Revolver

Who’s in the money on Facebook?

With Facebook users totalling a whopping 500 million users recently its little wonder that thousands of companies are now vying for a little slice of the Facebook ecommerce pie. But just who is cashing in?

One of the ideas adopted by a particular brand marketer uses Facebook to create buzz for its clients, which range from solo bloggers to megabrands like Coca-Cola. The aim is to win “fans” who, with one click, opt into further interaction with the advertiser.

Wildfire, who launched in summer 2008 and who won a grant from the Facebook Fund, has another little trick to hand by building marketing campaigns that include contests, coupons, quizzes and virtual gifts. The ultimate achievement for them is to get a campaign going viral, spreading brand recognition like, well, wildfire, says co-founder Victoria Ransom.

Companies can really benefit from viral channels but perhaps not all of them have the expertise to do this well. The key is not to be rash, take time to consider a strategic digital pr plan.

Engagement, connection, whatever you want to call it, get to know your customers to build and enhance your following by extending conversations into something meaningful.

A move in the right direction.

No longer focusing on the more traditional forms of customer communication, Ben & Jerry’s will become one of the first of many big brands to abandon regular email marketing and instead opt for a focus on social media.

Setting a good example, the ice-cream brand fully listened to the feedback it received from customers suggesting the majority of whom would prefer to be contacted on social media sites rather than through emailed monthly newsletters.

Whilst email marketing has long been established as one of the most successful digital marketing channels and remains a standard marketing outlet for most brands, Ben & Jerry’s have made a conscious decision to move away from the established practice.

This savvy move means that with only one email update to customers each year, Facebook and Twitter profiles will make up the main channels used to engaged with customers on a constant basis, both in-house and through its digital PR team.

A strategic move to focus on building relationships with customers, this approach is seen as being best achieved through social media. Developing friendships and relationships is key for them and thus far feedback has been largely positive. As it stands, Ben & Jerry’s UK has a Facebook fan base of over 76,000. So it would seem some are interested in the digital move.

Nevertheless, there are still those who feel that whilst there are persuasive arguments for focusing on social platforms but perhaps mainly for young people who do not use email in the same way as older people do. And so, to cut off a channel that is still used by large numbers seems impulsive and might need further development.

When things get rough..

There seems to be a growing trend of brand savvy customers becoming more wary than ever of insincere corporate apologies issued by emotionless committees, perhaps most recently publicised in the BP crisis, and thanks to social media they’re more able than ever to make your first strike count against you.

Yet, if you simply apply a little humility, making a mistake can actually lead to a better long-term relationship with your customers. 

Of course technical hi-cups occur and many on a daily basis, whether it be a minor hold-up or a colossal setback. And whilst Murphy’s law was a major difficulty in the past for PR teams, industry insiders reveal that a new wave of acceptance may be washing over the public and producing an entirely new way of building a good relationship with your customers , by failing them.

That’s not to say treat them mean keep them keen, far from it. Whilst customers in recent times do have a more evolved sensibility, and thanks to greater general knowledge regarding the nature of branding, slightly more realistic expectations, they nevertheless will not put up with bad service. Ruin their day through arrogance and lies and they will hunt you down on their nearest social network and and bury you under a ton of tweets.

But to own-up and admit you’re at fault is a different story, and one which could be your salvation. People aren’t stupid so don’t treat them that way. If handled in the correct way your mistakes can actually strengthen the relationship you have with your customers.

It does require something which most take for granted, but maybe not so much business: Honesty. Transparency is it, and with it customers will put up with mistakes providing you share with them some key pieces of information.

• You’re doing your best to fix this – constantly explain the progress through email, website, blog, and announce on Twitter. Just don’t wait until it has been resolved.
• Let them know you’ve learned your lesson - explain what went wrong, and what steps have been taken to safeguard against a repeat performance.

So there we have it. To slip up is human and if you respond in a candid manner and work hard to resolve the problem then customers will excuse this blunder, and may even feel more positively about you afterwards.

Of course mistakes happen but to prove you are an open and honest comapny and listen to customer complaints goes a long way. Just make sure you fully appreciate the influential standing of social media spaces through strategic digital pr and how they can be utilised to work in favour of your company when the ‘things’ hit the fan.

The year of the digital citizen.

Whether it be news, entertainment, work, lifestyle, a large percentage of people’s lives now incorporate aspects of the digital world and really can’t be without it.

With that in mind, it comes as no surprise that Facebook is now the top mobile service on smartphones.

Facebook is the app most popular with American smartphone owners, according to a report by Nielson. In fact, Facebook is the most popular app even for BlackBerry users who are typically seen as more business-focused.

Nielson’s mobile application report found that Facebook was the most used app on iPhone and iPod Touch, BlackBerry and across all other smartphones, other than devices running on the Android platform.

More than 4,200 people were surveyed who had all downloaded an application in the last 30 days, with 58% who own an iPhones and iPod Touch, use the Facebook app on their device. This was closely followed by Google Maps, which 47% of iPhone OS users use the most after the Facebook app, and then the Weather Channel – a forecasting app.

