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Amazon’s Music Service Is Coming to Ford Vehicles

May 8, 2013 / Lauren Indvik / No comments

For the first time, Amazon's streaming music service, Cloud Player, will be making its way into iOS users' cars. The company announced Wednesday that subscribers can now use the app on their iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad devices to play music in Ford Sync AppLink-enabled vehicles.

Those vehicles include the 2013 Ford Fiesta, Mustang, Focus, E-Series, C-Max Hybrid, Expedition, Fusion, F-150 and Super Duty. Music can be operated using voice recognition or dashboard controls.

Amazon launched Cloud Player two years ago as a "music everywhere" service. The company has been slow to make that a reality, however: For the year following its release, Cloud Player could only be found on desktops and Android devices. It was only made available on iOS devices last June, arriving on Sonos and Roku later in 2012. Read more...

More about Amazon, Ford, Ford Sync, Amazon Cloud Player, and Media

Category: amazon, Amazon Cloud Player, ford, Ford Sync, Media /

9 Fun Facebook Page Examples to Spark Your Creativity

December 17, 2012 / Andrea Vahl / No comments

Are you looking for creative ways to engage your Facebook fans?

Do you need some fresh ways to infuse fun into the Facebook experience?

This article will examine nine Facebook pages that bring excitement to their Facebook pages.

My hope is you’ll find inspiration for your own page.

NOTE: Many of these Facebook apps are developed by a third party and have a standard look and functionality. Other Facebook apps can be used to create a custom tab, but can have some limitations on how the tab looks.

#1: Seasons 52: “Mini Indulgence” Quiz

Seasons 52 is a restaurant chain with signature desserts called the “Mini Indulgence.” The restaurant has developed an interactive quiz that asks you questions to determine “which Mini Indulgence dessert is you?”

The reason this works is because it asks personal questions about things you like to do and “matches” those things with the type of dessert. Yes it’s kind of silly, but people love quizzes about themselves.

Take the quiz to find out which dessert matches you.

Key Takeaway: Create a quiz that is all about your customers.

#2: Grey Poupon Society of Good Taste

This is another interactive app that requires fans to “Apply” to be a member of Grey Poupon’s inner circle. You can like the Page freely (no one can restrict that beyond age or country) but this is a step above.

This app uses your personal profile information (where you have checked in, where you went to school, what pictures you’ve been tagged in) and creates a little movie that the judges use to “review” your qualifications and decide if you are in or out of their Society. The interesting thing is that many people aren’t immediately approved and they have to apply again.

But it’s so much fun to see what the reviewers say about your Facebook activity that it makes you come back again, hoping next time you’ll “cut the mustard.”

You must apply to get into the Society.

See a "movie" made from your Facebook activity complete with commentary.

Key Takeaway: Create a fun way to use someone’s personal Facebook information.

#3: ABF U-Pack Moving: U-Pack-A-Cube

This Facebook app is an interactive game that requires you to pack the items coming off of a conveyor belt into the moving van. You get a score at the end based on how many things you packed and the difficulty of each item.

Pack the van with boxes that come off of the conveyor and try to get a high score.

Key Takeaway: Create a fun game out of your product or service.

#4: Sierra Mist: Mixology

This app allows you to find drink recipes based on the occasion, ingredients or taste preferences. Fans can also submit their own recipes, which is a great way to get people involved.

Find some delicious drink recipes or submit your own.

Key Takeaway: Provide value based around your product and involve your audience.

#5: Dove: Dove Insider

This Facebook app is not that complex, but there are a number of reasons why it works well. First, the name itself is intriguing because people want to get the “inside” scoop. It also highlights a different fan each month with a quote about feeling beautiful.

You also get access to a coupon and a contest. A Facebook app does not have to be that complicated. Just make sure your app delivers value.

The Dove Insider includes a fan photo, coupon, contest and quiz.

Key Takeaway: Make your app about your fans.

#6: Ford Mustang: Customizer

The Customizer app allows fans to design their own Mustang from scratch. Then people can vote for designs they like and Ford even gives one of the designs away to a lucky winner each week. People get points for participating in the Customizer, which adds a gamification aspect to your marketing.

Customize your own Mustang and get points for participating.

