This is a custom made demo that’s tailored to your business

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We talk with 20×200′s Social Media Manager, Jennette Mullaney, about how 20×200 does social media marketing and what businesses can learn from their success.

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Source: Internet Service Providers

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Most people looking to use Facebook apps to benefit their business want to maximize brand awareness, increase Facebook fans, and engage customers.

Facebook 3rd party apps  allow you to host a Facebook Store, offers, give-aways, contests, and campaigns, which is what Wishpond can provide for you.

Top 7 Facebook App Questions:

1. How do I customize my tab on Facebook?
2. How do I select the winner for my campaign?
3. How can I customize my campaign?
4. Why does “Allow App” pop up when someone wants to enter my contest via Facebook?
5. I want a Facebook Store, how do I set that up?
6. How do I make my Facebook Store app look better?
7. Can I edit my campaign once I publish it?

How do I customize my tab on Facebook?

Many people want to customize their Tab to make it look business branded.

Tab Bar (red highlighted):

Before (Wishpond default images/titles):

After:

Customize the Title, Image and Position:

• hover over top right corner of tab & click the pencil icon
• click a tab in the drop down menu to Swap Positions

OR

• click settings
• change title & image, click save

How do I select the winner for my campaign?

With 3rd Party apps like Wishpond, you can select a winner at the end of the contest. Wishpond’s apps are designed within the Facebook guidelines so there is no need to worry about breaking the rules. With our apps you can select as many winners as you want:

1. Login to Wishpond
2. Go to Campaigns
3. Click your Campaign when it has ended
4. Click ‘Select a Winner ‘or ‘Select Winner Randomly’

• Using ‘Select a Winner’ you can manually choose who wins.
• Using ‘Select Winner Randomly’ our system will choose someone at random for you.
• + Export Participant List gives you a list of entrant’s inputted info.

Collect Emails: Wishpond campaign apps require entrants to enter their email address so you can contact the winner when it’s done.

• Example: Here is a sample collection of entrants’ emails

Your ROI: You can relax. By using Wishpond’s apps, we ensure that you will be running campaigns within the guidelines of Facebook, and lifting that cloud of worry.

How can I customize my campaign?

People want to make their Contests look branded to spread brand awareness and make their business recognizable. Here are some simple customizable features for your campaign to make it go from generic to branded.

Before:

After:

Customizable CSS

• create the design and layout with customizable CSS

Custom Banner

• create a header to display your brand in a Banner

Custom Entry Forms

• add entry boxes that entrants have to fill out in order to enter your contest to gain the information you desire

Your ROI: Increase brand awareness. This will help people recognize your brand and show your brand’s personality. Plus you can have fun playing with colours, font, images and the overall visual aesthetic.

Why does ‘Allow App’ pop up when someone wants to enter my contest via Facebook?

It’s harmless. To “Allow App” a 3rd party app usually is being given permission to auto-share the contest and collects information Facebook Open graph has already collected.

Auto-sharing: allow our app to post your contest on your entrant’s wall and their friend’s newsfeed. Auto sharing is great for spreading your contest all over Facebook and for entrants’ friends to see and enter too!

Analytics: At Wishpond we collect information and give it to you in your campaign’s analytics. This helps you target your campaigns.

Example: Analytics

Example: Auto-sharing

Wall

News Feed

Your ROI: Promote your brand and improve campaigns. Auto sharing is great for promoting your contest all over the social networks. Analytics are the perfect tools to help you tailor campaigns to see what worked and what you can do to improve the next campaign.

I want a Facebook Store, how do I set that up?

Simple! Use a 3rd party app to set up your Facebook Store so people can browse your products and make purchases.

With Wishpond our Facebook Store is a feature included with all of our plans. Simply sign up with an account, go to the Store tab in your dashboard, and import products.

• You can import from your e-commerce store (Etsy, Shopify, Ebay etc.) or we can crawl your website.
• The categories and items will import the same as you have on your e-commerce websites.
• Don’t have an e-commerce store? That’s okay! You can upload a CVS file or your POS, or add products manually.

