Adventures in Location-Based Marketing

It feels like I have been stuck in constant "so cool!" mode lately when it comes to all the new location-based apps and programs that are being released. Lead by pioneer Foursquare, which recently announced that it could boast of 10,000,000 members, new location-based services are popping up all over.

Pictured: Happiness on Foursquare. Part of this amazing infographic.

I participated in #CMGRchat recently via our @Community20 twitter account wherein the topic of discussion was "how to take your online community offline" and location-based services seem like one way to get moving towards that goal. With that in mind, I decided to take a look at some recent developments in location-based technologies.

Some, like the very promising Sonar app, actually build on top of Foursquare to help bring connections to real life. Sonar allows you to connect in real time with those that are nearby based on social media connections or mutual interests. (I'd love to see this particular app put to use at an upcoming #SocialC20 event as it becomes more developed).

Another interesting development is the integration of location-based data with photography. Starting with applications like Color and Instagram a host of possibilities has opened up regarding how photography can be shared. This week I came across two such examples. One, Instaprint, is a photobooth that combines Instagram with a localized hashtag to print Polaroid-like photos. Talk about taking the online offline, this is a perfect example of a fun, ice-breaking activity for a meet-up. Another example is this case study of the Great Wolf Lodge chain of waterpark resorts.The resorts use RFID wristbands to allow visitors to share vacation photos directly to their Facebook walls. This struck me as a really innovative way to create instant brand evangelists.

One more trend I have noticed is that of location-based technology blending with social games. The U.S. premiere of Shadow Cities seems to be setting the game up to become the next "Angry Birds"-style must-have application. (And in fact, Angry Birds itself is set to launch location-based options according to this Mashable op-ed on Location-Based Gaming .) Using GPS and augmented reality, these applications have the ability to fundamentally change the way we interact with the world around us. How cool is that?

What location based applications have you been checking out lately? Where do you see this technology heading? Share with us in the comments, or let me know on twitter @Community20.

Michelle LeBlanc is a Social Media Strategist at IIR USA with a specialization in marketing. She may be reached at mleblanc@iirusa.com.

Chad Estes of Vitrue on Optimizing Conversations on Facebook to Increase Your Social ROI

In association with Vitrue, The Institute for International Research invites you to join us for a one hour complimentary Web Seminar.

How to Optimize Conversations on Facebook to Increase Your Social ROI
Featuring Chad Estes, Vice President, Client Services, Vitrue
Tuesday, August 23, 2011, 1:00 - 2:00 PM EDT

Reserve your Webinar seat now.

Most brands & businesses are already on Facebook and have been managing their page(s) in a variety of ways, some effective and some not so much. In this discussion we'll review topics that will help business optimize their visibility in the home page news feed, ensure the conversations they start are as relevant as possible to their overall fan-base and their responses are timely and cut through the clutter. Mastering your social conversations on Facebook can be a lot of hard work, but with the right approach and the right technology it doesn't have to be as difficult as you might think.

During this webinar, Chad will discuss:

• News feed optimization
• Relevant messaging powered by social segmentation
• Efficient response management

Register Now. After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

About Chad Estes:
Chad Estes is Vitrue's VP of Client Services. Chad brings over 13 years of experience in managing strategic client relationships and designing cutting-edge online solutions. He has a strong passion for exceeding client expectations and firmly believes it's Virtrue's people that sets them apart from the competition. Having joined Vitrue in 2007, in a product management role, he now leads the Strategic Services, Account Management and Customer Support departments to provide industry-leading service to its clients.

About Vitrue:
Vitrue is a leading social media publishing software provider that provides marketers of all kinds - Fortune 1,000 brands, agencies and small businesses - with the tools they need to harness the power of social media. Our solutions combine a comprehensive social media platform with turnkey products that drives customer acquisition and brand awareness - while at the same time engaging stakeholders, fostering collaboration, building brand loyalty and providing customer service.

About IIR:
The Institute for International Research (IIR) is the world's largest conference company and has been the leader in the provision of business information for over 25 years. IIR produces over 5,000 events annually through its network of offices in over 35 countries.

Looking at Social CRM

Is Social Customer Relationship Management or "Social CRM" the "next big thing" in the social media world? The concept is nothing new, (when it comes to brands, what is social media good for if not building and strengthening relationships with customers?) but the best way to find, mine and integrate social media data for CRM is still being debated.

Back in February of 2011, #SocialC20 speaker Michael Tchong of Ubercool explored social CRM in this article wherein he cited the following statistic "26% of respondents said they currently integrate their customers’ social networking information with their existing CRM data, with 72% planning to integrate social networking information into their existing CRM system."