Key Takeaway: Gamify your Facebook Page to keep people there.

#7: Gap: Pin to Win

Facebook contests are a great strategy to add life to your Facebook Page. What is great about this Pin to Win contest from the Gap is that it overlaps Facebook and Pinterest to give people a great way to browse merchandise on the Facebook Page and incorporates a Pinterest contest, which is so hot right now.

You can use the Facebook app to pin and thereby enter the contest on Pinterest.

Key Takeaways: Cross-promote your social platforms creatively.

#8: The Ellen DeGeneres Show: In Your Facebook

This is another simple app, but it is all about the fans. The Ellen DeGeneres Show is crowdsourcing their content to involve the audience in finding funny posts.

Ellen invites people to share funny posts.

Key Takeaway: Crowdsource your content.

#9: The Tooth Fairy Pillow: Find the Tooth Fairy

So far we’ve talked about large brands’ Facebook apps. Even if you are a smaller brand, you can get creative with your Facebook app. Think about what is going to be beneficial to your customer. The Tooth Fairy Pillow offers their fans something simple and easy to do, yet meaningful. The app itself doesn’t have to be overly complex.

Get a picture of the Tooth Fairy with your child in this simple app.

Key Takeaway: Make it meaningful.

Do you notice the trend in all of these apps? They are all designed to entertain, benefit or reward fans. That is what makes a good app. It’s not all about you; it’s about how you can help your fans. An app doesn’t have to be overly complex to achieve these goals.

How about you? Have you seen any interesting Facebook apps? Have your Facebook apps helped your business in some way? Let us know in the comments below!

Category: andrea vahl, dove, ellen degeneres, facebook, facebook app, facebook contest, facebook page, ford, gamification, Gap, grey poupon, pinterest contest, quiz, seasons 52, sierra mist, Tools, tooth fairy pillow, upack moving /

Social Media Newsfeed: Obama Tweets | Texting Turns 20

December 4, 2012 / Tim Sohn / No comments

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Obama Hosts ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Chat on Twitter (USA Today)
President Barack Obama urged Twitter followers on Monday to lobby Congress for a debt reduction deal that includes higher taxes on the wealthy. “Keep pressure on Congress,” Obama tweeted during a chat that was part of the White House “My2K” Twitter campaign to drum up support for its position in the “fiscal cliff” debate. CNET Over about an hour, the president answered seven questions on the topic — as well as one about which Chicago sports team will be next to win a championship — demonstrating the ability to stay on (political) message in under 140 characters, and an understanding of Twitter conventions used to best broadcast a tweet. Although it’s virtually certain that Obama was not writing his responses entirely on his own, the White House posted a photo showing that the president was in fact doing the typing. Reuters One questioner, who identified herself as Emma Robertson, asked in a tweet, “As a home owner, I worry deductions for home owners are at risk. Is that the case?” Obama responded: “Breaks for middle class impt for families & econ. if top rates don’t go up, danger that middle class deductions get hit – bo.” TechCrunch @Mica4Life asked: “Who will win it all first: Chicago #WhiteSox, #Bulls, or #Bears? #NFL #NBA #MLB cc: #My2k @BarackObama @whitehouse.” Obama responded: “@Mica4Life da bears still gotta shot, despite sad loss this weekend! plus rose will return for playoffs!!! -bo.” The Wall Street Journal Here is the complete transcript of the Twitter chat.

Texting Turns 20: The History of SMS (Mashable)
The first SMS was sent in 1992 by Neil Papworth. He sent the message “Merry Christmas” from his personal computer to his friend Richard Jarvis’ Orbitel 901 handset over the Vodafone GSM network. The text message was first commercially deployed a year later, in 1993, and after a relatively slow start is now one of the most popular ways for people to communicate with one another. The Huffington Post Reached Monday by The Huffington Post, Papworth said that while he doesn’t see texting lasting forever, he also doesn’t “see it going anywhere soon.” “Not everyone has a smartphone,” he said, “and smartphones usually rely on an Internet connection, which isn’t always available.” AllThingsD After years of gigantic growth, overall text-message volume is starting to decline, though total messages sent each year still measure in the trillions. But, despite the fact that rivals can boast cheaper prices and additional services, the SMS has something all its challengers lack — ubiquity.