Wishpond’s Store Dashboard:

Facebook Store:

You can add a banner at the top of you store to link browsers to your website or to a promotional contest!

Your ROI: Increase sales and brand awareness. The Facebook store is a great platform to have housed in a tab on your Facebook page for fans to shop for your products instantly and become familiar with your brand.

How do I make my Facebook Store app look better?

One simple addition. Notice the difference?

Before:

After:

Add a Banner to your Facebook Store. The banner feature is completely customizable. You can create clickable links to take users where-ever you want and it’s a great addition to make your store look that much more appealing.

Your ROI: Legitimize your brand. We want to break down the barriers shoppers may have in making purchases from your brand. Legitimize your brand with a simple Banner image; it really makes a difference in your stores appeal. At Wishpond you can add this feature in your Store dashboard. It’s simple, fast and easy to make. Get started!

Can I edit my campaign once I publish it?

Sometimes people realize they want to extend the duration of their contest, tweak the description, change the photo or customize part of their campaign at the last minute. That’s okay!

With Wishpond you can login to your account, go to your campaign, click edit and change all the things you want while it still runs on your page.

Your ROI: You don’t have to start from scratch.

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Tout [Ta-out] is Twitter for a video. It allows you to update status with a 15-second video and to share with your audience, followers, and customers through major social media channels on mobile and desktop computers.

In this short guide, you’ll learn 5 online marketing strategies with Tout that you can use to achieve ROI for your brands.

About Tout

Tout provides online social networking and microblogging service that enable over 12 million Touters (Tout users) to share 15-second messages on their videos.

You can update 15-second Tout videos and share your status in real time via Tout.com, Facebook, Twitter, other various social media channels, SMS, and email. Tout’s reply feature enables users to immediately join a face-to-face conversation with other Touters and to get quick replies to their Touts.

What ROI can you achieve by using Tout?

• Have a conversation with your audience through Tout`s reply feature.
• Drive traffic to the other social media channels
• Promote your company, product, or promotion
• Create the behind the scenes Tout
• Make a well-organized Tout video calendar

How to use Tout as your online marketing strategies to achieve your ROI:

1. Have a conversation with your audience through Tout’s reply feature.

If you reply by videos to someone’s Tout, you can immediately engage in a face-to-face conversation with other Touters.

What can retailers learn from this?

• Pick an interesting topic that you would like to discuss with your followers. You can share your story to host a conversation like you talk with your friends at a cafe. Also, you can ask a question for discussion or talk about hot issues around the world just for fun! At the end of your Tout, ask them to leave solicit comments on your Tout.

Example: Jessica Alba`s “Question Tout” at Self Magazine Tout channel

*Note: The video with a blue dialogue balloon is the reply Tout.

• To build more intimate relationship with them, upload “Thank you Tout” for the audience who responded to your Tout.

Example: Jessica Alba`s Thank you Tout at Self Magazine Tout channel

*Note: As you see at the bottom of Thank you Tout, there’re social buttons that you can reply to Touts by clicking of the blue reply box. Also, you can like your favorite Tout by clicking of the heart icon, retout into your account by clicking of the restore icon, and share them on other social media channels by clicking of the arrow icon.

• Manage notification setting to track every reply to your Touts by email. How?

1) Log into Tout.com
2) Click your name, next to your profile image in the top right corner.
3) Click “Settings” from the drop down menu.
4) From settings, select the “Notifications” tab and check the boxes you would like to receive by email.

5) Click “Save” when you’re done.

(Source Tout FAQ: http://www.tout.com/faq)

2. Drive traffic to the other social media channels

Tout has two elements that enable you to obtain more fans and followers on your other social media channels. First of all, most of Touters are currently heavy social network users. They enjoy sharing their status updates and interesting content with their friends and other web users in real time. Another element is you can share Touts via email, SMS, and various social networks. These prompt and multiple sharing opportunities will be the perfect combination to promote your Touts and other platforms.

What can retailers learn from this?

