about Starbucks’ but as a marketing channel, we would have taken this down a path that would have been very different,” he said. “This was not [built as a] marketing channel, but as a consumer relationship-building environment.”

More important than the number of fans, however, is that the coffee chain is beginning to see sales lifts following social-media promotions.

Results
Starbucks posted its first U.S. same-store sales gain in two years for the last quarter during a time when the company relied on digital and social-media promotions instead of what had become an annual TV blitz. The chain partnered with Pandora to sponsor holiday playlists, staged a Facebook sing-a-long and leveraged its partnership with Project RED to drive traffic to a dedicated microsite — and its stores, offering a free CD with a $15 purchase.

Mr. Bruzzo said that the company is benefitting from a trend “toward this intersection between digital and physical.”

“We’re seeing the beginning of that,” he said. “The experiences you have online can translate to rich offline experiences.”

The first time Mr. Bruzzo noticed this intersection was on Starbucks’ “Free Pastry Day” last summer, when consumers could visit the company website or its Facebook page and download a voucher for a free pastry. Mr. Bruzzo, who visited multiple stores that day, said he was amazed at the number of people standing in line holding coupons they’d printed out. He said the impetus for free pastries was the volume of faithful online followers asking to be included on new products or other company news.

The secret to Starbucks’ social-media success is, at least in part, the fact that it plays it cool. “It’s not like we started our Facebook community, got to a million people and started pushing offers at them,” he said. “We built up a community of people who enjoy engaging with our photo albums from our trip to Rwanda, who loved to have these shared moments around their favorite drinks.” Then, fans started asking the company what was going on, and how they could be included.

‘Straight scoop’
An added benefit of Starbucks’ social-media progress has been the ability to quickly manage rumors that could have dogged the company for days. Last January, a story spread that Starbucks was donating its profits in Israel to fund the country’s army — even though Starbucks doesn’t have any cafés in Israel. These days, Mr. Bruzzo said, when misinformation gets out, it’s easier to nip it in the bud.

Chris Bruzzo, VP-brand content and online, Starbucks

Internally, it’s called the “embassy strategy.” Starbucks strives to make MyStarbucksIdea and its Facebook and Twitter pages places that “when you go there you know you’re going to get the straight scoop,” he said.

After ceding its usual first-to-market status to competitors, Starbucks launched two iPhone apps in September, one for general café purposes, with store locators, details about specific blends and nutrition information, and the other to support its loyalty card. Moving forward, Mr. Bruzzo said the company will be looking for ways that consumers can connect with each other from inside the apps.

In the meantime, Starbucks is testing functionality that allows loyalty-card holders to pay with their phones.

Starbucks’ agencies are BBDO, PHD and Blast Radius.

Starbucks tweeter in chief

Unlike many marketers, Starbucks doesn’t run its Twitter feed out of its PR department. The chain’s voice on Twitter is Brad Nelson, 28, a former barista who rose through its IT ranks.

When the company was looking for ideas to re-engage with its core customer in 2008, Mr. Nelson suggested that he begin a Twitter handle for the brand, and it now has 775,000 followers. The brand relies on the 28-year old to translate the Starbucks experience for the online community, search out confused or disgruntled consumers, chat about store offerings and even crack jokes.

Chris Bruzzo, VP-brand, content and online, said that Starbucks was beginning to institute its turnaround plan in early 2008 when Mr. Nelson announced he was ready for something new and wanted to get involved in the chain’s online efforts.

“I sent him away and said ‘Fine, sure,’” Mr. Bruzzo said. But about two weeks later, Mr. Nelson gave him a presentation about Twitter and the opportunity to communicate directly with consumers as questions arise. Mr. Nelson sweetened his pitch by adding, “It’s a lot like being a barista on the internet.” Mr. Bruzzo recalls greenlighting the project, and after a period of working with Mr. Nelson, let him loose on Twitter.

Mr. Bruzzo gives credit to Mr. Nelson and his “willingness to take smart risks,” but shares some of the kudos for Starbucks. “I guess you have to have a brand like this and an environment that’s open to innovation and someone like Brad with the passion and personality.”

Now Starbucks is finding more ways to use Mr. Nelson. He took a week-long cross-country drive last fall with comedienne Erin Foley and an Edelman entourage to help launch Via. The group made stops for a web series along the way, passing out product samples.