Join us today for a Webinar focused on Social the Sells. We’ll present 7 ideas that work (and 3 that we’re keeping our eyes on).
Time: 10am PT / 1pm ET
Speakers:
Andrew Sirotnik, Fluid, Founder/CXO
Amy Lanigan, Fluid, Director of Strategy
A sneak peak:
- Sold out sales on Facebook
- Liking after Levi’s
- Mobile sharing during shopping
- Live streaming chefs
There are still a few slots available. Register here.
You’ve heard the news by now. “Fans” on Facebook are no longer. It’s all about “Likes.” We’ve moved from roaring crowds to the realm of school crushes and ice cream.
Prior to the change we did a survey. We wanted to know the degree to which people were getting involved with brands on Facebook. Are fans in it for the arm candy or are they locked in long-term? Is all of this brand fanning one big booty call?
The results: 35.3% described their relationship with brand pages as Love ‘em and Leave ‘em.
As Kenmore’s social media agency of record we get a fair number of trips in to Chicago. Here are seven observations from our latest:
1. Fluid’s Rachel Roy fan-only Facebook shop resonates – with fans and with clients. Andrew, our CXO, explains why it works here. A 25% increase in fans in the first 24 hours is worth talking about.
2. Lucky magazine is integrating digital into publishing and fashion in great ways. In this month’s issue: Daily Deals for their At Your Service, QR code promos and ads using ShopText (think text-to-give becomes text-to-buy or sample).
3. Social media expertise is excelling in-house. As more brands hire community engagement or social media managers we’re finding big opportunities for strong partnerships. Client understanding will lead the shake out of social media vendors and offerings. Yay.
4. It’s time to upgrade my iPhone. Why? Video. What sparked this thought? I watched a guy clean and squeegee the windows near SFO security with more gusto, style and love than can ever be imagined. It was awesome. He needs to be seen.
Last year Alicia Keys asked American Idol watchers to text-to-give. It yielded $450K – the largest portion of the $4M total donated via mobile texts in 2009.
That record has been broken. As of last week, the Red Cross alone has received over $25M in text-to-give donations for Haiti. $3M in the first 24 hours. 25% of the overall Red Cross funds donated.
A devastating event + human generosity + mobile technology equals:
- A broad base of in-the-moment givers
- A momentous moment for mobile
The money raised to positively impact Haiti relief efforts is the biggest win. The implications for e/mCommerce though are incredibly exciting.
Here are the top five things I see text-to-give teaching us:
1. The power of “virtual” currency
Disney has Disney Dollars. Facebook and online games have their own currency. Chuck E. Cheese has tokens. Casinos transact in chips. Credit cards aren’t the same as cold hard cash. Whether we like it or not, these all leverage the fact that people are likely to spend more money when they’re not transacting in actual dollars. Text-to-buy via mobile creates this same sense of distance.
[Haiti donations efforts were focused on $5 and $10 donations. My colleague smartly asked, what if they’d allowed text codes with varying cash amounts (HAITI25, HAITI50, etc.)? Would donations be that much bigger?]
2. Mobile providers as payment systems
Text-to-give means that providers become the payment method. The $10 donation goes on our mobile bills and the providers reconcile with the non-profits to ensure that the donations reach their end destination. This puts providers in a powerful position.
It’s not a big leap to think about facilitating mCommerce purchases via text messaging. Mobile providers could become the next PayPal – taking a percentage on the pass-through before the order is delivered to a retailer.
3. Social sharing after an action
Companies are consumed with how to make their commerce and brands more social. Much of it is focused on sparking purchases through the power of social networks. What about making them social post-purchase?
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A bronze to be exact. Or for those of you who once swam on a summer league team, a white ribbon. (Just for the record: In 2010 we’re going for gold!)
Social Commerce Today ranked the top 10 Social Commerce Highlights of 2009. In a list showcasing stiff competition, Fluid Social tied with Facebook Connect for allowing shoppers to shop together in digital commerce – quite nice company on the podium.
We edged out GroupOn. Which, in my opinion, is one of the smartest, most compelling companies currently gaining volumes of buyers. Commerce is now content and I’m cheering it on.
What’s particularly smart about this blog list? It markets the blog as much as it showcases the winners. If everyone on the list writes about being written up marketing is amplified by 10. Seth Godin recently showed the power of this tactic for the collaborative eBook What Matters Now.
We at Fluid hope your new year is off to a great start. We like the looks of what 2010 holds.
Side note: According to a Marist Poll, 48% of Americans say they are likely to make a #newyearsresolution this year. 33% remember making one last year. The delta may mean that the mind is quite forgiving of what slips.
Public accountability helps make resolutions stick. Writing on this blog every Tuesday is one of my resolutions. Now you know. More importantly, now I know you know. Bring on the Tuesday Musings…
Damn. Should I be concerned?
Bacon currently has 379,844 fans on Facebook. Kevin Bacon has 5,985. With six degree of separation that likely equals an amount that exceeds the number of Facebook fans for your brand.
Unless you’re Coca-Cola (4,007,785 fans), who let two fans keep running their page or Starbucks (5,116,222 fans) who frankly, is Starbucks.
Free shipping for becoming a fan wasn’t enough for JCrew (164,848 fans) to unseat bacon. Although kudos to them for their simple implementation of a proven ecommerce winner.
A brand’s number of fans has become the stuff of bragging rights and for some, night sweats. Rivaled only by the quest for viral video views on YouTube.
My opinion: Kick the leader board to the curb and don’t let bacon get your brand down.
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We, as brands, are no longer guaranteed to scroll across the walls of our fans. High school prom dates, former colleagues, people who came out of the woodwork from 4th grade and my mom aren’t guaranteed that placement either.
Facebook’s decision to split the wall into Live Feed and News Feed is having an impact. Vitrue determined that on average there are 57% less interactions and 30% less clicks on wall posts.
According to Inside Facebook, the algorithm takes into account:
- How many people comment on and like content from Pages you fan
- Which Pages you visit frequently
- Which Pages you interact with frequently
The dollar is making a comeback. I don’t mean in international currency. I’m talking virtual chocolate cake, garden growing and accountability. Two mind racing ideas from last week:
1. Inside Network and Serious Business released a report projecting U.S. virtual goods to hit $1B this year. It’s a twist on nothing for something driven by Facebook apps like Farmville – which gained a mind bending 18M users in the last month to hit 51M monthly uniques.
Or the goods can be as simple as a $1 virtual birthday gift. Adding $1 seems to make it mean more than when it’s free.
[From an ecommerce perspective: What are you selling that people would want in a virtual form? Or where could we be selling it?]
Hard work met celebratory fun for Fluid last Wednesday. And one of us ended up bald because of it. Channel 5 News was there to share our exciting news with the whole Bay Area.
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We’ve just returned from Shop.org’s Annual Summit in Las Vegas. Most of what happened in Vegas shouldn’t stay in Vegas. It’s well worth sharing. Ten highlights in 140 characters or less…
1. If you’re getting bad reviews on a product you probably shouldn’t be selling it. [Session: Terry Lundgren, CEO, Macy's]
2. Starbucks is the McDonald’s of the middle class. And McDonald’s is owning this by competing up. Their take? 4 bucks for coffee is dumb. [Session: Sucharita Mulpuru, Forrester]
3. Everyone else is in = why 50% of retailers are in social media. 34% see a + biz impact. Note: This is social bc it’s worth talking about. [Session: Sucharita Mulpuru, Forrester]
4. Walking through the Expo Hall wearing a non-retailer pass is like walking into a singles bar wearing a denim vest and waving a red flag.