• You can directly import your contact list through web or mobile to share videos through SMS and email.
• Add specific hashtags to your Tout. Hashtags will classify your Touts into relevant categories and easily navigate the audience to your Touts. There are 3 methods of Tout hashtags.

1) Retrieve a hashtag’s Touts. It returns a list of Touts related to specific hashtags. Your app could display this data when someone clicks or searches a hashtag in your app.

2) Retrieve a list of trending hashtags. It returns a list of trending hashtags.

3) Retrieve suggested hashtags. It allows your app to lookup hashtags based on a search string. It returns a list of suggested hashtags matching the search criteria.

(Source Tout Developer: http://developer.tout.com/api-overview/hashtags-api )

3. Promote your company, product, or promotion

As many brands have used Tout for their marketing tools, this short video is becoming one of the most effective promotion that brings great results in a very short period. It enables brands to entice target audience and turn them into followers, repeated visitors, and even loyal customers.

What can retailers learn from this?

• Announce your new product launching at Tout.

Launch your new product at Tout instead of spending a million dollars on advertising. Tout generates word-of-mouth effects through available multiple sharing channels. Also, you can get immediate feedback from followers and listen to their honest and critical opinions about new product.

Example: Introduction of new talk show by Jenny McCarthy at The Talk Tout channel

• Showcase whole promotional videos or TV commercials at your Tout channel like using Twitter. Choose the most stunning 15-second clips out of videos or commercials and share short snippets with your audience. Also, add URLs of sites that have full video clips for the interested group of people.

Example: RedBull’s freeskiing competition Tout

• Create sub-contests or sub-events at Tout to increase awareness and participants of main contests and events. Let’s look at the great example of Zappos!

Example: Zappos’ CEO published a book for business advice, called “Delivering Happiness.” This bestselling book has inspired to grow a movement that spreads more happiness in the world. Zappos has used “Delivering Happiness movement” for their marketing strategies such as product lines, online promotion and events. To support their major marketing strategies, they created Tout video contest to share an inspirational story about their audience’s happiness.

• Not only provide a winning prize to the winner, but also give a small gift like a $25 gift card to people who reply to your Touts and show appreciation of participation.

4. Create the behind the scenes Tout

You don’t have to make an event or happenings for your Touts. Just show your company as it is! Natural states are the key points of the behind the scenes Tout to make a friendly image and to be closer with your followers and customers.

What can retailers learn from this?

• Types of the behind the scenes Touts

1) Employee recognition

Highlight your team who works behind your company and make your audience feel like they are congratulating together. Through this public employee recognition, you can motivate your employees to make more efforts into their work and personify your Touts through emotional connections with your audience.

Example: Tim Dakay’s employee of week Tout (@WhiteCollarUSA)

2) Work environment

Take your audience inside of your company to make a transparent image and to differentiate your company from competitors. Open the curtains and show where you are working at and how you are running your business.

3) Backstage of events

Openly share your event backstage with your audience. People are naturally curious about what they don’t know and can’t see. Use your Touts to answer their questions within 15 seconds and give them more chances to know more about your brands.

Example: Backstage of Obama election night (#Obama)

5. Make a well-organized Tout video calendar

We’ve talked about many types of Tout video so far. The last strategy for online marketing with Tout is deciding why and when to upload a video. With a well-organized Tout video calendar, you will be able to meet your audience regularly and to make them keep coming back to your Tout channel. Let’s look at the following tips.

What can retailers learn from this?

1) First of all, you have to decide what you will accomplish through your Tout  videos. To make sure your online marketing ROI, set a SMART goal: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

• Specific: Make your goal clear and unambiguous and tell your team exactly “5W” questions and answers.
• Measurable:  You must be able to evaluate the result of online marketing ROI by using tools such as Google Analytics. Ask yourself: How much? How many? When can I achieve your goal?
• Attainable: Goals must be realistic and be neither underestimated nor overestimated. Ask yourself: How can the goal be accomplished?
• Relevant: Goals must be important to you, your team, and company. Ask yourself: Is it valuable? Does it match our needs? Am I the right person?
• Time-bound: Goals must be achieved within a time frame. A deadline helps a team make efforts into completion of their assignments. Ask yourself: When (Daily? Weekly? Monthly?)

