During last week’s question and answer session after the webinar, many great questions came up. Tune in to find out what were the hot questions on attendees minds with a little question and answer session with Nello and Jenn.

On Social Media/Social Currency:

Q:  What’s the best way to run a promotion through social media to gain social currency?  

A: The first step is to figure out where your customers are so that you can determine the best way to actually reach them.  There’s no point in running a promotion on Facebook if your customers aren’t there. Next, identify your marketing objectives – what are you trying to accomplish?  Are you looking to grow your fan base?  Showcase a new product launch?  Drive conversions?

Then, design your offer or announcement based on these objectives.  Remember, social media provides a uniquely personal brand experience – it’s a chance to connect with customers in a one-on-one way and build a community around your brand.

The best programs are simple, easy to understand, and most importantly, easy to share.

Q:  What can I do to increase our fan base on Facebook?  

A: The best way to build your fan base is to offer incentives to become a fan.  For instance, you can create a program that provides an immediate discount on purchase offer – something like “become a fan and get 15% off your next purchase.”

You can also communicate the availability of exclusive “fan only” offers and other special perks to motivate prospects. You can provide things like special product previews, exclusive bundles, or everyday free shipping for fans.  It’s about providing tangible and immediate value to entice your fan prospect to “Like” you.

Another way to increase your fanbase is by sharing any charitable activities on Facebook . Philanthropy has an amazing viral affect. Share stories and videos about how your good deeds are making an impact. You also can kick off fundraisers via Facebook and ask your fans to spread the word to friends for whom the cause is important.  Stories about philanthropy are a very shareable way to grow your fanbase.

On Social Media/Location-based Marketing:

Q: How do I segment in social media?

A: The way to get started is to think about how your fan or subscriber is experiencing your content in the social sphere and look for ways to improve their experience.

If you’re a large company with a broad portfolio of brands and products, you may find that it’s best to set up individual pages.  For instance, if you were Proctor and Gamble, your Tide fan may not be interested in viewing content about your Pringles product.  You could set this up with an umbrella page for Proctor and Gamble and individual pages for specific brands.

Another way to do it is through geography.  If certain goods or services aren’t available in a given area, then you don’t want to frustrate subscribers with content about products they can’t purchase.

It’s about maintaining relevancy and the quality of the user experience.

On Mobility:

Q:  What are the most important things to know about designing for mobility?

A: The first thing to keep in mind is that you need to remember that your content is very likely to be accessed on a mobile device, and that you need to consider this factor on each and every campaign send.

Remember that mobile devices, while very convenient, offer a very different content experience than what a user gets with a traditional interface. The screen is small, and users are on-the-go. So, you need to keep messages concise and subject lines short.

Definitely use pre-headers and remove images and don’t forget to test how your campaigns register across various mobile platforms.

On Location-based Marketing:

Q: Can you give some examples of what you can do with location-based marketing?

A: With location based marketing, you’re leveraging the power of social media to get granular information on your subscriber. This allows you to message them with highly targeted offers. To get them to check in with you initially, you can offer an immediate reward – something like check-in and get 10% off today’s purchase.

Once you have engaged them in a location based activity, you can reward them for their loyalty – something like check in here 10 times and receive a special incentive.

You can also engage them with Foursquare’s mayor offers – if someone becomes the mayor of a your location, you can grant them a special prize or discount – like a week of free coffee at Starbucks or a free appetizer at TGI Fridays.

Location based marketing engages subscribers in real time based on what they’re actually doing and therefore creates an amazing opportunity to be extremely timely and relevant.

On Social Gaming:

Q:  So, is gaming something marketers should really take seriously? It seems like just playing around. Is it worth the investment?

Yes, absolutely. Gaming is an extremely profitable industry and a great way to get potential and current customers to engage with your brand in a way that’s fun, interactive and 100% voluntary. The potential for word-of-mouth, viral exposure is immeasurable. 

And, big brands are getting involved in gaming, experimenting with this playful medium to deliver their messages. We showed how McDonald’s is gaming, but there are others. Century 21, USA Network, Expedia, MasterCard and even the New York City Public Library have all leveraged gaming and developed virtual goods to bolster their investments. They’re seeing results in the form of increased web site pages views, increased revenue and growth in their online influence.

Watch this webinar. Download the guide.

  Webinar: Grow Your Opt-In List…Almost Automatically

About the Author

Nello Franco (@nfranco) is Senior VP Of Customer Success at Lyris.