Messaging App Whatsapp Denies Facebook Acquisition Rumors (VentureBeat)
Whatsapp is refuting rumors that it’s in negotiations for a Facebook buyout. In a statement sent to VentureBeat, the company’s business head Neeraj Arora said, “The TechCrunch article is a rumor and not factually accurate. We have no further information to share at the moment.”

Pope Will be Answering Questions from His New Twitter (AllTwitter)
CNN’s Belief Blog shares that “the Pope will answer a question in his first tweet Dec. 12.” Officials said anyone can send in a question via the hashtag #askpontifex or #B16 [#BXVI].

Even When You Gotta Go, Social Media Goes Too (USA Today)
If you have found yourself using Facebook and Twitter in the bathroom, you are not the only one. Nearly one-third (32 percent) of the heaviest adopters of social networks — those ages 18 to 24 — connect with sites such as Facebook and Twitter in the bathroom.

Hackers Launch Attack on Tumblr, My Little Pony (SocialTimes)
Hackers have taken over thousands of Tumblr blogs, including those of The Daily Dot, The Verge, and CNET, according to a report by TheNextWeb. The anti-blogging group GNAA is using a viral post to spread a worm to more than 8,600 unique sites and counting, according to a group member’s Twitter page.

Ford, Jimmy Fallon Ask Twitter Users to Help Pen Super Bowl Jingle (PC Magazine)
The “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” host is crowdsourcing on Twitter the script of the new Lincoln MKZ commercial, which will debut during the February football game. On Wednesday, Fallon will begin his writing process by sending a single tweet, after which the Twitter universe will take over, working with the comedian to “steer the script” — which is, coincidentally, the same hashtag users should attach to their tweet ideas.

Facebook’s David Fisch Talks Mobile at Inside Social Apps Conference (AllFacebook)
Facebook is increasingly becoming a mobile company, as evidenced by the fact that roughly 600 million people access the social network via their phones. David Fisch, Facebook’s director of platform partnerships, spoke with Inside Network managing editor AJ Glasser at Mediabistro’s Inside Social Apps conference in New York about the future for the company on mobile and why organic reach has decreased.

Police Use Twitter to Reunite Lost iPad with Owner 6,000 Miles Away (The Daily Dot)
When a tourist lost her iPad in the United Kingdom, a police officer was able to return it to her after tracking her down with the help of the Twitter community. North Yorkshire Police Constable Ed Rogerson was able to access some photos on the iPad, including a flight ticket and several images of what appeared to be the device’s owner.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Category: #askpontifex, David Fisch, Ed Rogerson, facebook, ford, Inside Social Apps, Jimmy Fallon, Newsfeed, Pope, president barack obama, Social Media, Super Bowl, texting, tumblr, twitter, Whatsapp /

Facebook Phasing Out Credits | Twitter Simplifies Timelines | Kremlin to Launch Social Network

June 20, 2012 / Tim Sohn / No comments

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Facebook Swapping Out Credits, Adding Subscription Billing (AllFacebook)
Facebook announced Tuesday that the company is doing away with Facebook Credits and transitioning to local currency. The social network also announced that it is accepting subscription billing for apps. Simply put, these moves make it easier for Facebook gamers to spend more by cutting out the Facebook Credits middleman. The New York Times The changes are designed to encourage companies well beyond game developers to sell their wares on the Facebook platform itself. It carries the additional benefit of potentially keeping Facebook users on the site longer and harnessing more data about what they buy. San Francisco Chronicle App developers will soon be able to charge subscription fees, Prashant Fuloria, Facebook product management director, announced in a company blog for developers. Subscriptions could become an easy, ongoing source of revenue. The Wall Street Journal Facebook is getting support from two big-name advertisers after tough questions over the effectiveness of its ads. On Tuesday, Ford and Coca-Cola separately said they found value in Facebook advertising, and Ford plans to expand its use of the social network in advertising. Reuters Facebook offered a rare peek on Tuesday at one facet of the elaborate system it uses to police its 900 million-user social network, as it attempts to keep it free of content it deems offensive, illegal or just plain inappropriate. A detailed, and somewhat confusing, chart published by Facebook on its website depicts how reports of various infractions are routed through the company and lays out all the potential outcomes, which can range from an account being disabled to Facebook alerting law enforcement. continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Category: All-Star Game, coca cola, facebook, Facebook Credits, Flipboard, ford, Jeremy Lin, Kremlin, Lady Gaga, linkedin, Newsfeed, Pandora, Readability, Social Media, social network, social networking, soundcloud, Spotify, Spotify iPad app, Spotify iPhone app, the fancy, tweet timeline, tweets, twitter, youtube /