2) Themes

• To avoid confusion, pick a right topic and a theme of each Tout to divide into various categories such as events, the behind the scenes Touts, products, trends, and so forth. It will help you brainstorm more ideas about your Touts, target specific audience, and decide when to upload a video depending on a type, a topic, and a theme.

3) You can simply make a calendar with these following tools:

• Microsoft Excel
• Google Calendar, Note, Document, or Spreadsheet
• WordPress Editorial Calendar Plugin. And more….

*Note: Place your calendar where everyone can see it, touch it, and live it.

Are you ready to experience this new online social networking service? Tout will change how you interact, share, and communicate with your audience in full color, sound, and motion.

Tout It Out!

by Adella Choi, Content Marketer

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500px started off as a hobby. While attending Ryerson University, Evgeny Tchebotarev began working on it in his spare time. Now, it’s on its way to becoming the number one resource online for the best photography in the world.

It’s an online photography community where both aspiring and professional photographers can browse, share, buy and sell photos.

500px was named one of the 25 best blogs of 2012 by Time magazine.

What’s so special about their blog?

500px pays attention to not only acquiring new leads, but also making them permanent customers.

5 blogging tactics to learn from 500px:

1. Listen to precisely what the audience requires
2. Create an atmosphere with blog posts
3. The design of the blog fits seamlessly with the style of the website and target market
4. Informs the audience of current events, holidays and trends
5. Share exclusive content and contests to assist users in gaining potential

1. Listen to precisely what the audience requires.

500px understands who their target market is: avid photographers (amateur or professional) who keep up with the industry and technology changes.

What does 500px implement that contributes to their audience’s needs?

• Communicates in the same “photography industry language” of their target market
• Listens attentively to the input provided by their users
• Set high standards for themselves and their audience by only featuring the best of the best photography

What can businesses learn from this?

• Listening to your consumers is just as important as communicating with them
• What your readers are saying will help determine their wants and needs
• High-quality content should not be underestimated and is essential for building a dedicated audience
• Pay attention to the tone of your voice on your blog. Are you approachable? Is your tone similar to that of your target market?

2. Create an atmosphere with blog posts.

Sometimes a certain feeling or theme will arise when visiting a blog or website. 500px has a distinct mood with each blog posts. Their photography choices aren’t accidental, flowing through seamlessly, almost making a story out of each post. Just enough text is provided to understand the presented theme.

They take the time to sort through the best photos on the website and feature them on their blog regularly. They are instantly captivating and evoke certain emotions by pairing the description with the powerful photography.

What can businesses learn from this?

• Create personal connections with your readers by telling stories through your posts. Tapping into emotions creates trust
• Focus on topics relative to your industry that you know well. This will ensure both quality and passion in your posts
• Post features of clients. Give them incentives to visit your blog and participate in your community

3. The design of the blog fits effortlessly with their website & target market

Your blog could be the first impression of your business. People will decide in a matter of seconds if your blog is worth their time.

• 500px’s blog has an elegant design that shows it’s a community for sophisticated photos
• It’s simplistic and focuses on high quality images
• The images are presented in a large manner and easy to see
• Has consistency: the same theme as the website

What can businesses learn from this?

• Present a cohesive, put-together blog if you plan on providing value
• The less effort involved in navigating your content, the more likely consumers are to read it
• The feel of your website should suit your blog, and not feel like they’re navigating to another site

4. Inform your audience of current events, holidays and trends

Celebrating Valentine’s Day with a giveaway creates a positive feeling about the occasion, regardless of how the person feels about it.

Why is it important to keep up-to-date?

• By keeping your audience up-to-date, you’ll in turn be up-to-date
• Establish a connection between people’s favorite holidays & events to your business
• Helps build your “expert status” as a company

What can businesses learn from this?

