I Do Facebook!

Social Media, and especially Facebook, is becoming the marketing outlet of choice for many businesses. However, as with any new technology, there is a learning curve. The nuances of how a campaign is run on social media are far different from traditional marketing.  The focus and goal of various businesses is also unique – companies may want to sell their products, get referrals, gain exposure, service customers, become the industry “expert,” and so on.  However, no matter what the original goal, ultimately, the Page will take on a life of its own, as user’s define how they wish to interact with the page and, ultimately, with the company .

So while it is important to define a strategy prior to beginning any marketing campaign, the Page’s administrator must be flexible enough to tailor the content to the audience. This is the only way that Social Media Marketing will truly work as it should.

Following are three examples that illustrate how Pages have adapted to customer interaction:

Example #1:  A specialty business providing a very specific product for a very specific demographic.  This product is purchased via the business’ website.  The Campaign began as a tool to generate more interest in the product and sell more units.  The Business Page has grown from 2,000 Friends to over 12,000 in 7 months.  While selling is still a goal, the Page has become a community for the users of this product to interact with one another, share stories about using the product, and ask questions of the business and to other friends of the page.  The marketing team quickly recognized this and changed the campaign to fit the Page and satisfy the Friends.

Example #2: A local Laundromat owner has been successfully running a Social Media Campaign for over 2 years.  While the Friends of the Page are not clamoring to engage, they do take full advantage of the coupons and special offers that are provided.  In addition to the strategy of providing coupons and special offers the Page Updates provide specific information regarding household tips and general information that would be interesting to sit and read while waiting for your laundry to dry.  An unexpected result of the page is that it is being used for customer service. Since there is not always an attendant on duty, when there are problems with the machines, the owner is quickly informed via Facebook posts, giving him the opportunity not only to intervene on a timely basis, but to show the results to other patrons, helping them understand that any problems they have will also be solved.

Example #3:  Heating and Air Conditioning services are not something people need on a daily basis, but when they need HVAC services it is usually an emergency.  The strategy for this page was to provide referral sources, warm leads and word of mouth marketing.  The daily updates provide information to the friends of the Page as well as Coupons for services.  The daily updates also offer Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for this business, which is in a very competitive market.  Keeping the Page active with daily updates keeps the business in front of its friends so that when a Friend or a friend’s friend/family member/etc. needs HVAC services they will be able to suggest this company.

While each of the above companies started their Social Media campaigns as a way of attracting and keeping customers, the Social Media Marketing professional handling their page has tailored the content to fit what users are looking for, making the friends of the page fans of the company.

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Imagine a reunion with your extended family gathered in one place, sharing stories, catching up, and generally enjoying each other’s company.  Now imagine having an app on your smart phone that captures these moments as you are living them.  And imagine that this app gives you access to the videos of all of your other family members.  You can not only relive the moments you witnessed, but capture the story your uncle told your brother or the memories your grandmother shared with your aunt.

Krowds is a new mobile video app that allows people to find and share video experiences. What makes Krowds different from other video sharing services is that users are no longer limited to the bite-sized clips that others have decided to share. Krowds puts no limits on video or duration or resolution, but allows users to find raw, original quality video from a significant event or place, and capture the moments that are most meaningful to them.  By bringing multiple points of view to what was once a singular perspective, this app gives people control of what they want to capture, save and share.

While Krowds offers the option to limit access to any group they choose to share with, it is the ability to decide to share with anyone “nearby” (within 100 miles) that sets it apart. (A future version will have groups designated as “Public” and will be available to anyone, anywhere.)  For example, parents shooting video at their child’s sporting event will have access to the video shot by others, allowing them to pick up different points of view, perhaps capturing parts of their child’s performance they may have missed. The app uses the smartphone’s GPS to find other video shot nearby.

Krowds also provides one-step sharing of an entire group of videos on Facebook and Twitter, as well as the capability to share video with other groups via SMS or email.  Clips can now be edited with Pixorial, but enhancements are currently being developed, including editing capabilities, music and increased storage.

According to Andres Espineira, the CEO of Pixorial, the online video sharing and editing tool that developed Krowds, “The idea with Krowds is to bring the power of crowdsourcing to video.”

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