Shore Up Your Business Video Storytelling with Ten Practices

June 19, 2012 / Kathy Klotz-Guest / No comments

These ten practices will increase your video storytelling success and augment your digital marketing campaigns.

Category: Best Practices, branding, cisco, Content, digital marketing., ford, Goodwill Industries, ibm, Marketing, NetApp, online video strategy, Panera, Serena Software, Social Customer, storytelling, strategy, video, video storytelling, Yes /

Ford keeping its eyes on the social media road.

May 31, 2012 / Localspeak / No comments

Just two days prior to Facebook’s IPO, peculiar as the timing appeared, General Motors (GM) announced it would be pulling its $10 million advertising from the social networking behemoth (approximately 5% of Facebook adjusted 2012 revenues), with automaker marketers arguing GM wasn’t seeing the ROI reflected in vehicle sales. The kerfuffle surrounding GM’s announcement resulted in a single day spike May 16th in GM social media conversations, according to NetBase analytics.

Category: Advertising, advertising ROI, Analytics, CRM, Engagement, Enterprise Social, facebook, ford, gm, listening, Metrics, Monitoring Tools, netbase, Platforms, Research, ROI, Social Media, social networks, strategy /

Study: Google Ads More Effective Than Facebook | Social Media-Sex Connection? | Flickr Rolls Out New Photo Layout

May 16, 2012 / Tim Sohn / No comments

Click here to receive the Morning Social Media Newsfeed via email.

Study: Google Ads Work Better Than Facebook’s (Boston Herald)
Facebook may be this week’s stock market darling, but when it comes to online display advertising, search engine Google provides advertisers with “significantly more value” than the social media giant in terms of growth rates, performance, targeting options and formats, according to a study released Tuesday. The study compares the value of Facebook advertising to Google’s Display Network. PC Magazine Facebook moved quickly — again — to address concerns that it wasn’t doing enough to satisfy mobile users, buying the developers of the Lightbox Android photo app. However, the company also made it clear that Facebook was not acquiring the company or the photos that users had stored on the Lightbox website, just the developer team. AdAge General Motors said Tuesday that it is “reassessing” its spending on Facebook advertising — about $10 million — but “remains committed” to the social network as part of “an aggressive content strategy with all our products and brands.” Meanwhile, Scott Monty, Ford’s head of social media, said that the automaker is bullish about Facebook ads — particularly “sponsored stories” that contain a social layer — and intends to “accelerate” spending on them. AllFacebook Facebook followed up last week’s introduction of its app center with two new metrics to its insights for applications: app ratings and negative feedback. The new app ratings dashboard will bring developers information on how users rated their apps with the five-star ratings system Facebook recently implemented. The negative feedback feature shows developers how many times stories from their apps have been hidden or reported as spam, as well as how many times the app itself has been blocked. Mashable Two Colombian criminals almost got away with robbing an Internet cafe, but one of them checked Facebook first — and ended up being identified and arrested because he forgot to log out. The two men whipped out guns at the cash register to demand money and made a clean getaway on a motorcycle. After the men escaped, an employee at the cafe called the police turning in information from the Facebook page that led to his arrest. continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Category: Anchorman, Android, blogger, facebook, flickr, Flickr liquid layout, ford, General Motors, Gmail, google, Google Display Network, google docs, Google Docs Research toolbar, Harvard University, Instagram, Instagram NYC, LightBox, linkedin, Myspace, Newsfeed, Ron Burgundy, Social Media, social media advertising, Socialcam, W Hotel, youtube /

How Ford Engages Customers With Social Media

April 6, 2012 / Michael Stelzner / No comments

In this video I interview Scott Monty, head of social media at Ford Motor Company.

