There are numerous, obvious reasons why Facebook and other social networking platforms are worthy of our attention. Social networks facilitate online connections by providing people with alternate ways to interact and share. These connections aren’t just for personal consumption; more and more businesses are building a Facebook presence to showcase their strengths and keep the social aspect of doing business alive and well. After all, isn’t it just as important for businesses to be sociable?

Making the best of your time on Facebook is all about common sense. You won’t find too many businesses taking the “What Your Kiss Says About Your Personality” test anytime soon but what you will find are pages that are professional and reflective of an organizations’ mission, team and customer base. Businesses that can successfully harness this connectivity and stay social will reap the benefits of growing a larger fan base and in turn, reaching their audience directly with product messaging.

Take as an example a recent Facebook application R2i created for Yamaha, designed to connect Yamaha artists to band members and aspiring musicians across the nation in an effort to generate brand awareness and increase Yamaha instrument sales. The Yamaha Facebook app provides tips from Yamaha artists and gives subscribers the ability to share videos, information and much more. By connecting Yamaha artists to students and musicians, Yamaha indirectly reaches their target audience via a platform where information and interests can be shared. The expectation is top of mind awareness for the Yamaha brand and amplified Yamaha instrument sales. Read the full case study here: Yamaha Case Study

Facebook offers businesses additional opportunities to increase their brand awareness. On Facebook, businesses can create specific events and invitations, introduce new products, offer discounts and incentives directly to “fans”, in an online, social environment. At R2i, we use Facebook as a repository for our Digitips Widget, a place to upload client case studies, showcase videos and share experiences with our audience. Check us out.

Inquiring minds would like to know: How do you use Facebook to do business?

The question of how companies use viral marketing to capture market share is a hot-topic right now. If you’re new to viral marketing, the first thing you should know is a basic definition of it, so here goes:

Viral Marketing – creating a promotional campaign that is inherently fun and/or engaging and has the effect of spreading quickly throughout a company’s target market.

Examples of how companies use viral marketing can be seen all around if you’re looking. One of the easiest ways to do this is the combination of YouTube and interesting video. Also, contests—particularly digital contests—that are backed by inspired viral thinking are very successful.

But the inspired thinking is the most important part of a viral campaign. Before understanding how companies use viral marketing, it’s important to understand where the inspiration for the most successful viral campaigns come from.

Inspiration surrounds us every day. 

As a writer, my ideas come from a multitude of people, places and experiences.  In fact, my daily routine breeds ideas….they live in books I’ve read, conversations with family, friends and colleagues, my hopes and  dreams for the future….my imagination.  The world is my muse, brimming with thoughts ready to be captured and transformed from the obvious into the awesome.  

I was recently challenged with creating a viral campaign to spread the word about a global biotechnology conference.  My approach was to take inspiration from my surroundings.  Inspiration that eventually led me to a simple item.  A name badge (those stickers that say “hello, my name is”).  This idea then developed into an even brighter idea…so bright, it would engage the user and get our client excited.

This name badge was then transformed into a community-building widget allowing conference attendees to refer friends, show their support and browse others attending the convention. 

What does any of this have to do with inspiration?  It’s simple:  you can find inspiration in the simplest of things, the most routine places. Recognizing those items or moments are key to understanding how companies use viral marketing…by transforming inspiration into something awesome is ultimate success.  So my curious mind wonders…. where do you find inspiration? 

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