Brands uniting for social media rewards
In a move that appears to have been overlooked by much of the mainstream media, airline bmiBaby this week announced a blatant move into gamification via a tie-up with location-based network Gowalla. Announcing the deal as “a first for the European airline industry” the aim is to “create a unique customer loyalty reward system”. By using the existing applications from Gowalla, the airline should be able to keep their costs low while easily tracking their customers. While it may mean a little extra work on the part of the customer, the element of gamification could easily overcome that. Gowalla check in locations have been created at all 34 bmibaby destination airports as well as at their five bases in the UK at Birmingham Airport, Cardiff Airport, East Midlands Airport, Manchester Airport and Belfast City Airport with bmibaby staff on hand to encourage people to link in. Customer will then be entered into a prize draw to win a pair of flights on the bmibaby network announced on a monthly basis. bmibaby is also looking to incorporate a pin reward for the most loyal fliers whereby bronze, silver and gold pins will be rewarded to passengers who check in frequently with each pin also unlocking a new reward. Meanwhile, for Gowalla – which now integrates with FourSquare, Facebook Places and Tumblr – it offers an opportunity to expand its user base to those who might not have previously thought of joining up. In addition, it looks set to see Gowalla also branch out into additional content provision with the two companies already working on follow up projects including destination tours to cities including Belfast and other European destinations. It’s a move we expect to be copied by many more brands as the year wears on and brands find themselves with less R&D money available so look for easy-wins and simple tie-ups. Have you come across other tie-ups between brands like this? Are you sold on gamification yet?
Google’s Social invite
You know how sometimes you get an invite to a party where the person extends the invite you and a guest by using the “+1” suffix? Well Google has brought the concept to the web so that if you find a decent site when searching its database you can recommend it to others using the new +1 button. That +1 is the latest move by Google to keep step with the social sharing world after their recent integration of what you share via Twitter, Flickr, et al within Google search results. The official Google Blog announced the arrival of the +1 function to be rolled out on Google.com first. For those who can’t wait to see it they have also released an experimental search site so you can see exactly how it works. In practice it is being aligned with the Facebook ‘like’ function. Again like the social sharing integration for your +1s to show up you need to have a Google profile and upgrade it to include enhanced profiles. It looks like this is a good attempt by Google to grab hold of the social searching reins before they run away from them to other providers, but its certainly nothing ground-breaking and from our own quick poll in the office it seems the use of Google profiles is fairly limited so we will wait and see how successful the +1 may become. Have you used the +1 function? What did you think?
Social media more a means to an end for men
A new study from Shoppercentric suggests men are more likely to use social media to shop while women prefer to use social media to interact with others, with the male gender apparently embracing social media as a whole than their female counterparts. The headline figures in the report revealed: 38% of men own a smartphone compared to just 29% of women. While 56% of those surveyed use Facebook a gender gap is evident with 60% of women Facebook users compared to just 52% of men. Shopping is where the gender difference is really highlighted with men much more likely to choose ecommerce than women. 14% of men said they shopped using apps, but only 8% of women do – although this is partly off-set by the different uptake of smartphones across the genders. In the hunt for a bargain, 27% of male shoppers admitted to using price comparison sites, while only 19% of women do. Interestingly, while the internet may offer an easier direct route direct to brands for the consumer, the traditional choice of going to a shop stocking a range of brands is still favoured – even online. 75% of those surveyed said they had visited retail websites, but only 33% said they had gone to brand websites. The figures offer a useful insight for marketeers looking at the best way to connect with potential customers. Of some concern is that while two thirds would buy online, only 6% were likely to do so social media. This may be due to the lack of opportunity at present and the early evolution of ecommerce via social media but is something retailers need to consider addressing. In terms of social media, the main reasons given for customers connecting with brands was found to be: 32% – finding out something new 23% – for brands to connect with them 24% – to be sold something by brands 12% – for brands or retailers to help them have fun Revealingly, more than half (54%) of people thought brands or retailers used social media to sell more products, while 43% thought it was “because everyone else is”. The report also highlighted the reasons consumers chose to follow brands on social media: 32% – feel part of a group 29% – to be part of a forum 10% – for discounts or promotions 6% – to complain The tone of social media should also be considered given the results of age group and their use of brand engagement through social networks. The strongest age group was revealed as 16-24 year olds at 38% but within the 35-44 year old bracket (18%) and 45-54 (8%) and 55+(0%) there is clearly work to be done to get them to embrace brand offerings via social media, particularly when 56% of the 55+ age group said they could not see the point of social networking. While some of the results may not be surprising, the breakdown of how different age-groups and genders use social media to interact could and should help brands develop their own social media policies. Do you buck the trend? Do these results surprise you?