Scott shares how to connect and engage your customers with social media. He also explains how Ford uses Google+ and blogging to engage customers and what this means for their business.

Be sure to check out the takeaways below after you watch the video.

Here are some of the things you’ll learn in this video:

Ford’s experience with Google+ and its potential for brands
How the conversation on Google+ is different
How their blogging impacts sales
What Ford is doing to stimulate fan engagement
How Ford wants to bring social media inside cars
How to make humor work in your social media marketing
Why you need to focus on creating a story
The upcoming trends in social media

Connect with Scott on Twitter @scottmonty and check out Ford Social and Scott’s Social Media Marketing blog.

What do you think? How does your company engage with your audience on social media? What tips do you have to share about social media engagement? Please leave them below.

Category: brand, Expert Interviews, ford, ford social, humor, michael stelzner, Scott Monty, social media engagement, story, Videos /

12 Tenets of Relationship Marketing Effectiveness

October 27, 2011 / Mari Smith / No comments

Relationship marketing refers to everything you do to make your prospective and current customers aware of your products and services, position your business in their minds as the obvious choice, and help you to build lifelong, profitable relationships with them.

Whereas the traditional marketing approach is transactional, relationship marketing is relational. Old-style marketing mostly focuses on sales transactions. The new relationship marketing focuses on working hand-in-hand with your prospects and customers to co-create a more meaningful, personalized, and lasting experience.

With the vast range of social media tools at our disposal today, it’s easier now more than ever to shift your focus from transactional marketing to relational marketing. Your customers and prospects want to know that you’re listening, that they are important to you, and that you are striving to improve your brand, products and services as a result of their feedback. You can’t afford to be a one-way broadcast channel. You need to embrace the conversation and, as my friend Brian Solis says, Engage or die. By that, he means it’s those companies who engage with their community that will thrive in the long run.

Relationship marketing best practices

There are certain hallmarks of companies that have successfully integrated relationship marketing. Listed below are 12 best practices, formed as a quick self-assessment. Answer yes or no to all 12 questions; the more yes’s you have, the better!

My company:

…conducts regular polls and surveys of our customer database to ensure we understand the currents challenges and needs of our market.
…strives to integrate customer feedback as much as possible in order to improve our products and services.
…understands the power of social media and has active profiles set up on all the popular social sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.
…has effective listening and monitoring systems in place.
…has a corporate social media policy in place that lets staff know what can and cannot be said, what actions can and cannot be taken, and how to handle any negative situation.
…generates warm leads from all online and offline marketing efforts on a regular basis.
…utilizes a reliable customer relationship management strategy.
…conducts regular training sessions for all members of staff on proper customer relations and social media best practices.
…stays on the cutting edge by evolving, adapting and integrating new technologies.
…embraces high-tech but always maintains high-touch by reaching out to our customers, prospects, vendors and partners.
…has a very high customer satisfaction rate.
…consistently goes out of our way to let our customers know how much we value them.

By studying and integrating each of these 12 best practices, you’ll go a long way towards improving your success through relationship marketing. Your customers will not only like you, but they’ll love you!

Companies that do really well with their relationship marketing efforts include Zappos, Starbucks, Virgin America, SouthWest Airlines, and Ford. And, great real-life examples of relationship marketing include Alaska Air (their San Diego manager brought me an iPhone charger during a lengthy flight delay!), as I shared in my recent interview with Mike Stelzner.

Also, check out Morton’s Steakhouse as Peter Shankman shared on The Greatest Customer Service Story Ever Told, Starring Morton’s Steakhouse.

Free 4-part relationship marketing webinar series

This article is a brief excerpt from my latest book, The New Relationship Marketing: How To Build A Large, Loyal, Profitable Network Using the Social Web. For a free 4-part webinar series that comes with the book (on the honor system, no need to send proof of purchase!), check out this page. I’ll be teaching many of the principles in the book, along with proven tactics and strategies for making the most of Facebook and other social marketing. You can also download a free chapter of my book here.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below — do you agree with the 12 tenets? What’s missing? What else would you add? Did you learn something just by taking the self-assessment?