I’ve probably spent as much time thinking about how marketers can use social media as anyone has, given what I do for a living, but I recently came across a story that fired a few new neurons for me.
We all know that Facebook and other social networks are good for spreading the word and for building relationships, but did you think you could recruit and compensate a low-cost sales campaign through Facebook? Neither did I.
Enter ScreenScape, an interesting company in its own right, with an even more interesting marketing story. (Note: For the record, I have no business or affiliation with ScreenScape.)
ScreenScape offers an Internet service that allows a company to control what’s displayed on TV screens in its establishment -- think waiting rooms and places people stand on line. So you use ScreenScape to program your own TV channel that displays your content for your customers that is informative, promotional, or anything else you can think of.
Instead of Judge Judy or Ray J, for instance, visitors to a local pharmacy or health clinic can view the latest discounts on merchandise or get tips for staying well.
A nice little business that perhaps is more affordable than the average small business would expect... but how to get the word out? ScreenScape decided to spread the word through a street team that plasters posters in public areas so that small businesses learn about what they offer.
In itself, that’s not terribly innovative -- but their recruiting method is clever. Lorrie Jollimore, ScreenScape’s product marketing manager, picks up the story: “We launched our street team campaign by advertising on Facebook to recruit street team members. Once a member joined the team, we sent them a postering kit and a guide containing our target venues. The posters were designed to allow the street team members to personalize them… So for the case of Timothy’s Coffee Shop, they would write ‘Timothy’s’ on the poster [in front of ‘screenscape.net], so passersby… would read ‘Timothys.screenscape.net’ and potentially go to the Website out of curiosity.”
By using Facebook, Lorrie probably targeted a more educated and Web-savvy team, but she didn’t stop there. ScreenScape built a Facebook application that allows all street team members to take photos of every poster they hang as proof that they should receive payment. So, not only did ScreenScape use Facebook to recruit members, they also use it as their sales compensation system -- it does everything but actually cut the check.
Now you might think that ScreenScape has stumbled on a wonderfully cheap way to do marketing, and it has. But ScreenScape also benefits whenever a street team member decides to spread the word, via a blog or other social medium.
Of course, there are a few downsides. First, using Facebook for street marketing is a two-edged sword. ScreenScape could have easily botched the whole campaign if it had failed to follow through with its promises to the "street people." Those same bloggers who wrote happily of their experience plastering windows with ScreenScape posters would be the first to excoriate the company for a less-than-wonderful experience, turning its guerillas into gorillas.
Second, this approach is certainly not for everyone. Most companies don't benefit from street teams, and those that do can't always recruit on Facebook. Street team marketing has its roots in the rap scene, where recruiting was not skewed to the college students ubiquitous on Facebook. Still, as social network usage increases among all segments of the population, you might see more companies emulate ScreenScape.
Which brings us to one more downside: This is an easy technique for competitors to copy. Using Facebook to recruit street teams is a very good idea, but you had better execute it brilliantly, or you'll be vulnerable to your competitors stealing your team out from under you with a better offer.
I don’t know about you, but ScreenScape’s approach makes me think even more about how to link traditional offline marketing techniques with social media.
— Mike Moran, author of Do It Wrong Quickly, is a speaker and consultant on Internet marketing.
Facebook was'nt exactly designed for this purpose,but it works and gives the reach so what the hell huh?
Frankly if i was a Shareholder of Facebook which is currently struggling to raise funds to finance various plans,I will be looking at this very,very closely and making things easier for Corporations to mould Facebook to suit their various needs.
Maybe this is how Facebook will make money???But yeah everything that Mike says makes so much sense here,especially the risks of the same set of Bloggers turning against you.
Lets hope Facebook figures out its Business Model soon enough though.
Thanks for sharing the story. It has surprised me at first that social media was actually used for this marketing and recruiting purpose but i must say it is indeed a good framework for every company which can fit in properly. Ofcourse not every company can get benefit like they did but this is pointing to new path for every company and by little thinking one can easily personalize it for thier specific need. If social media can really help people getting jobs, it sounds great and shows some good motivation to use such sites for job seraching as well and not just brain storming and time passing.
Finally a good idea for logging on to facebook? I agree that it is a good idea, but from all appearances, facebook was designed to connect friends. Some have said that it had the initial purpose of being a dating resource.
Proof that a product and service can be used for more than the original purpose. Just the WD40 of internet sites.
Guerilla marketing is a good description of this service. I look forward to checking it out.
I find it somewhat ironic that they're using online methods to generate offline buzz marketing. I don't think this particular venture has sufficient 'legs' to be talked about offline.
I think they would have been smarter to do an online equivalent of this. That requires less energy on the part of participants and would likely see a much higher rate of sharing.
If you want to create offline participation, then the idea must be really strong. One, that when others hear about it, seems like a great gift on the part of the sharer. One so great that you can't wait to tell other friends who will be really grateful that you chose to impart it to them. Not too many of those opportunities come along.
There are applications that let you auction things, sell your stuff, traditional things but what the articles talks about goes even further. What about a group of photographers in a certain area create a group, someone that needs a picture of an event or building or whatever can post a job, they will head out, take pictures, post them there and the company can pick the one they like the most, pay to the one who took it and maybe a small percent left for the group.
I agree with bioth of you. I, too, found the idea to be very straightforward and obvious in retrospect (which is why I wrote about it), but I don't know of any other companies doing it. I suspect more will do it now and I am very interested in how others are leveraging social networks beyond just creating a profile (which I think has limited utility for most businesses unless you do something with it).
I also have been following social media marketing as a new interest. The smart companies are putting their corporate profiles on FB, and generating huge new fan bases, in a totally organic fashion. I am not surprised that Screenscape has found a way to use Facebook for not only marketing but for recruiting and compensation as well. It seems to be the logical progression of things. It is just ironic that others are finding ways to make money via FB's backbone, while FB itself is still struggling for a bonafide revenue model.
Finally, a good idea for logging onto Facebook. I wonder if many people will begin to follow this plan or if people will find a way to abuse this form or Guerilla Marketing. I guess it goes to show that if you're really creative, then you can use anything to promote your business. Hmmmm, I'm going to show this article to my boyfriend, he's in marketing and I'm sure he would love to see what others are doing.
A Google search for the precise phrase "making money on Facebook" garnered 16,500 results, and "make money on Facebook" garnered 47,600 results. The first results are from the Facebook site itself, and many of them are not scams!
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