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.

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.

The rest of the results…
29.4% Married: I work for the brand, product or company
17.6% Arm candy: I fan a brand so people will know I’m affiliated with it
11.8% Booty call: I’ll visit every once and a while
5.9% NA: I’ve never fanned a brand, company or product
0% Hot and Heavy: I’m actively involved & engaged with the fan page

The great news? This is changing. Brands are giving fans a reason to return. One of the best reasons to return as I see it? Shopping.

Our FanShop has proven it. And kudos to Levi’s for being the first to bring Facebook’s liking social plug-in to life with gusto. The media implications of this are impressive. When my “like” of 501 Jeans meets my wall meets Vitrue’s estimate of FB page wall click through rates at 6.5% we have another measure of ROI in social media. Boom.

I am a fan of liking content. And of having this liking explode outside of the confines of Facebook. But I miss fans of brands. A “Fan” is clear cut and cheering for you. Is a “liker” really going to paint their face and take a stand on behalf of your brand?

Although our Love ‘em and Leave ‘em fans likely weren’t doing that anyway.

Now we shall all see if “Likes” are enough to get us into a long-term relationship. I’m optimistic about the prospects.

Cheers,
Amy

Please note: Our survey was informal and distributed via social media.

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.

5. WiFi on airplanes is no longer a wow. It’s expected. As it should be.

6. WiFi in our hotel was prorated at different amounts according to speed. Including an option for $20. For $20 the WiFi should make me a milkshake. Plus it’s WiFi – I’m not choosing dial-up vs. dsl. This does not make sense.

7. Accenture has replaced it’s Tiger Woods airport ads with an elephant crossing a gully on a narrow tree trunk. Seems now is the time to pitch them as they’re bound to have extra money – an elephant is much less expensive than the Tiger.

Cheers,
Amy

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?

People showed me the texts from their $10 text-to-give donations on their phones. And I, like many others, used social media to share the text “HAITI” to 90999 message after giving. It was viral in the truest sense of the word.

Donating online raised even more interesting lessons for eCommerce. OxFam provides connections to Twitter and Facebook on their donation confirmation pages and follow-up emails. Their calls to action from donors have consistently scrolled through my Facebook Wall since the tragedy.

This needs to happen more with ecommerce purchases. We need excited buyers sharing products purchased via simple functionality placed in the post-purchase communication stream.

4. A shift in point of sale location
Point of sale has traditionally meant candy bars, US Weekly magazines, socks, CDs or snow globes strategically placed near the checkout counter. In ecommerce it’s add an item to cart to get free shipping or cross-sell of items like this one that you may like.

With mobile, point of sale becomes anywhere a consumer happens to be standing. It can be completely out of the context of a store.

5. The importance of urgency
Disaster brings a type of urgency we’d never wish on anyone. But the efforts to aid Haiti reinforce the impact of urgency to catalyze action.

In the commerce realm, this is the success of HSN and QVC. eBay and auction sites have owned this online. They’ve been joined by the likes of Gilt, Ruelala, Ideeli and Groupon. Old Navy Weekly reinvented the online weekly ad by using this tactic (while keeping their Item of the Week promos still going strong). Urgency drives sales.

What are the implications that you see?

You can still give to the Haiti relief efforts through many organizations – $10 through text-to-give or more via online giving. I’m moved by the momentum. It’s by far my new favorite social media case study.

Cheers,
Amy

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…

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.

In 2010 I think we’ll see a shift to quality and qualified Facebook fans. Who wants fly-by-night fans when you can have a smaller circle who are vocally and adamantly in your corner?

In 2010, repeat visits to Facebook brand pages will rise as a KPI. Brands will being to confirm or ignore their fans – just like we all do on our personal pages. This move will make brands nervous and make potential fans more interested. The offers on the other side of the red rope need to be worth the wait for approval.

The true test? As more and more retailers have the confidence to implement ecommerce within Facebook (Go retailers!) the numbers will provide proof. Then we’ll know if high numbers drive loyalty, conversion and cart size. Or if the fan popularity contest lasts no longer than the reign of a Prom King and Queen.

I know how I’m voting.

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

For those with more than 250 friends, Facebook pulls a sample of friends and connections to determine this data. Likely there is even more happening behind the scenes.

What does this mean? It means that the content we create for brands still has to be worth talking about. Same as always. But now, if it’s not, it has even less chance of seeing the light of day.

With this move the earned placement model and optimization of the search engine world finds new force on Facebook. Although I miss the pictures displayed by algorithm that Facebook has removed from the right column, I’m a fan.

Cheers, Amy

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?]

2. Seth Godin proposed that CraigsList should implement a dollar fee for all postings. The idea being that the transaction makes the poster accountable. Lose the anonymity and drop the scamming, dodgey, dirtbags (um my words not his). I love this idea. As Wired reemphasized in August , Craig doesn’t want the money. So give it to a different non-profit every day.

Craigslist has equated free with anonymity, backed by value if you trust the specific sellers you encounter. The $1 proposal equates an ecommerce transaction with trust and ability to trace. Infusing ecommerce adds the human element to keep us all honest.

So is this the end of free? Not exactly. Free can still be an essential introduction, a surprise and delight element and a try before you buy tactic.

My two cents? These ideas challenge us to consider whether a dollar can add value – to be confident enough to even consider whether what we may give away for free is worth something more.

My left over $.98 (plus a penny I just picked up) is going to iTunes.

Cheers,
Amy

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.

5. How does Cash For Clunkers impact your biz? With thrift = pride how do we provide a marketplace to monetize? Trading up meet trading down.

6. Up = Private label product sales 40%, coupon redemption 198%, teeth whitener 28%, sleep aids 22%. Sleep aided shiny smiles meet value seekers. [Session: Ellen Davis, Drugstore.com CEO]

7. woot!: The product sells itself so have fun. “We want Wiis” to sell Playstations. Product sold out in 16 min. Part Onion, part HSN. Sweet. [Session: Matt Rutledge, CEO, woot!]

8. Gilt: Invite only and a twist on luxury “liquidation” = VIP access to high fashion finds. In 2 years revenue = $150M. Genius. [Session: Susan Lyne, CEO, The Gilt Groupe]

9. Scared about social media? Not likely. You’re probably scared about your products or your company. When all else fails just ask. [Session: Twitter & Social Media All-Stars]

10. Moms and teens need to shop together but don’t want to. Our challenge: How can tech help? (And yes teens now get paid to do digital chores) [Session: Kelly Mooney, President/CEO, Resource Interactive]

Cheers (and very nice to meet you all),
Amy