New Notification: Chick-fil-a Posted On Your Wall

We get push notifications during the mid-hours of the night; we spend hours logged on browsing old friends and photos, and we constantly update our status letting our friends and followers know how much fun we're having at the restaurant down the street. If you haven't guessed it by now I'm talking about the amazing influence social media has had on our lives.

Now, the question is what does this mean for businesses both local and corporate. Social media has the potential to form strong bonds between business and consumer but only if done correctly. What some companies fail to realize is in order for social media to have a significant impact the company needs to interact frequently enough to form a virtual relationship. Simply logging on and accepting "friend" requests or "following" someone won't make a big enough impact.

What some companies that I've noticed are doing is promoting discounts should it be through coupons or specials on their page. This is extremely convenient for both the modern consumer and businesses alike. Think about it: the manager logs onto Twitter before business opens and "tweets" something like "stop in for buy one get one free on sandwiches all day". Now, if this company has a good following then the manager can expect a good increase in business for that day. I've also seen company's post coupons on their page for the consumer to print out. Again with a good consumer base these simple and FREE outlets of social media can increase sales and create brand loyalty for the long term.

To keep the consumer-company relationship strong the business has to include its customers in its everyday activities. If not, the bond will not be strong enough to create brand loyalty. Asking customers to take pictures with their product and upload it to their page (similar to the Dominos campaign) is one way of keeping the consumer interactive in the process. This not only creates amazing word of mouth marketing but engages the consumer and motives them to keep coming back for more.

Social media has enormous potential but the company needs to create a bond with the consumer that will build long term brand loyalty.

Be safe and smart.

-Erica

No Need For A Wallet at Starbucks With The Latest iPhone App

The iPhone is rapidly becoming the most versatile and must have item of choice. Personally, if my building were on fire I would grab my iPhone over anything else. Thousands of applications or "apps" make this phone the most useful machine man has created. One more to add to the list is the new Starbucks app. You may be thinking "oh, what now, a game where you play a barista and conjure up a variety of lattes and frappuccinos". Quite the contrary, the people over at Starbucks have taken something simple and made it revolutionary. Somewhat of a gift from the heavens for those caffeine addicts out there the Starbucks Card Mobile App allows you to carry Starbucks money stored on the app which allows for quick purchases through a barcode reader when at your local Starbucks.

Now, let us talk business. As Miyazaki said in his latest post concerning this issue, "Why it matters is that this is a step toward more comprehensive payments systems that can move individual credit cards to smart phones via "near field communication," which will allow consumers to pay for products by waving their phone near a sensor at the point of purchase". This could be a great marketing tool in the sense that Starbucks could link such purchases to social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter via status updates. For example, I buy a tall, caramel frappuccino, double-blended, no whip cream with my Starbucks app and when the transaction is made my Facebook status automatically updates to something like 'Erica is enjoying her Caramel Frappuccino at Starbucks', this may inspire my friends and followers so purchase one as well.

It's a great day and age to live in, but all the interconnectedness of the Internet and personal life can be a bit scary.

Just be safe and smart out there! ;)

-Erica