TV and social media embrace
You may have noticed more and more television shows plugging their Twitter accounts or Facebook pages in recent months? It seems the TV executives have finally acknowledged that social media is here to stay and while maybe a potential threat to their own livelihoods longer term, is certainly a necessary evil they need to be involved in. Yet, TV is about to take an even bigger step by encouraging greater interaction with shows via established social media channels. Even a show like BBC’s Question Time encourages ‘live’ interaction with the debate by viewers using the shows’s hashtag #bbcqt, and it is almost becoming a must have for any live-programming. So the debate this week that ‘talent’ shows like X-Factor are set to reveal Facebook-integrated voting systems is perhaps not as big surprise as it may at first seem. The hurdle has always been that encouraging viewers to login to Facebook or similar is a bit like encouraging them to make a cup of tea or press play on their DVD player during the show -it risks potentially losing them as an audience member with one quick move. Yet, reports suggest this Autumn’s X-Factor show will feature the new integrated voting system and with similar show in the US American Idol expected to use similar technology in its new series next month, it seems the era of calling premium rate numbers and even pushing the red button on your tv remote may be coming to an end. Do you think TV, Facebook and the like will ever fully integrate?
Top six social media mistakes you should avoid
The exciting, fast-moving world of social media can also be a complete and utter minefield if you’re not careful. Plenty of companies have found this out to their cost, having failed to observe basic social media etiquette in the rush to start tweeting, rack up Facebook fans or pursue potential employees on LinkedIn. It’s easy to turn a social networking opportunity into an enormous social networking own goal. So here are six of the biggest clangers we’ve seen. Allowing unfiltered updates onto your website. No matter how well your company is regarded, it’s always dangerous to publish unmoderated updates from other people directly on your website. At best, someone’s bound to sneak a tweet in which contains a rude word or two. At worst, you could end up hitting the headlines, like Vodafone did last year after a Christmas marketing campaign was hijacked by tax protesters. Using hashtags inappropriately. Hashtags are used on Twitter to organise messages. For instance, the hashtag #cairo was used recently by people tweeting about events in Egypt. So when fashion brand Kenneth Cole used it in an apparent effort to promote its new collection, there was quite an uproar. The offending tweet was deleted and an apology soon followed – but given the furious reaction, perhaps the damage is done. Sending stupid automatic direct messages. One of my personal bugbears is people who’ve set Twitter up so that each of their new followers gets sent a pointless, impersonal direct message. It usually says something along the lines of: ‘thanks for following, don’t forget to check out my blog’. Whenever I receive one, I unfollow immediately. Direct messages are for important and personal stuff, not generic rubbish. Posting messages without asking permission. There’s a growing number of tools that ask for access to your social media accounts in order to do clever things. And some of them are really clever, like this Japanese interactive music video. If you’re thinking of building something similar, just make sure you don’t post messages to anyone’s account without explicitly asking permission. It’s really, really rude. Mixing up personal and business accounts. Malcolm Coles highlighted a classic example on his blog. It can happen with any social network, but posting a message to the wrong account is most likely with Twitter, because it’s not always obvious if you’re logged in as yourself or your business. Don’t mix the two – it can get really awkward. Broadcasting without stopping to listen. Social media is meant to be a two-way thing. You don’t just broadcast whatever it is you think people want to hear. It’s a conversation – so you need to listen to what people are saying about and to you too. Celebrities on Twitter are maybe most guilty of this. But plenty of businesses don’t bother to stop and listen either. What are the biggest social media mistakes you’ve seen companies make?
Read-it?
