Thursday, January 31, 2013

Refillable Facebook Cards Can Carry Multiple Balances at Different Stores

Facebook Gift Cards


Facebook’s ventures into the real world continue. This time, it’s actually a pretty darn nifty idea.


Users can order gift cards that are mailed to the recipient. These cards can be used at multiple retailers – Target, Jamba Juice, Olive Garden, or Sephora. The balances are separated, so if they receive a card from one person for $100 at Target, the same card could also be used to give them $50 at Jamba Juice.


They’ve offered gifts for a while, though I haven’t heard how effective they’ve been. This should help to improve the effectiveness thanks to the tangible presence of a card. It’s refillable and only one is sent, so if multiple people give gifts, the totals are all added to the same card.


A few things need to happen for this neat innovation to take off:



  • More retailers have to get on board. They offer digital gifts to various places like Starbucks – these should also be allowed on the gift cards.

  • They MUST promote this. Facebook is notorious for understatement of the cool things and overstatement of the minor things (Graph Search was a big deal?).

  • Gifting needs to be easier. Right now, it’s hard to figure out how to send someone a gift if it isn’t their birthday. There should be a “Send a Gift” button on every profile page.

  • Businesses should be able to send gifts to their fans. This could be huge and I’m a little surprised they didn’t make that a possibility from the start.


If they can do those things, this might be their first entry into the physical world that actually turns up some revenue. If not, it will fade away into the realm of forgotten promising projects that didn’t get enough attention.









via Soshable | Social Media Blog http://soshable.com/refillable-facebook-cards-can-carry-multiple-balances-at-different-stores/

Retail Social Media Top 10 [Infographic]

RETAIL-SOCIAL-MEDIA-TOP-10.v.5b


Social networking sites have provided companies with a platform to reach their consumers in a new, fresh, and efficient way. Retailers are one industry that has jumped on the social media bandwagon, however, they all are not on the same playing field. Let’s take a look at what retailers are the top dogs on the various social media sites.


The top ten retailers on Facebook are: Walmart, iTunes, Target, Victoria’s Secret, Amazon, Macy’s, Kohl’s, American Eagle, Abercrombie and Fitch, and Best Buy.


Next we have Twitter. The top ten retailers in this social category are: iTunes, Whole Foods, Victoria’s Secret, Dell, Verizon, Urban Outfitters, Target, Amazon, Abercrombie and Fitch, and Toys R Us.


Check out the infographic below presented by Retail Customer Experience to learn more about the top retailers in social media and see if your favorite retailer made the cut.


RETAIL-SOCIAL-MEDIA-TOP-10.v.5b






via Soshable | Social Media Blog http://soshable.com/retail-social-media-top-10-infographic/

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

If Google+ Opens Up its API, It Might Just Beat Facebook

Google Plus Promise


Google+ is making moves. Many are saying that it’s not the ghost town that it was believed to be less than a year ago. It’s technically bigger than Twitter. Communities were a nice addition (if you turn the notifications off) that seem to be taking off. The future looks brighter than ever for Google’s 547th attempt at getting into social media.


They have one major flaw that they still consider a strength. By keeping their API access limited, they’ve been able to keep most of the automation, some of the spam, and all of the posting problems that Facebook has to deal with on a regular basis due to their integration with just about everybody. You can post to Facebook using literally thousands of different apps, websites, and methods. On Google+, you can only post through the tiny array of approved tools like Hootsuite and Viral Heat. It keeps them safe and protected, giving them a limited number of entries to monitor as they grow the service.


It also holds them back tremendously.


Facebook may be too open when it comes to posting. Still, Google+ is definitely too closed, at least from the perspective of growth and content. By not integrating with popular sites and services like Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr, they are limiting the ways through which people can post. Facebook allows these and so many other services to post directly on Facebook, to share content posted elsewhere, and to share the Facebook posts themselves on other networks. Google+ does not.


Take Pinterest, for example. With a click of a button, pins can be posted on Facebook and Twitter while they’re going live on Pinterest itself. It’s a great way to promote Pinterest posts and keep the content flowing on Twitter and Facebook. Without Google+ integration, there is very little chance of exposure there. Google+ cannot help expose your pins and Pinterest cannot help to put interesting content on Google+.


They know this. It’s part of their plan, and while I’m not in a position to make recommendations to Google, this is one that seems to stand out in glaring fashion. Will they ever start integrating? Probably. Are they ready to do it now? Absolutely. In fact, they were ready a year ago. They seem to be creating a “premium” social network in many ways. Elitist. It’s working from certain perspectives, but at some point the idea of having “the cool kids on G+” will wear off. It has to. The spread is rapid, but not as rapid as Facebook’s despite them being much larger at this point.


If Google takes the measured step of slipping in integration with other apps, they will be able to hit the tipping point of adoption that has still evaded them despite their growth. They are service is only big when you look at the right numbers, and even the “right” numbers are misleading. People are spending a great deal of time on Facebook every day, more than they’re spending on Google+ in a week, even a month. They have the users. They just don’t have the integration or interest level to make them more mainstream.


Google+ will succeed. Their direction is pretty solid, but it’s flawed. They’re doing well, but they could do much better to open up, even if only a little at a time.









via Soshable | Social Media Blog http://soshable.com/if-google-opens-up-its-api-it-might-just-beat-facebook/