• Helps consumers gain respect and trust for your business
• The knowledge you pass on will be appreciated and the word of mouth (WOM) of your business will increase
• Building your “expert status” via trends & knowledge will make your name more reputable

5. Share exclusive content and contests to assist users in gaining potential

Exclusivity is a powerful tool. Make your consumers feel special, and give leverage to your business.

How does 500px provide exclusivity?

• Showcases their users work
• Features fresh faces in the community
• Variety of new content
• Educates readers on their passions
• Exciting contests for different prizes such as free memberships and spotlights

What can businesses learn from this?

• Variety of content and the unexpected keeps users engaged
• Fresh, reliable content keeps readers coming back for more
• Contests make the users feel exclusive – if you’re not part of the 500px community you’re not going to have access
• People love to hear new perspectives and insights on the field they’re passionate about
• Motivate your customers and clients to keep improving

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Some say direct mail is dead. The truth is, about half of marketers are reducing their direct mail spend in 2013. However, there isn’t a need to do so if your business invests in more accurate targeting. USPS has a web tool that helps small businesses micro-target direct mail by allowing companies to target customers by neighborhood or zip code — no names or addresses required, but this type of campaign probably won’t yield the greatest bang for your buck. You want to reach the right audience, with the right mail and at the right time. Integrating social media with your direct mail campaigns can help you do this.

Integrate Social Media and CRM Software
If someone is a part of your direct mailing list, chances are you already have some background on the person. Whether it’s just a name and home address or their complete purchase history, your business can use social media to make the information more valuable to your marketing team. While not everyone who connects with your business on Facebook and Twitter are going to be a part of your mailing list, and vice versa, there is bound to be some overlap. You need to make the most of it.

• When asking someone for their mailing address, ask for their Twitter handle too. You can send out a personal tweet or direct message to build the business-consumer relationship while gathering insight into that customer and your audience in general.
• If a customer reaches out to your business on social networks, keep track of that in your CRM system. You’ll be able to segment your content depending on what their needs are and where they will see value in communications from your business.

Cross-Channel Promote Direct Mail and Social Media
Many marketers and business owners may be familiar with cross-promotion strategies where one business promotes another so that the second does the same for the first. This is a great option, so why not take the same strategy and apply it to your direct mail and social media marketing campaigns? Your direct mailing messages need to offer a different value for subscribers than your social media marketing campaigns. Different offers, extra coupons, etc. are great ways to use one channel to promote the value of another.

• When sending out direct mail, include your social media information and tease customers with any current social media promotions your business has going on. By measuring the results of each campaign, you can see what types of direct mail promotions different audiences respond to for more accurate segmenting with each piece of postage.
• If you’re looking to expand your direct mailing list, tweet and post status updates that encourage your social media fans to sign-up. Make sure you’re adding a direct-mail only value to the customer, otherwise they won’t see how signing up benefits them directly.

As with everything in marketing, you need to measure your efforts to see what works and what doesn’t. By using social media to collect customer information that is then processed in your CRM software and cross-promoting your direct mail and social media channels, you’ll be able determine your direct mail target audience more accurately. A more accurately segmented direct mail database requires more information and social media integration allows you to collect more of the data you need. Once you do this, you can make sure you’re only sending information to the people who will take action upon receiving the mail. You’ll be able to cut direct mail costs while improving the experience of customers.

Author Bio: Erica Bell is a small business writer who focuses on topics such as saving on direct mail with office postage meters and social media trends. She is a web content writer for Business.com.

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As a business owner you know how busy you are doing everything you need to do to make a living. You are no different than the business owner next door who has so little time in a day that she can no longer watch the evening news. More and more busy people are turning to podcasts to obtain current and relevant information about the news, trade information, and entertainment. With these steps you can tap into that busy audience and expand your customer base.

Podcasting is just one more tool in a business owner’s toolbox that provides a way to reach your customers that compliments and expands your existing efforts. It’s another way to cross-channel promote your brand. Plus, it’s a cheap valuable resource that can sometimes even be free.