Whatever sort of content you are creating your key aim is probably to bring in as much traffic as possible. That’s where social media success can be vital in widening your reach and bring in new audiences. While we frequently talk about Twitter and Facebook we are also always keen to highlight the diverse and wide range of other social media services out there that could make a difference to your profile and success. You’ve probably seen the Reddit logo at the bottom of various articles, on news sites in particular – it’s the little alien-like creature with red eyes and a big smile. Yet do you actually know what it is? Basically, Reddit is an every changing source of what is new and what is popular on the internet. A sort of constantly updating news of the internet’s finest. Users submit links they like and other users then vote whether it is good or whether it is junk. The more positive the votes the higher towards the number one spot in the Reddit charts the link will go. Visually it looks like a 1980s ‘vidiprinter’ but is a true example of content is king. To prove it, Reddit has today announced that it reached a new milestone: 1 billion monthly pageviews. Impressive! Up 300% from a year ago and a 20% increase from last month too. Much of the boost in traffic is being put down by some experts as due to the numbers of people deserting rival site Digg following its own redesign. Yet this blogger believes the key really is the array and quality of content – if you want to know the latest buzz on any topic you can usually get a quick grasp of it here. Being owned by magazine giant Condé Nast probably helps too. Of the analytics revealed this week by Condé Nast the fact that the 1 billion pageviews were generated from just 13.75 million absolute unique visitors is probably most impressive. The layout and ease of use of the site mean that the average visitor sticks around and views 14.7 pages per visit and stays on the site on average for 15 minutes and 40 seconds. It is almost addictive in its simplicity! The site had previously reported June 2010 pageviews at 280 million so the last 6 months has been a massive year for the project, probably also a result of more people getting on-board the social media train and the fact that it is such a good fit for those looking for mobile content. If you’ve not Reddit yet, give it a try. Is Reddit the best example of where peer reviewing and user-generated content works?
Is Facebook set to unify platforms?
As more and more applications are developed and consumers continue to be led by social media, could it be that instead of HTML5 driven websites, 2011 will become all about developing enhanced presences on Facebook for your business? It seems online retailer ASOS certainly have that thought in their mind. They have announced that they will launch a fully transactional Facebook shop, allowing people to buy from its entire range from within the social network. It is thought that the ASOS Facebook app will be one of the first, certainly from a big brand, that will allow people to buy directly from a brand without leaving Facebook. In the past Facebook apps have been used as a shop-front for sales, directing customers interested in products through to the brand’s main website to carry out transactions. This however, will lower clicks, improving conversion rates and also keep customers within the same social network environment. With changes in data usage and charges by mobile phone networks in the past year, the mobile shopping experience has probably not progressed as quickly as many may have expected. However, with many of those same networks including ‘free unlimited’ usage of applications like Facebook, transactions within a Facebook store like this could technically be free to customers, removing one of the biggest barriers to mobile ecommerce take-up. ASOS says it will have its entire stock – which is ever growing at the rate of 1,300 products each week – on the Facebook store. The app will also allow for ‘peer-review’ of products with like buttons and comments being enabled to assist customers in making their purchasing decisions. As a customer of ASOS from its very early beginnings I am for one am certainly looking forward to seeing how it works and if it will change the way people do ecommerce. Would you consider buying via a Facebook application? Would you consider using a Facebook application to sell your goods?
Miners woes bring out human side of Social Media
After the last of the 33 Chilean Miners and their rescue team made it to the surface in the early hours of this morning the book deals, documentaries and Hollywood films were probably already being signed. Yet, the ‘media’ tale of the miners’ ordeal will not be the reminiscing, archive-type traditional methods of documenting historic occasions, but one of real-time coverage and the way it brought the modern world together. The full rescue was broadcast live on TV channels, radio stations and websites across the world. As each miner arrived to the surface their first glimpse of the world 69 days on was not necessarily their loved ones waiting in the wings but the array of lights, microphones, cameras of the assembled 1300 journalists. And while all of those journalists spoke back to their audiences in their traditional print, audio or video format, the majority also expressed their own personal opinions via social media accounts giving a real insight into the emotions running high at the rescue camp: Camp Hope. Award-winning Chile-based journalist Jorge Garreton was a popular source of insight and local knowledge as the events unfolded while the BBC’s man on site Tim Willcox also reflected in a more personal way than he was able to on camera. Even the Chilean president Sebastian Pinera tweeted as the rescue unfolded and it would be interesting to know how many of the 247,000 followers he now boasts had even heard of him prior to the miners plight becoming world news. The success of the rescue mission seemed to touch everyone that followed the news. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was one of the world leaders tweeting messages of support while the celebrity Twitterati were also busy relaying their thoughts. Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden was one hooked to the TV coverage while teen pop star Justin Bieber reflected “Just found out the miners of Chile are being rescured!! Happy for the families being brought back together. Miracles do happen.” Fashion guru Gok Wan had similar sentiments “So very happy for the miners!!! Its truely an amazing moment! X” while comedian Al Murray tried to lighten the moment: “I am told (by@Aug24) that the pressure shift means they will all definitely fart on the way up in the lift”. Whether the soon to follow Hollywood film will feature such Twitter reaction we will have to wait and see. What is almost certain is that the spoof Twitter accounts like @Chilean Miner – which clocked up nearly 14000 followers with a black-humour take on the miners’ ordeal – won’t be featuring on a big screen near you.