The Social Path

Black Friday: A last minute social media survival guide.

Thinking about braving the post-Thanksgiving crowds for some killer shopping deals? Better you than me. But here are a few social tools that might help you make the most of it.

1. FatWallet.com's definitive spreadsheet of Black Friday deals.

2. BlackFriday.net's Facebook page.

3. ShoppingBlog.com's Black Friday Twitter feed. (Or CheapTweet if you want a feed that'll keep giving you deals after the holidays.)

4. The critically acclaimed TGI Black Friday iPhone app.

5. Or just stab a a fork into the heart of our consumer-driven economy and take part in AdBusters' "Buy Nothing Day."

A minimalist masterpiece of Facebook marketing by Ikea.

Making the most of social networks doesn't always mean building sprawling new applications from scratch, as Ikea learned with this smart, simple Facebook effort.

Via CNET.

Confronted with the worst, mom bloggers are at their best.

When most marketers or journalists talk about “mom bloggers,” it’s as if they’re describing some powerful-but-faceless crowd that exists solely to interact with corporate America.

The truth is that these online moms are incredibly diverse in opinions, motivations and tone. In fact, the only thing that really unites them is their connection, their commitment to one another, no matter how different they might be on a personal level.

Most days, this incredible network of support goes unnoticed by those outside the digital mom community, but the past week has shown how powerful and inspirational it can be.

A week ago today, blogger Anissa Mayhew suffered a massive stroke, one that left her struggling not only for consciousness but for survival itself.

I was in Atlanta (Anissa’s home base) the next day, when word was quickly circulating that she was in a dire situation. When I saw “PrayingForAnissa” was a trending topic on Twitter, my blood ran cold. Over the past year, Anissa and I have become good friends, and she was even one of our featured presenters at Luckie’s Marketing to the Modern Mom event last month (the photo above shows Anissa at the center of our blogger panel, with friends Mishelle "Secret Agent Mama" Lane, at left, and Lotus "Sarcastic Mom" Carroll.)

For tragedy to strike Anissa is doubly painful. Not only is she one of the most beloved and outspoken women on the Web, but her family has also overcome more adversity than anyone should have to live through. Anissa recovered from a previous stroke in 2005, only to learn a year later that her youngest daughter had been diagnosed with leukemia. The family's struggle against cancer inspired Anissa to begin blogging at Hope4Peyton.org.

By the time I’d learned of Anissa’s stroke, less than 24 hours after she was hospitalized, the blogger community was already in motion. Tributes, prayers and hundreds of donations poured in to help support Anissa’s husband and children.

Here are just a few of the blog posts Anissa’s friends posted to help raise awareness:

• "My Friend Anissa" by Izzymom
• "Love and Help for Anissa" by Sarcastic Mom
• "Anissa Mayhew Needs Our Help" by SomestimesParentingSucks.com
• "Come Together: Help for Anissa" by Belle of the Blog
 
The mom blog community continues to support Anissa’s family each day, spreading news of updates and reminding readers how they can help. Meanwhile, Anissa's husband, Peter, has done an commendable job of keeping friends up to date on Anissa's original blog, Hope4Peyton, and each of his new posts is being shared across the Web by the family's countless supporters.
 
What many outsiders might not realize is that, with mom bloggers, such widespread cooperation is more often the rule than the exception. We saw it with the heart-breaking loss of blogger Heather Spohr’s beautiful daughter, Maddie. Equally amazing was how the moms of the Web rallied to find a kidney for the seriously ill daughter of “Domestic Diva” blogger Lisa Carroccio.
 
But in less dramatic ways, those of us who work with online moms see it each day as bloggers help give their many online friends emotional support and advice.
 
I continue to hope for Anissa daily, and I’m thrilled to hear that she’s showing positive signs for a hard-fought recovery.

But I also hope that the marketing community is watching this unbelievable show of support, something that says more about today’s digital moms than a thousand surveys or focus groups could ever hope to illuminate.

To make a PayPal donation to help support Anissa Mayhew's family during her recovery, click here, or e-mail helpforanissa@gmail.com to learn how else you might be able to help.

5% of fans expect customer service, but 100% deserve it.

