Location Marketing has been gaining momentum for the last few years through location-based services like Yelp, Foursquare and Gowalla, and just as Social Engagement burst into the boardroom in 2008, Location Marketing is set for the same explosion in 2011. With Facebook’s recent introduction of Deals, Location Marketing has begun to receive mainstream attention. In case you missed the announcement, you’ll want to watch this short video to get an idea of just how big this could be.

Because Facebook Deals could be big for some of our clients, @cjrwInteractive decided to create a test Deal to get a solid understanding of the full process. The test Deal was simple enough: check into the CJRW Interactive office and receive a free pumpkin spice donut. Here is a quick walk-through of our experience:

Creating a Deal

The first step in creating a Deal is to claim a Place on Facebook. Once a place has been claimed, the rest of the Deal creation process is terribly simple. You will need to plan ahead for the following:

• Deal type: Individual, Friend, Loyalty or Charity. The Deal types allow for different triggers to deliver the deal. For instance, a Friend Deal can only be unlocked when a group of customers check in together.
• Deal definition: A brief statement of the Deal that is being offered, along with the action the customer must perform to claim the deal.
• Details and restrictions: Number of Deals available along with the time span that the Deal is active. The minimum time frame for a Deal is three hours.

(click images to expand)

Once the details have been entered and the Deal has been created, it is then sent to Facebook for approval. In our experience, the approval process took 20 hours. It is important to know that the Deal details are not locked once the Deal has been approved by Facebook. We found that the time frame could be adjusted up until the time that the Deal expired.

Customer Experience

In our test we found the most consistent customer experience occurred when using touch.facebook.com. iPhone users could not access Deals without updating their Facebook application to the most current version. Android users could not access the Deal via any version of the Facebook application. At the time of the test, Blackberry did not have an application available that would allow customers to claim the Deal.

Finding nearby Deals is relatively user friendly as long as the user is in immediate proximity of the Facebook Place offering the Deal. As pictured above, Facebook Places with active Deals are marked with a yellow box  in the same way that Foursquare lets users know of nearby specials. Claiming a Deal is a simple touch process that is made available once a user performs the required trigger, in our test the trigger was an individual check-in.

Instructions for Deal redemption are delivered inside the application and via an e-mail sent to the e-mail account the customer has registered with Facebook. As with any reward redemption that takes place by presenting a screen, room for fraud exists. In case of suspicious activity, a Facebook page administrator can view the Place check-in history to verify that a check-in is true.

Promotion for the Brand/Business

The ability to attract new customers with incentives and reward loyal customers for their patronage are the obvious benefits of Facebook Deals. Perhaps the most significant features of Facebook Deals are the automatic publicity and tacit referrals a business receives by way of updates to user streams. On average, Facebook users have 130 friends, meaning each check-in could serve as 130 word-of-mouth endorsements.

Overall First Impression of Facebook Deals

The customer experience was frustrating, and has a long way to go. With the exception of iPhone users with the most current version of the Facebook app, we had to assist every user in order for them to claim our Deal. Any business planning on running a Facebook Deal needs to have a very well-prepared customer service team to help users as they attempt to claim the Deal.

The strength of Facebook Deals is the simplicity of Deal creation. The process is streamlined and built with the most basic user in mind. Just as Facebook has made it easy to target and buy advertising placement on Facebook, businesses can easily create their own Deals without outside assistance.

With more than 200 million active users currently accessing Facebook through their mobile devices, it is easy see the great value proposition Deals will hold once the mobile device issues are addressed. As Facebook works out the bugs on their end, businesses would be wise to do the same by experimenting with Facebook Deals now so they will be prepared to excel when the service matures.

Southwest goes all out to own the holidays and for them, Halloween is an opportunity akin to a family reunion.  For one amazing day, the different departments throughout the company put on sketches or themed walk-throughs and employees and their families come from all around to join in the fun. As I enjoyed the performances and the people, I was reminded over and over that authenticity is what drives successful social engagement. The attitude that customers see in commercials and airplane cabins everyday is real; these folks love their jobs and really enjoy working together. See for yourself, watch this slice of the Southwest Technology team’s sketch.

When you love what you do you’re already talking about it – social media just gives you a bigger voice. Southwest became a social engagement client of our agency last summer when we began supporting their Emerging Media team. We entered into the relationship with a healthy respect for their brand and a deep appreciation for the value they place on having a thriving corporate culture, and every interaction we’ve had with them has only served to increase those sentiments. They have been the living example of our social engagement values.