The report also found that the average number of installed apps on a BlackBerry device was 10, while this nearly quadrupled when it came to iPhone’s average of 37, and doubled when comparing to Android’s average of 22.

21% of American wireless subscribers now own a smartphone – which is up from 19% on the previous quarter. 14% of mobile subscribers have downloaded an app in the last 30 days.

Overall, social networking, maps, weather and music were the most popular app genres across all platforms. Thus, also highlighting the ever expanding areas of opportunity for companies to reach out to consumers, especially through successful forms of digital PR.

Freedom to surf

Its a given right to most. Well not entirely.

First it was China. Following the deadly riots of last summer, its central government took the usual steps to block its’ citizens from accessing foreign web services. Aside from crippling internet service in general, the authorities blocked Twitter, removed unapproved references to the violence from search engines and barred access to Facebook altogether. This was two weeks after the government had already blocked just about every Google service, including communication tools like Gmail, Google Apps and Google Talk.

These actions have been mirrored in the recent activity in Pakistan. Their government has blocked the popular video sharing website YouTube because of its “growing sacrilegious content.” Access to social networking site Facebook has also been barred as part of a crackdown on websites seen to be hosting un-Islamic content.

On Wednesday a Pakistani court ordered Facebook to be blocked because of a page inviting people to draw images of the Prophet Muhammad.

However, correspondents say it remains to be seen how successful the new bans will be in Pakistan and whether citizens find a way round them. 

There are ways to duck underneath a ban – most commonly by accessing the internet via a “proxy” server based abroad. This can fool an ISP into thinking a computer is actually based in another country and therefore not subject to the ban.

YouTube says it is “looking into the matter and working to ensure that the service is restored as soon as possible”. The site was briefly blocked in Pakistan in 2008 – ostensibly for carrying material deemed offensive to Muslims.

Facebook said in a statement that it would take action if any content “becomes an attack on anyone, including Muslim people”, but that in this case its policies were not violated.

“Facebook values free speech and enables people to express their feelings about a multitude of topics, even some that others may find distasteful or ignorant,” the statement said.

Alternatively, the Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said about the page, “Such malicious and insulting attacks hurt the sentiments of Muslims around the world and cannot be accepted under the garb of freedom of expression.”

These examples only magnify the growing importance of these sites. They steer worldwide discussion and are charged with information that covers almost everything and reaches almost everyone. It’s where people sit up and listen and when galvanised, make their mark. If you’re to make your mark, just make sure you have a trusted and experienced digital PR team behind you.

The long digital arm of the law.

Not only is the digital stratisphere a place where business can flourish through expert digital PR and marketing but it is yet another place to search out the bad guys.  The FBI, for example, is willing to do just about anything to hunt down those lawbreakers who are floating around on the internet. They did the widgets thing last year and recently have announced that they have “set up shop in several social media websites.”

The FBI now has profiles on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, but no mention of MySpace as yet. A spokeperson from the FBI revealed that, “we have widget(s) that work but nothing formal yet. Its a long vetting process and I have so many government rules to follow. This is just the beginning though.”

Alongside this, their Most Wanted List and a list of the most recently commited crimes will be published in a matter of minutes online and on electronic billboards along major roadways. Advertising company Clear Channel Outdoor is also donating the eight-second slots which will also feature photographs of missing children, “creating an environment where the criminal feels they have nowhere to hide” explains Jeff Golimowski, spokesman for Outdoor Advertising Association of America.

Online tracking is another aspect of this crack down, with the recent accusations made by the FBI of Twitter’s use of ”massacre threats.” An Oklahoma man who allegedly threatened on Twitter to turn a tax protest into a massacre was arrested on suspicion of making threats in what is believed to be the first federal prosecution based on posts made to the micro-blogging site.

In conjunction with this, the U.S intelligence community has expressed concern that terrorists may use Twitter to coordinate attacks, examining the possible ways terrorists can exploit mobile and web technologies such as the Global Positioning System, digital maps, and Twitter mashups to plan and execute terrorist attacks.

Indeed. What does the phenomenon of Facebook have to offer?  Amongst other things free samples of the new Marmite savoury cereal bars.  Yum?

Embarking on a campaign using Facebook’s new sampling ad format, Marmite is looking to encourage users of the social networking site to test its new offerings.  Being the second advertiser to use the format, this is actually the first Facebook ad unit that allows users to input their address in order to receive product samples or information from advertisers.  They’ll then be asked to join Marmite’s facebook page and report whether they love or hate the product.

As well as free sample offerings, Facebook goes one leap furtherby signing a payment and ad deal with PayPal.  Those with a PayPal account will now be able to run an ad campaign on Facebook as well as use the online payment system to buy virtual gifts from the Facebook Gift Shop.  The partnership allows payments accepted in key parts of Facebook’s advertising and developer systems.  The availability of ad campaigns to PayPal users will inevitably entice a more rounded offering of smaller, international companies to advertise on the site.  What a partnership huh? Not to mention a fantastic form of online  pr for the soon-to-be companies involved.