Starbucks Simplifies Social Sponsorships

by Karelisa Falkner
Social Media Marketing Specialist

www.liqui-site.com

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In this week's Feedback Friday: Weekly Social Media Round-Up From Liqui-Site Designs, Starbucks gets a new social cause, Facebook goes automated, and Google Places is no more.

Whole latte' change

Starbucks is partnering with RED (leading non-profit that “harnesses the power of companies and people to help fight AIDS”) to launch the largest non-profit check-in campaign via Foursquare. VentureBeat reports that from June 1-10, the coffee megacorp will donate $1 to Global Fund (RED’s financing institution) ) for every Foursquare check-in at any Starbucks location in the U.S and Canada. The initiative is part of RED’s ‘Rush to Zero Campaign’, which seeks to eliminate the mother-to-child transmission of HIV by 2015. Foursquare has not received as much attention as other social sites recently, but is still a formidable social platform. However, it’s curious to note that while Starbucks has 435,779 followers on Foursquare, it has 2 million on twitter! Regardless of the platform, social media sponsorships cannot be emphasized enough, especially social causes. You may have noticed some other corporate social sponsorships lately, like Tacobell’s teen ‘Graduate to Go’ or Dove’s ‘Self Esteem’ for young girls campaigns (both of which integrate social media but do not target social check-in). The key to a successful social sponsorship is having a good fit between cause and company, and some would add delivering the message from the organization’s side so as not to appear that it is driven purely by sales. It should be an interesting and worthwhile 10 days for Starbucks addicts.

Facebook releases scheduled posts 

Facebook has finally released an update that allows admins to set their own timed, automated posts, which is a great time saver and more importantly, makes users less reliant on third party management apps, like HootSuite. The new update also allows page admins to assign permission levels to other employees to varying degrees for management, content creation, moderating, advertising, and analyzing insights. From the Facebook help center, here’s how to schedule posts (up to six months in advance). 

Admin can view and edit their scheduled posts in the Activity Log. This is a must have addition, and should really help businesses whose key engagement hours don’t align with their store hours. Or employers who were previously skeptical about delegating social media responsibilities to staff. 

Google's new interactive business listings  

Google Places are no more. Google announced this week that Google pages have been entirely replaced by Google+ Pages for Business. If you have a Google+ page, you’ll notice a new tab on the left panel, under ‘Circles’ labeled ‘Local’. More than 80 million Google Places pages automatically rolled over into Google+ Pages. What do the changes mean? Business listings are all rated on a 3 point scale determined by user reviews- which Google averages for an overall business score. You can read more about the point system here. For food establishments the change is entirely beneficial, as the new Google+ Pages for Business integrates a new Zagat 30 point rating system (based on the Google-Zagat merger from nearly a year ago). The design also has an improved interface over Google Places (looks very similar to Yelp) and enhanced searching and SEO capabilities. Obviously, certain businesses like restaurants or retail have the upper hand as far as getting reviews. Other businesses will have to get creative to generate reviews. Some tips: make sure your business profile is complete and descriptive, and includes targeted keywords. Incorporate special offers or incentives, even if they are minimal. Be active about getting reviews, even ask your customers directly since they are shared within Google+’s social circles. And because the design is so streamlined, adding high-quality pictures of the business, service, or products is essential.  

Have something to say?

Liqui-Site Designs wants to hear your feedback! Tell us about the social media moments that caught your interest this week, or your thoughts on any of the latest social media trends and products. Leave a comment below, tweet @Liqui_Site , or leave a comment on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Liqui.Site. For more information on Liqui-Site Designs visit us at http://www.liqui-site.com

See you next Friday!

The Big Picture

by Mathew Ell
Web Designer, Producer

www.liqui-site.com


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How Data Visualization brings stats to life, and helps website owners along the way.

