For many customers wanting to pay their bills, check their balance, track an order or simply find information online has become a highly convenient way to self-serve.

But what’s next? At the moment, it seems that many organisations with a business-to-consumer relationship have a Facebook or social media presence to some degree.

However, whilst most of these have a strong marketing presence dedicated to promoting their brand and products, few provide the ability for customers to self-serve. Read More »

I’ve long been a fan of Foursquare. It is easily integrated into more mainstream social networks like Facebook and Twitter, and the location data that the app generates should make it an essential digital tool for marketers and campaigners.

American Express UK have recognised its power, and are running a new campaign in conjunction with the geo location company and Harvey Nichols. Card holders can sync their card with Foursquare , and if they check in at the department store they will receive £25 when they spend £25. Read More »

Social media should no longer merely be an extension of a ‘traditional’ advertising campaign; campaigns must be ‘social by design’ from the start, according to a report by the Asian Federation of Advertising Agencies (AFAA) and Warc.

Major brands may not be talking to as many people as they thought, according, to a new report.

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo has said Twitter is generating more advertising revenue from its mobile platform than from its website on many days in the last quarter.

The short-list for this year’s Social Brands 100 has been announced and includes a roll call of top global brands including Starbucks, BBC, Ford, Red Bull, KLM, Virgin Atlantic, PayPal, Dell, and Xbox.

It isn’t all about big brands and how they are doing in social media. As with last year’s Social Brands 100 there is a good representation from smaller brands with the likes of Muddy Boots Foods, ARKive, Help for Heroes, Frugi, and Fifteen Cornwall all shortlisted. The full shortlist is below. Read More »

Further to its month-old promise to build a “more effective follower ecosystem” for businesses, LinkedIn has launched two new features for brands – targeted updates and follower statistics. Read More »

Life revolves around trust. Trust binds friendships together. Trust lets you gets things done at work. Trust defines what you do, try and buy. Brand owners know this and for years have been trying every trick in the book to gain the trust of consumers. The arrival of social media has seen some brands try to buy that trust (or likes, followers, or even Pins) – they are missing the point. You can’t buy people’s trust, you have to earn it.

Fifty years ago, Mad Men gave brands a style that you aspired to. The expression ‘brand promise’ arose to define the trust between a company and consumers. Cigarette firms used doctors to endorse their product. The age of celebrity saw brands jump on the coattails of well-known personalities to share in their reflected trust. Read More »

American Express are offering savings to their customers. This one though is not through coupons or points, but via social media.

To get savings from a host of US brands, such as McDonalds, Dell, and Whole Foods, all you have to do is sync your Twitter account with Amex, and tweet using the specified hashtag for that brand. The saving then goes directly onto the synced card. For instance, if you want to get savings at Whole Foods the hashtag is #AmexWholeFoods and the appropriate saving will automatically be applied on your next purchase. Read More »

The headline says its all: five companies that are rocking social media from Dell, to Unisys and KLM.

There are nice pointers here detailing why these companies are succeeding including Dell’s use of Twitter and KLM’s 24-hour customer help. Read More »