Listen to Others
According to veteran podcasters, the best way to learn to podcast is to listen to others. Listen to well established podcasts to learn what they do and listen to new podcasts to hear the mistakes they make. Take notes and decide what you want to do in your podcast and, more importantly, what you don’t want to do.

Select Your Topic
You could focus your broadcasts on products or services that you offer. You could also establish yourself as an expert in your field and offer advice to clients and colleagues. No matter how you decide to go with your podcasts carefully select your topics. This ensures that you get the message you want to portray across to your listeners and that they follow a logical order. A successful podcast builds from one episode to the next.

Equip Your Studio
Podcasting does not require a dedicated production studio but you do need a quiet area in which to record your episodes. Your office with the door locked and a sign saying “Do Not Disturb. Recording in Progress” should suffice. You then need to equip that area with the following items:

• Audio recording and editing software. Editing your recording is vital to a successful podcast. When you begin podcasting you will likely make speech errors that you need to fix. You want your podcast to sound natural but you want to avoid a lot of errors and stutters.
• USB headset, digital recorder, and microphone are essential to a successful recording.
• Ensure your computer has a high-quality sound card and that you have the fastest internet connection you can get. DSL is a minimum for podcasting; dial-up connections just will not work.

Have Some Backups
Do not, in any circumstance, go live with only one recording. Have a minimum of ten episodes, 20 is better, recorded before you make your podcast available to listeners. You want to engage your audience and keep them listening and one episode will not accomplish that goal.

Natural is Better than Scripted
Imagine the last time you were in the audience at a speaking event. You could probably tell which speakers were more comfortable with their topics from those who were simply reading a script. Reading a script sounds like you are selling something and people do not like to be sold, they like to be informed. Or image when you’re in a conversation with someone you aren’t familiar with and there is an awkward moment of silence during the conversation between the two of you. To avoid either of these problems, have some talking points but keep your tone natural and conversational.

Schedule Your Podcasts
You set your DVR to record your favorite show at certain times and trust that when you want to watch it the recording will be there. Your podcast is the same as that show. As you build followers they will expect consistency and if you are erratic you will lose them. Decide if you are going to broadcast daily, weekly, or monthly and stick to it. Keep in mind that daily and weekly broadcasts build followers much quicker than monthly.

Find a Host for Your Podcast
Your host is like your network affiliation for a television show. This tells your audience where to go on a consistent basis to listen to your words of wisdom. There are several podcast directories for you to list your podcast on. Some of them are: Talk Shoe, PodcastAlley.com, and Podcast 411.

Concentrate on Exposure Not Money
When your podcast is new it is more important to gain exposure than to make money from the venture. As you build exposure you will build revenue from advertisers and direct sales resulting from your podcasts. Incorporate your podcast with your marketing plan and work on your website, blog, and podcast. Don’t forget your social media aspects and you will reap the rewards of true online marketing.

Not Comfortable, Then Get Help
Many people are not comfortable speaking into a microphone and even if they are they do not like the sound of their recorded voice. If this is the case with you then hire a professional podcaster to help you. They are not cheap, but like television and radio personalities they are selected for their voice talents.

Podcasting is a great way to expand your customer base and should be included in your marketing plan. It is a natural companion to your social media efforts and a logical flow from your blog. It allows you to reach busy people who don’t have time every day to read blogs and those who just don’t like to read on a computer screen. Incorporate this valuable tool into your marketing plan and you are certain to receive viable dividends.

Megan Totka is the Chief Editor of ChamberofCommerce.com. Search from over 1,000 business categories to find a local business near you.

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Founded in 1927 by William W. Grainger, W.W. Grainger is an industrial supply company based in Chicago.

Grainger is North America’s leading broad line supplier of MRO (maintenance, repair, and operating). Their catalogue is best known for carrying items like motors, lighting, material handling, fasteners, plumbing, tools, and safety supplies; however, Grainger carries pretty much anything tangentially-related to work (their website carries over 900,000 products), and they’ll happily send it to you ASAP.

Customer satisfaction is Grainger’s number one priority, and this emphasis has led to a large and vocal fan base, especially over social media.