Wikipedia defines Data Visualization as "the study of the visual representation of data, meaning 'information that has been abstracted in some schematic form, including attributes or variables for the units of information'.”  Basically saying that data visualization (or information graphics) make it easier for us to understand complex information. One of the earliest and most famous information graphics ever created is Charles Joseph Minard’s depiction of the collapse of Napoleon's Army in Russia, created in 1869, and shown here:

Minard came from a background in mathematics and eventually moved into civil engineering, all the while collecting statistical information and displaying it graphically. Minard's information graphic of Napoleons' Army later became the inspiration for Google's Flow Visualization, which enables users to visualize and quickly find insights about how visitors flow through their site.

Modern Infographics 

Early forms of information design were adapted into the "information age" and used in modern digital applications. Web site analytics, stock charts and public opinions all use various forms of graphics to organize and display complex information in a way that has never been communicated before. Visual.ly, an online community where people contribute and share their own data visualizations (ranging from The Evolution of the Geek as pictured right, to Communication Through The Ages), elevates data visualization to a truly artistic level.


As you can see, people are finding all different types of ways to display information and make sense of an incomprehensible amount of data.


Here are a few more examples of data visualization to explore:

Balloons Of Bhutan (http://balloonsofbhutan.org)

Jonathan Harris traveled to Bhutan in 2007 to collect data about happiness, of all things.  Harris mapped people’s happiness using surveys and used balloons to paint a picture of the happiness level of that country.  The result is absolutely stunning.    

Feltron (http://feltron.com) Nicholas Feltron, a one-man census of sorts, creates ‘tapestries’ of annual activity, represented in a series of graphs, maps, statistics, and more. Feltron is also a part of the design team at Facebook.

VistorVille (http://www.visitorville.com)
VisitorVille, a web traffic monitoring program for Windows, lets page owners view their traffic in a real-time, virtual street grid. Owners not only visualize traffic, but are able to glean detailed information about each unique visitor.

Facebook Plots A Comeback

by Karelisa Falkner
Social Media Marketing Specialist

www.liqui-site.com

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Welcome back! I took a brief hiatus from Feedback Friday last week to talk about social media plagiarism, but return with this week’s Social Media Round-Up.

This week’s focus is Facebook. Let’s talk about three things Facebook is considering to restore its competitive edge and regain profits. 

Timeline Redesign

After seeing its stocks plummet on its IPO launch, Facebook is considering a re-design of Timeline.  Now in beta testing, the new look will showcase basic user info like age, city, and occupation in the cover photo, and in large, white text.  The redesign will also change ‘Likes’ into ‘Favorites’; add a summary tab of the major events in a user’s life; and condense the Friends, Photos, Map and other apps into a smaller space below the cover photo.  Facebook issued a mild response to the news, saying “We can confirm this is a small test, but don’t have anything further to share at this time.”  PC World has a first look at how the new Timeline might appear, and I personally have to say it hasn't changed enough.  It looks dated and sort of reminds me of a bad PowerPoint presentation. What do you think?

Pictures and Mobile

AdAge reports today that at the same time Facebook shelled out $1 billion dollars to acquire Instagram, it was working on its own photo app, Facebook Camera.  And days prior to its IPO, the site also acquired LightBox, a mobile photo-sharing app for Android.  Looking to photo and mobile technologies is solid thinking.  Facebook became notable in part for its photo uploading and tagging capabilities, and with the IPO failure, experts speculated investors should move their money to mobile.  Facebook’s major struggle is profit, as a majority of users have switched to the largely ad-free Facebook mobile app in place of web browsing. One idea for growth is that Facebook team up with certain photo-centric tech startups to make photo sharing more interactive, functional, and applicable to both consumers and businesses.  Facebook will need extreme crowdsourcing in order to roll out a deeper photo-sharing program, meaning it will need its users to actively tag products, outfits,  other people, literally anything, in order to achieve functionality at the Facebook-level.   AdAge foresees this being a problem, but  I agree with Luminate CEO, Chas Edwards, that people feel rewarded for tagging because it offers a sort of “social currency”. (If you need evidence, look at the Library industry, which has successfully used crowd sourcing to share entire digital collections).  The big question is will people want to tag products? If Pinterest is any indication, I think, yes. 