Before we begin serving any client in social engagement, we make sure they understand these values. These are the questions we ask clients when they decide that it’s time to get engaged:

• “Can You Be Honest?” – Learn everything you can about the reputation of your business and brand. Your brand is not defined by what you say – it is defined by your actions, and what your customers say about you. Customers are not a target audience – they are now participants in your marketing. Speak with a voice that is consistent with your brand and let your personality flow through.
• “Can You Be Relevant?” – Make sure your message is relevant to the conversation that’s already taking place. The social web is not for public relations, it is for personal relations. Consumers now choose the marketing to which they want to be exposed. Treat people with respect. Do not try to force your message into a conversation where it does not fit. Look for opportunities and join the conversation when opportunities naturally arise.
• “Can You Be Amazing?” – Create amazing goods and services. If you’re not special, you will be invisible on the social web. Have a voice people value, and give people a reason to want to know what you have to say.
• “Can You Be Generous?” – Focus on the needs of your customers and the community that surrounds your brand. Share insight, information and benefits.

If these questions are skipped over, organizations can cause major damage to their reputations. If they are dealt with seriously, these questions produce answers that become the cornerstones of a successful social engagement strategy.

Southwest Airlines does social engagement so well because these values have been core to their business for decades. For them, social engagement is not gimmick or a marketing scheme, it is a natural flow out of their brand and corporate culture.

The Spring River, near Hardy, Arkansas, 10.18.10

Fall tourism is both easier to market, and harder, in many respects. Foliage is hands-down the number one attraction, especially here in The Natural State, where our scenic outdoors has been the primary product feature for many years.  To capture this amazing season in film, video and photography our team is literally prepared to leave at a moment’s notice when a location’s leaves begin to peak.  That’s what we call going on “Fall Color Alert.”

The pictures here were taken by Chris Cranford, Jones Productions Creative Director, with his iPhone Instamatic App and posted to his Facebook page while he stood in the river setting up the 35mm film camera.  I also created spots on Gowalla pinpointing where we shot along the Spring River so future visitors can find it using this location-based social media app.

Do you see "Its" or do you see "Thous"

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been very impressed by the quality of the discussion that is happening around the topic of Social CRM. The momentum has been building for years, and it appears that we are about to see wholesale adoption of significant marketing via social media. As @jowyang’s The Fifteen Classes of the Social Business Software Suite points out, the tools needed to provide the infrastructure for these interaction campaigns are here and ready to be deployed. @Armano’s Digital Embassies: A Blueprint For Community Engagement provides a clear guide to assist businesses as they begin to determine how to best align their resources. And @jasonfalls’ Six Questions To Jump-Start Your Content Marketing Plan offers a fantastic lens to identify a businesses true value proposition in our deeply connected world.

When I read what these guys have to say, I’m encouraged that maybe – just maybe – we can get it right. The harsh reality of the situation is that few will. Constant Contact may be an amazing company, but when I heard their ad on the radio offering social media marketing services to the masses, my skin began to crawl. This is how social engagement is going to happen for the majority of businesses “Just add water!”

I’ve even seen the offer presented to my own agency:

1. Jump on Twitter
2. Start a blog
3. Buy a spam email list
4. Broadcast incessantly via all social channels possible
5. And on
6. And on
7. And on
8. …

It’s the natural way to assimilate new ideas – we try to frame them in reference to the known. So when it comes to marketing, broadcast is good and automation is efficient. It makes sense to those who have been shouting their message for ages. In this new day, however, what works best are practices that are built on communication principles which pre-date the age of advertising.

Martin Buber, Photo by Paul Schutzer, Israel 1960 - Life Magazine - c/o benatlas.com

Before focus groups and target audiences – just before the onslaught of mass marketing via television and radio – Martin Buber, an Austrian born Jewish philosopher, published the seminal work on social engagement, I And Thou. To summarize this classic, which was first printed in 1923 as Ich Und Du, every interaction that occurs between one human and another will either take place as an “I-It” encounter or an “I-Thou” encounter. An I-Thou relationship is transcendental; it places the value of the participants in highest esteem and sanctity. Conversely, in an I-It relation people are treated as objects or things (targets audiences?).

Buber was not without critics, many of whom claimed that his Dialogic Principle was too simple – placing every interaction into one of two possible categories. A valid argument for sure, yet judging marketing practices/messages through an I-It and I-Though filter will be essential to all modern brand/consumer interactions. An I-Thou conversation is to be treasured, for you are fortunate to be in the presence of one another. I-Thou relations create beneficial circumstances and outcomes for both parties involved. Read Edelman’s definition of social engagement and listen for the ring of I And Thou:

“Social Engagement” is a continuous set of interactions, communications, and participatory behaviors between individuals seeking meaningful connections to others. For organizations, this leads to a more engaged community, loyal customers, stronger brand affinity, and measurable outcomes which demonstrate mutual gain for all stakeholders.

As the tools of social interaction become more powerful and offer greater automation, what will separate one business from the next is the measure to which they are committed to preserving the human component of these relationships. Businesses that maintain the heart of social engagement will be the ones that truly connect with their brand communities and reap the significant rewards available through our always-on, always-connected society.