Is your company part of that 26%? Do you think that number has grown since the article was written? With traditional CRM companies like Salesforce embracing the integration of social media data it seems likely.

Today I came across this article on CRM Buyer about the likely effect of Google+ on the social CRM world. I was particularly intrigued by the following quote:

"That's because CRM is still seen at its elemental level as an IT function, and data in social media is still seen just as data -- as in, data to be extracted, processed, filed and used at a later date. It's very easy to remove data from the conversation, and thus the context; doing so minimizes the value of the data and represents a missed opportunity."

Is it possible to find and use that data, while still remaining social and engaged? Or does the very act of seeing social conversations as a source of data for a company get in the way of maintaining an effective social media presence or encouraging a thriving online community? There must be room for both. As the article later went on to say, it's a matter of finding a CRM software for monitoring conversations, but relying on a human to know how to use and react to the data.

"The human's role will be to shoot for customer satisfaction, build customer knowledge, and boost the brand of the business; the technology can then collect data as a useful by-product of what the human's trying to do."

If you're interested in learning more about the Social CRM world, consider joining IIR for the Social Media CRM Symposium at the Total Customer Experience Leaders Summit. You can view ongoing coverage of the conference as details develop on the Customer's 1st blog here or by following @TotalCustomer on twitter.

Was Obama's "Twitter Town Hall" a failure?

This past Wednesday, President Obama held the first live town hall meeting on Twitter. The event was hosted at the Whitehouse, and moderated by Twitter's Jack Dorsey. By using the #AskObama hashtag, anyone on twitter could submit a question for the president and Twitter Search algorithms and a panel of seasoned Twitter users identified appropriate tweets.

You can watch a recording of the event here.

The question is, was this a social media success for the man who has become known as "the social media president"?

Press reaction to the event is, perhaps predictably, mixed. Digital Trends reports that "The event moved surprisingly smoothly, if you don’t count the fairly robotic tone of Twitter’s Jack Dorsey." You can view a great infographic about the session by TwitSprout here.

If the goal was to revitalize the President's image as a tech-savvy candidate, it may not have been a success. This opinion post on The Daily Beast claims "The first problem was the president’s own apparent obliviousness to the format (despite the news that he’s started tweeting for himself)." And WNYC chimes in with the headline "What We Learned From Obama's Twitter Town Hall? He Doesn't Get Twitter."

Still, some credit is due for making an attempt to embrace new technologies. What do you think of this social experiment? Share with us in the comments or on twitter @Community20.

Michelle LeBlanc is a Social Media Strategist at IIR USA with a specialization in marketing. She may be reached at mleblanc@iirusa.com.

Facebook Fights Back?

Hot on the heels of the new Google+ "hangout" video chat release, Facebook has just announced that it will be rolling out a new group chat feature and video chat. According to this post on PCMAG.com, "Facebook's "something awesome" event on Wednesday included the introduction of video calling with Skype, group chat, and a redesign for Facebook chat."

Facebook's video chat will use Skype to connect users, which downloads within your browser. According to Mashable, "The revamped chat system now includes a sidebar with “the people you message most.” It automatically appears when your browser is big enough. and the group chat feature will allow those using the new google groups to start spontaneous group chat sessions.

Given the timing of the release, one can't help but think that the two technology giants are vying for attention in the social media world. (Incidently, when asked about Google+, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said "he viewed it as "validation" that Facebook is doing something right.")

Personally, I wonder if both Google and Facebook are going to be facing a branding problem when expanding into other territories.

Consider this post in Business Insider which plays with the idea of "Facebook Spreadsheets." We've come to trust Google to be a place to email and often share documents with work colleagues, and yes even gchat, but will we see it as a social media hub? As Charlie O'Donnell writes on Business Insider "Our friends aren't there--just a random bunch of early adopters who for some reason want to share their photos with me even thought I don't know them."

Similarly, could you see having a video conference call through Facebook Skype? Probably not. Most people still consider it a place to share family photos or private plans with friends, and as Facebook continues to add more features and blur privacy lines they may risk alienating their 750-Million-User fanbase.

Regardless of the outcome, it is certainly interesting to watch these two companies continue to innovate in the social space.

Want to share your thoughts on the developing social media sphere? Why not join our LinkedIn group?

Michelle LeBlanc is a Social Media Strategist at IIR USA with a specialization in marketing. She may be reached at mleblanc@iirusa.com.