So, what are practices Grainger is taking online that make them so successful? In this article, we’ll take a look.

4 social media practices you can learn from Grainger:

1. Speedy and friendly customer service gets results
2. Cost effective celebrity endorsement can gain your company great exposure
3. On-brand trivia can increase fan engagement
4. Insightful webinar series can provide value to your customer

1. Speedy and Friendly Customer Service:

The lynchpin of Grainger’s operation is its excellent customer service.

Their assistance via phone and email has been top-notch for years, and this tradition continues over their social media channels.

Unlike many other large businesses, Grainger only has one active account for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. While this may not be in their best interest if Grainger is looking to focus on different aspects of their business, it is very good for maintaining one very active community.

Compliments are met with graciousness, and complaints are swiftly addressed.

In fact, Michael Flowers, set decorator of the television show Breaking Bad, posted a very glowing review of Grainger’s service.

What Retailers Can Learn From This:

• Making customer service your company’s number one priority makes a good company great.

• There is no better promotion than high profile clients gushing over your customer service via a Facebook post. Money can’t buy praise like that.

• Excellent customer service will lead to many return customers.

2. Cost Effective Celebrity Endorsement:

Unless you live in a cave, you’re aware that the Super Bowl, the NFL’s championship game, happened a couple of weekends ago. Every year, the Super Bowl is the highest-rated broadcast in America, and attaching one’s company to the event is a highly costly endeavor.

However, social media has opened up the gates for companies looking to get in on the event on a budget. Grainger makes effective use of this nouveaux area of promotion by partnering with football great/color commentator Boomer Esiason.

The perks for Grainger being involved in such a union are many mentions on Esiason’s Twitter feed, and backstage access to the Super Bowl, which made for some incredible Twit Pics:

Speaking of the Super Bowl, the power went out in the second half, leading to many Grainger fans to exclaim tweeting comments like this:

What Retailers Can Learn From This:

• Being part of a major sporting event, such as the Super Bowl, in any capacity, gains you lots of exposure.

• Strategically partnering with a celebrity Twitter ambassador can be a cost-effective way for larger companies to be involved in major events.

• Marketing over Twitter allows you to adjust your message on the fly. For example, Grainger was immediately able to relate the power outage at the Superdome to a need for their products.

3. On-Brand Trivia and Fan Engagement:

An important rule of thumb for a company when running effective social media is to stagger self promotion and product detail with fun customer engagement, especially if this engagement is on-brand.

To this effect, Grainger has managed to accomplish both with aplomb.

One of the most effective regular features on Grainger’s Facebook page is their “Mystery Product Monday”, in which they pull an esoteric piece of equipment out of their vast inventory for fans to guess what it is. Needless to say, this feature is extremely popular and garners hundreds of replies:

As their Facebook profile highlights, “This page features fun information about global MRO supplier Grainger, and the general maintenance supply industry. Don’t think MRO can be “fun?!” Let this Facebook page show you how exciting the industry can really be!”

One of the ways Grainger accomplishes this through their “Fun Fact Friday” series. Here, Grainger pulls out a random fact and ties it into their service, much to the delight of their audience:

What Retailers Can Learn From This:

• Engagement that features esoteric work equipment is a great way to get the most hardcore fans involved.

• Everyone loves learning something new about something they’re passionate about, and a feature like Fun Fact Friday does just that.

• Try your hand at taking something many people might find boring or obscure, and make it engaging for your target market.

4. An Insightful Webinar Series:

Webinars are an excellent way for a company to give value to their customers and fans. Webinars are very popular these days, are cost-effective, and give your company great exposure and PR.

Grainger’s On The Job webinar series is top notch. The series deals with a variety of workplace-related topics and solutions for their customers. Some of these topics include on the job safety, health care, energy management, and air quality.

What Retailers Can Learn From This:

• Webinars are a great and cost effective ways to give pure value to your customers.

• Webinars are incredibly popular these days.

• Webinars allow your company to deal directly with the issues and concerns of your most loyal customers.

Written by Steve Ramsey (steve@wishpond.com)

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