We here at Engadget are all about helping the less fortunate, so Mitsubishi Electric‘s latest innovation in elevator tech has us all warm and fuzzy. The new interface allows for blind users — and presumably lazy users — to select their destination floor by voice, with a subsequent announcement when they arrive. Additionally, the system kicks in whenever it detects a wheelchair, replacing the potentially difficult process of reaching high buttons with the simple act of speaking. No word on whether the system works in English just yet or if it’ll make it to the States, but you might want to brush up on your Japanese either way.
SAS Institute is teaming up with mobile BI (business intelligence) vendor Mellmo to bring analytic applications to Apple’s iPhone and iPad, the companies…
Social commerce is more than just a buzzword; it’s becoming the de facto way to do business online. It emerged as a result of brands finding new ways to connect with consumers through the open graph, and a customer demand for more fluid interaction with brands. Done correctly, it is a win-win for both the brand and the consumer and there are many new opportunities to use social commerce methods to affect the consumer journey, including to the point of post-purchase.
The brands that have recognised this are experimenting with new platforms on their own website and new ways of doing business on existing social networks. The challenge for brands is to make themselves relevant across these different points of the consumer journey to encourage a purchase without being too intrusive. There are some key trends emerging that many businesses can take advantage of, no matter how big or small you are
Social Shopping Cart
The beauty of the social graph is that you can maintain your social connections across different sites, meaning you have a cohesive consumer experience. Instead of just facing the same homepage of products that everyone else sees, a trend among many sites now is to show you the products your friends have bought or recommended. Levi’s were one of the first to do this and it’s something that many brands have yet to explore. The benefits are clear. If you can go to a site and see all the products that your friends have interacted with in some way, either through a purchase, review or recommendation then you instantly feel closer to the brand or site, because it carries with it your personal connections. You’re not just faced with the brand name everywhere, but the names of your friends so you are likely to spend a lot longer clicking around the site, as well as being more likely to buy. I’d personally like to see more brands implement this on their site in a more intuitive way than just using the Like button next to every product as I believe there’s a keen consumer interest in socialised shopping carts.
Personalised recommendations
Now for some this may seem like brands are getting a little too personal, but tailored recommendations from companies based on your social interactions or preferences is a huge opportunity and one that I think adds to the consumer experience. This is most easily done by implementing Facebook Connect on your site, or something called ‘social sign on’, which means that brands can access your social activity to present you with the products or services that are more tailored to your tastes. A survey of online retailers last year found that over half planned on implementing social sign-on into their sites :
Now the concept of personalised recommendations may not be completely new – Amazon was an early adopter of this with its ‘You might also like’ option, but the ways that brands can implement this now, certainly are. Best Buy explored this late last year when they used their fans’ Facebook information to offer customised offers, for example if you listed ‘gaming’ as an interest, then you would get a money-off voucher for games.
Shop on Facebook
We only really started seeing Facebook commerce last year but it’s exploded thanks to easy integration, and the likes of specialist providers that make it easy to add customisable shops such as Vendor Shop and Facebook’s recent adoption of iframes. The fact is that people are getting more and more comfortable with shopping on Facebook as we become less inclined to leave the site if that’s where we find brands. One brand that’s doing this and offering users more than just the chance to buy a product on Facebook – is soap.com. Their Facebook store ‘Shop My List’ gives you the option to log in to your personalised list on Facebook so you can easily access and re-order your favourite items, as well as accessing your friends’ lists to discover new products. This is Facebook shopping done really well and shows the flexibility of a platform like Facebook to transform the shopping experience :
Share purchases with friends before buying
For many people shopping is a very social experience anyway, and you often want to get your friends opinions before buying something, particularly when it’s an expensive item. But with the advantages of social media there are many opportunities to access niche or specialist communities that can rate and advise on something before you buy it. One of the areas where this is growing rapidly is fashion. The fashion community online is huge and the site ‘what are you wearing’ have recognised this and brought a social shopping experience to Facebook, through their app. They allow you to add items into your personalised wardrobe and get the opinion of friends and other community members before you buy. Now for many brands this may seem a little worrying, as you open yourself up to the possibility that users will be put off a purchase based on what others say. But the likelihood is that they’re going to feel much more inclined to buy from a site where they have the safety of their friends’ opinion at the click of a button, as the result is a more trustworthy experience.