Privacy

On Tuesday, Facebook agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by angry users who claim their privacy was violated when they were featured in Facebook’s ‘Sponsored Stories’ without their permission.  The users allege that checking in to a location on Facebook, or using the sites “Like” button could force users to take part in Sponsored Stories advertising.  Facebook says the intent of Sponsored Stories is to “broaden your reach by allowing your fans to help their friends discover your brand.”  But earlier this month, Facebook's head of privacy policy, Erin Egan, hinted in a Web chat that Facebook would begin serving targeted ads to users on third-party websites- meaning the “Your Friend Sam likes Liqui-Site Designs” could be seen not just on Facebook, but across the web. Facebook is clearly mining and analyzing data beyond what users typically believe they’ve consented to in its Privacy Terms. Why is Facebook not addressing changes to its Policy alongside other announcements of redesign, mobile, and photo plans? Privacy was one of the biggest concerns to Facebook’s investors pre-IPO and they are likely to be more critical of possible Facebook lawsuits during the next phase of Facebook. 

Lastly, Mark Zuckerberg got married this week! So maybe some of that newlywed bliss will lead to creativity and innovation (and user privacy) at Facebook.   Here’s a picture of his wife, Priscilla Chan, and their dog Beast—who has his own Facebook page!

Have something to say?

Liqui-Site Designs wants to hear your feedback! Tell us about the social media moments that caught your interest this week, or your thoughts on any of the latest social media trends and products. Leave a comment below, tweet @Liqui_Site , or leave a comment on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Liqui.Site. For more information on Liqui-Site Designs visit us at http://www.liqui-site.com

See you next Friday!

User Experience, From Search to Shoes

by Kelly Campbell
www.liqui-site.com

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I talk to clients every day about the importance of user experience (UX). Because, after all, the experience that their customers have online directly correlates to conversion rate and sales revenue.

Recently, I had two VERY different experiences when buying from two similar online stores. One experience solidified my loyalty to an online brand, and the other experience left me frustrated, annoyed and vocal about it. And it all came down to user experience, from the website interface itself, shipping cost and checkout, to email notifications and delivery of my purchase.

Experience A (www.Zappos.com): The very best interface when wanting to sort by size, color, style, you name it! Free shipping both ways, so there's no risk on my part if something doesn't fit or if I just don't like it. I phoned with a question about returning a winter jacket for a larger size, and the customer service rep could not have been more helpful. I actually told three people what a pleasure the experience was! I'll definitely continue to be a customer for life.

Experience B (www.AldoShoes.com): A limited sorting ability forced me to spend more time navigating the site than looking at shoes and adding them to my cart. When I found what I thought was the perfect pair (okay, it was actually 3 pair!), I went to check out -- only to find that I had to pay for shipping. Very few sites make you pay for shipping anymore, so that nearly made me abandon my cart. But, the rate was only around $5 so I proceeded, but would not have if it was any higher. I paid and hoped the shoes would arrive quickly. I received a confirmation email immediately, as expected. Then, another email came through a few hours later... to let me know that the company cancelled one pair of shoes that I ordered because they had since sold out. Wait, what? I spent valuable time shopping for shoes for an upcoming business event, I ordered, I paid, and now they've cancelled part of my order? Why wasn't there a low stock notice on the site? Why wasn't I compensated for their error or the inconvenience? When the shoes arrived, I kept one pair and sent the other pair back. Even that was a pain, and I had to pay for that as well. My user experience from search to shoes was so frustrating that I've let others know that Zappos.com should be their first destination.

So, not only will I never revisit or order from Aldo Shoes again, but when the exact same experience was had by my wife, she said in response, "Where is Zappos when you need them?!" I laughed and said, "One click away".