Archive for the ‘Social Media’ Category


Foursquare hops on merchandising marketing train

July 8th, 2010 by chelsea

In the realm social networking, status is everything.

Status updates and rankings keep people engaged because they’re both interactive and competitive. So, Foursquare is bringing those qualities to the real world, actualizing users’ loyalty with real clothing badges.

By leveraging its popularity with this merchandise, the growing social network is giving enthusiastic fans a way to display their loyalty, according to an article in Mashable. The seller, Nerd Merit Badges, calls them “real-world merit badges,” which prominently display your rank on your shirt, bag or any other material you choose to stick them on.

The marketing initiative could lead to a new channel of licensing for Foursquare, such as on coffee mugs, T-shirts and other items.

We’d like to try them on for size!



Photo via mashable.com




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Zynga gets serious about casual gaming with FrontierVille on Facebook

June 24th, 2010 by chelsea

Massivley multi-player online games and traditional video games are virtual playgrounds for marketers and advertisers.

With social networks expanding exponentially, casual gaming developers have a captive audience from a wide-range of demographics–perfect for in-game advertising.

Casual-gaming developer Zynga is the perfect case study, with its flagship title FarmVille drawing in millions of Facebook’s 400 million users.

But casual gamers get bored. When Zynga noticed a steep decline in FarmVille’s once 250 million users, it decided to change things up.

FrontierVille integrates the basics of FarmVille with an Oregon Trail Twist and has already brought in 5 million active users in just two weeks.

Reining in users is never an easy task.


Photo via fastcompany.com





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Posted in Social Media | 2 Comments »

Facebook to hop on board geo-tagging, marketing trend

June 22nd, 2010 by chelsea

Facebook may be a social media trailblazer, but it must adopt trends like everyone else to keep up with the times.

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO, announced this week the site will include location-based features soon, according to an article in Mashable.

The site’s new addition will use data from existing networks like Foursquare, Brightkite and Gowalla to develop its API.

One concern for the new development is privacy — the social networking giant just spent the last few months calming its 400 million users’ concerns about privacy.

And, while it’s confirmed Facebook plans to include these features soon, it hasn’t revealed just how it will work. Geo-tagging could apply to any thing from pictures to “checking-in.”

Will Facebook’s users be on board?



Photo via http://blog.karachicorner.com





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Posted in Social Media | 3 Comments »

Foursquare, Starbucks partner in location-based marketing

June 11th, 2010 by chelsea

At Starbucks, it pays to be Mayor — at least on Foursquare.

The budding location-based game is new fodder for corporate marketing strategies, with companies like Starbucks and Bravo TV delivering freebies for frequent visitors. And a lot is in it for them, too. Incentives for “checking-in” allow these companies to measure their popularity and learn about their customers with real-time data.

Starbucks is a prime example of how social gaming promotes loyalty. For mayors of Starbucks locations, the coffee conglomerate offers $1 off any Frappucino. Foursquare stands to gain a lot from working with Starbucks, as the company is one of the most widespread merchants.

It’s all fun and games–until someone overthrows your rule and snags your coupon.


Photo via http://theblackfin.com






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Get your social media policy off the ground

June 10th, 2010 by chelsea

With roughly 74 percent of adults online, companies are starting to rein in the conversation as employees flock to social media outlets for personal expression.

And image isn’t the only thing to protect — confidentiality is huge, too.

Taco Bell has rats? (Not!) John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods, secretly blogging about his company’s stock? It’s never too late to learn from others’ mistakes.

A social media policy gets everyone on the same page, so executives can ensure company standards are in place.

Here are a few components that should be included in your social media policy:

- Online employee code of conduct

- Employee blogging and social media sites disclosure policy

- Corporate blogging policy

- Corporate approval policy for online posts

- Corporate commenting policy

Social media policy management tools provide a neat checklist to get your policy off the ground.  Toolkit Cafe is one tool social media strategist Jason Falls recommends. It provides a set of rules for social media–including information about legal problems–to make sure everything runs smoothly.

How’s that for a safety net?


Photo via socialmediatoday.com








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