If you're a social media junkie, you might have already heard some of the great info from this year's FEED report by Razorfish on "digital brand experience." But there's one number that hasn't gotten the attention it probably should.

Check out this list of survey responses, specifically what came in dead last:

What is the primary reason you "friend" a brand online?

1. Exclusive deals or offers: 36.9%
2. I am a current customer: 32.9%
3. They offer interesting or entertaining content: 18.2%
4. Other people I know are fans: 6.2%
5. Service, support, or product news: 5%

That's right, customer service takes a back seat to almost everything, including peripheral connections with friends.

Ready for real head-scratcher? Check out these responses from a new study by Cone:

How would you like companies to interact with you online?

1. Solve my problems/provide product or service information: 61%
2. Offer me incentives (free products or services, coupons or discounts): 58%
3. Solicit my feedback on products and services: 49%
4. Develop new ways for me to interact with brands (widgets, apps, games, etc): 49%
5. Entertain me: 43%
6. Market to me: 43%

On first blush, these surveys seem pretty contradictory, but they actually can be combined to make a pretty powerful statement:

People don't expect customer service from brands online, but it's the No. 1 thing they'd like to see.

Sure, everyone loves freebies, and you've probably heard a lot of surveys like the one up top where people cite special deals and giveaways as a top motivation for following brands online.

But if a desire for free swag were truly the top motivator, you'd have millions of disappointed consumers out there. When brands do giveaways, it's rare that they're handing out more than a handful of goodies, often with hundreds of thousands of fans scrambling to win.

So why don't fans walk away when they don't get free stuff, or when the "special deals" don't turn out to be so special? Are they just compulsive gamblers? I doubt it. I think these people are earnestly interested in your company and are happy to be part of the conversation, even if the perks run light.

Is social media a great place to do giveaways? Absolutely. And you're sure to see great results, as Orbitz did when it recently garnered thousands of new Twitter followers just by offering a few free tickets. 

Here's another great set of answers from the FEED report:

Contests and sweepstakes:

• 96% of participants say it made them more aware of the brand
• 96% are more likely to consider purchasing that brand
• 92% are more likely to recommend that brand to others

But your social media presence can't depend on giveaways and coupons long-term. Nor can it be a blatant bait-and-switch in which you lure people with freebies, then spam them with marketing.

A real social media strategy requires a smart mix of conversation-starters, reactive PR, exclusive updates, and more.

Customer service absolutely must be part of the mix. Otherwise, your focus on giving people what they want might prevent you from giving them what they need.

Four trends that will rattle retail this Christmas.

Remember a few years back, when online shopping reached a tipping point and simply became a standard part of the American holiday experience? Well this year, there are even more digitally driven shifts in the works, and you can bet that shoppers and sellers alike are going to notice.

Here are four to watch:

1. Smart phones as the ultimate shopping tool

If you own a pickup truck, everyone wants you to help them move. If you own an iPhone, get ready to feel a similar dependence, because everyone will want you to help them shop.

Smart phones, especially Apple’s dominant device, will be worth their weight in saffron this Christmas. Last November, iPhone users were lacking two vital resources: practical shopping applications and mobile-friendly review sites.

This time around, the iPhone is a veritable treasure trove of easy-to-navigate review hubs and apps like RedLaser, a $1.99 download that lets you scan product barcodes in stores to see whether you could find a better price elsewhere.

Another easy trick is to use Google’s mobile app to search for a specific product, then click “Shopping results for…” in your search results. You’ll get a simple, scrolling list of online prices. Similarly, Amazon’s app can help you see what you’d pay on their site for an in-store item.

The downside of all these great tools? Only 17% or so of Americans are on smartphones, so if you’ve got one, get ready to be dragged on just about every shopping excursion this year.

2. Shopping directly from Facebook

Social networks, especially Facebook, have been huge assets for popular retailers. But they pose one major problem: Selling something to your fans almost always requires sending them away from Facebook, something users rarely want to do.

 

To overcome this hurdle, companies need a reliable and secure way to sell products directly through Facebook.

 

The smart folks over at Resource Interactive say they’ve created the solution: “Off the Wall,” a customizable tool that lets companies sell stuff right from your Facebook feed.