Social Currency
As social commerce emerges as a way for people to shop, then the way that people pay is also going to evolve. The idea of a virtual currency is far from coming into widespread use outside of the gaming world, but as people expect an interaction with brands to remain the same from platform to platform, we will expect the same when it comes to purchasing products.
This is an area that Facebook, unsurprisingly, is trying to get into, as they just announced that their Facebook Credits system is mandatory for developers to process payments. There is a huge opportunity for a universal virtual currency that someone like Facebook is likely to grab and make mainstream. The process from a consumer perspective is seamless, an easy way of goods both online and physically, as you have one complete ‘social’ bank account of currency. With 600 million users, we have to wonder, could Facebook become the world’s biggest bank?
Rewards for social interactions
One area that’s hugely beneficial both for consumers and companies is the idea of rewards for social-based actions. One of the most common reasons for someone befriending a company through a social network – be it Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare etc. is that we expect some kind of reward in return, such as a money-off coupon. More companies are incentivising people to ‘play’ with them, for example completing a challenge set through Facebook Places upon checkin, or a money-off mobile coupon in return for doing so.
Location is really where this will take off, as consumers realise that with the power of choice comes the power to make companies work hard for their business. We want to be rewarded through entertainment such as a game or challenge – not just following a company or checking in for the sake of it – and in return for this action consumers will expect a monetary reward. This may sound uncomfortable to some companies bu the fact is businesses now have to work harder to maintain customer loyalty than ever before, and social-based rewards are one of the ways to do this.
The Social PR Series is supported by “Social Media. So What,” the free online conference from Vocus that’ll re-shape and re-shine your social media skills. Let Scott Stratten and friends wipe that frown off your Facebook and make you a sweeter Tweeter. Register now!
As the web evolves from a network of sites to a network of people, public relations campaigns must also evolve, and most successful PR campaigns now include a social component. But beyond the basics, such as creating tweetable press release headlines and reaching out to influencers on Twitter, what are some of the more inventive approaches out there?
Here are five great examples of innovative social PR campaigns.
1. Rayovac: Rapid-Response Twitter Campaign
In early February 2011, with a snowstorm of historic proportions on the horizon, social media outlets were abuzz with news and updates about the weather. Rayovac and Circle PR quickly created a campaign that capitalized on the fact that millions of Americans would be home — and online — on Wednesday, February 2, the day slated to be the worst of the storm.
The central feature of the campaign was a virtual snowball fight that had more than 1,000 consumers changing their profile picture to a Rayovac-branded widget and hurling #snowballs at friends and family coast-to-coast for nearly 48 hours. The brand also hosted a two-hour virtual snow day tweet-up, where followers could tweet about the weather in their area, their favorite snow day activities and answer fun storm-prep and weather-related trivia for a chance to win great prizes.
The campaign generated 1,188 click-throughs to download the profile picture widget, #rayovac made its first-ever appearance as a top-ten trending topic worldwide, and the brand saw a 30% increase in followers on @rayovac_battery.
2. Healthy Choice: Pairing a Social Coupon with Blogger Outreach
Healthy Choice was looking to grow its Facebook fan base, increase engagement and reinforce the brand’s reputation for value. Knowing that the Healthy Choice consumer is a user of social media and interested in coupons, the brand introduced a progressive coupon on the Healthy Choice Facebook Page. The coupon began at a low value ($0.75 off) and increased as people “liked” the page and signed up for the coupon, ultimately reaching a “buy-one-get-one-free” deal.
The progressive coupon was supported through a variety of public relations tactics. The team conducted extensive outreach to coupon bloggers and individuals with whom the brand has built a relationship, purchased a Facebook ad and utilized the brand’s e-mail database to spread the word and encourage consumers to “like” the page and sign up for a coupon.
In just two weeks, the Healthy Choice Facebook page grew from 6,800 to nearly 60,000 fans, and the team distributed more than 50,000 buy-one-get-one-free coupons. The progressive coupon campaign also generated significant trade coverage, including an article in Brandweek.
3. Breeders’ Cup: Social Storytelling
While horse racing continues to have a dedicated following, overall interest has dropped in recent years — the marketing team for the Breeders’ Cup World Championships needed a fresh approach to attracting and engaging new fans.
