I’m a big Flip video fan from way back in the day – OK, only a couple of years ago, just before the company released its second major product version (which I waited for and purchased at Best Buy). I always admired Pure Digital Technologies, the Flip manufacturer, for its singular focus: making it easy and simple to upload your home videos to YouTube (through the use of a built-in USB plug). That’s all anyone in this social era wanted — at least for non-technical folks like me.

I digress, but not too far, because the other day I got an email advertisement from Flip (now owned by Cisco Systems following a $570M acquisition) promoting its holiday lineup. Something at the bottom of the email caught my eye: an offer to get an immediate $15 discount if I joined Flip’s Facebook page. So that’s how much a Facebook friend is worth, I thought.

It may not be as simple as that, but Flip is clearing investing in its Facebook and social media presence. The company, thanks in part to its promotion, is now up to 102K fans on Facebook – that’s a pretty large opt-in list of folks interested in engaging with the Flip brand.

I particularly love the company’s new “Do You Flip?” campaign, where they invite Flip users to upload their videos to their Facebook page. Then they display selected videos in their news feed. It’s a great strategy and a no-brainer — too few companies realize the value (and relative ease) of using social media to cultivate a community of brand advocates. It works in part because Flip is properly promoting its Facebook page across different marketing channels, such as its e-mail newsletter, and using incentives to get them there. Read the rest of this entry »

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Burger King scores with its new Facebook application

I’ll admit I was skeptical. When @kenburbary first Twittered about Burger King’s new Facebook application, Whopper Sacrifice, the first thing I thought was great, BK, like most Facebook apps, wants me to spam my friends. I even sent off a snarky reply.

Well, upon further examination, I revise my opinion. Whopper Sacrifice is actually one of the better social marketing apps I’ve seen in quite some time. It works likes this: delete 10 friends from your Facebook account, and you get a free Whopper. Each time you permanently delete a friend, you get to watch a picture of them burn. That friend also gets notified of your sacrific (OK, so they do get spammed).

The application works because it’s fun, counter-intuitive, and actually forces you to make decisions on who remains your friends. It took me a little bit to pinpoint that ninth and 10th sacrifice. So what’s been the response?

• As of last count, 183,749 friends had been sacrificed on WhopperSacrifice.com (that’s 18K coupons)
• CNET’s Caroline McCarthy’s story was “dug” more than 5K times on Digg.com

My only complaint about the marketing program, is that I have to wait 2-4 weeks to get my free burger coupon. Though WhopperVirgins.com was a bit controversial, WhopperSacrifice.com is a great example of true viral marketing application.

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