For the most recent Breeders’ Cup, the team at Conover Tuttle Pace decided to focus its efforts around the story of Zenyatta, the undefeated female horse who had become a star for her dancing, Guinness-sipping ways and thrilling, come-from-behind finishes. The team’s Zenyatta-focused social media efforts included creating a dedicated Twitter handle for Zenyatta to tell her story and share news and exclusive updates. They also seeded the Breeders’ Cup YouTube channel with race footage, relevant fan videos and World Championship race videos, capped off with a viral, Zenyatta v. Secretariat video release right after she won her 19th race.
Within one month, Zenyatta’s Twitter handle reached 1,300 followers. “Breeders’ Cup” and “Zenyatta,” were trending topics on Twitter during the event. The Conover Tuttle Pace campaign also attracted 1,000 subscribers to the Breeders’ Cup YouTube channel, accounting for more than one million views since the channel’s establishment.
The race was the most successful Breeders’ Cup of all time, with ticket sales up 40% from 2009.
4. The BALSAMS Grand Resort Hotel: Using Social to Share an Experience
It can be hard to convey the magic of an experience through an ad or a magazine article. Working with agency bobdonpaul, The BALSAMS Grand Resort Hotel in New Hampshire decided to use social media to tell the hotel’s unique story.
The hotel’s “InnBedded Resorter” campaign used social media to find the world’s first-ever “Resorter” — a person who would live at the hotel for July and August 2010 and use social channels to share all of their experiences at the 8,000 acre resort. Entries poured in from all over the world — after narrowing the field to a few finalists, The BALSAMS then used online voting to pick the winner.
The company’s first Resorter was 23-year-old Martin Edgar Earley, who spent two months at the resort this summer. Early blogged and posted daily social media updates, photos and videos about all The BALSAMS had to offer. The campaign was a hit, and the hotel saw a 20% increase in bookings in August.
The resort then ran a winter campaign with Canadian social media travel superstars Alex & Luke. While at The BALSAMS, the couple used their own website, along with the resort’s Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and other social media platforms to continually update followers on their adventures at the resort. As a result, the hotel’s opening week of Winter 2010/2011 nearly sold out and was the busiest holiday weekend in years. Since launching the campaign, website traffic has also doubled.
5. KFC: The Power of a Single Tweet
With 2.5 million college scholarships awarded every year in the U.S., KFC knew it had to cook up something innovative to stir buzz around the brand’s 75-scholarship Colonel’s Scholars program. That’s why KFC and Weber-Shandwick decided to do away with the tired old college scholarship essay and award a $20,000 scholarship based solely on a single tweet. Students had just 140 characters (including the hashtag #KFCScholar) to convince KFC execs why they deserved a scholarship.
Announced via a USA Today story, the scholarship tweet campaign generated more than 1,000 media placements and tens of millions of media impressions, including two AP Wire stories, multiple stories on CNN Headline News, MSNBC, The Weather Channel and NBC national news. The program also captivated the online world, generating more than nine million social media impressions as a result of tweets during the brief entry period. In all, more than 2,800 applicants tweeted for their chance at $20,000, and the KFC Twitter handle saw a 20% jump in followers in just two weeks.
One of those followers was 17-year-old Amanda Russell, whose tweet, “Hey Colonel! Your scholarship’s the secret ingredient missing from my recipe for success! Got the grades, drive, just need cash!” scored her the $20,000 college scholarship.
Series Supported by Vocus
The Social PR Series is supported by “Social Media. So What,” the free online conference from Vocus that’ll show you what businesses are getting wrong with social media and how to stop making the same mistakes. Register today to join Scott Stratten of UnMarketing and four other social media stars on March 16, completely free.
Now the concept of personalised recommendations may not be completely new – Amazon was an early adopter of this with its ‘You might also like’ option, but the ways that brands can implement this now, certainly are. Best Buy explored this late last year when they used their fans’ Facebook information to offer customised offers, for example if you listed ‘gaming’ as an interest, then you would get a money-off voucher for games.
For many people shopping is a very social experience anyway, and you often want to get your friends opinions before buying something, particularly when it’s an expensive item. But with the advantages of social media there are many opportunities to access niche or specialist communities that can rate and advise on something before you buy it. One of the areas where this is growing rapidly is fashion. The fashion community online is huge and the site ‘what are you wearing’ have recognised this and brought a social shopping experience to Facebook, 
As social commerce emerges as a way for people to shop, then the way that people pay is also going to evolve. The idea of a virtual currency is far from coming into widespread use outside of the gaming world, but as people expect an interaction with brands to remain the same from platform to platform, we will expect the same when it comes to purchasing products.
