A lot of brands’ social media strategies revolve around dialogue, CRM or monitoring of buzz and sentiment.  But it’s also possible to use social platforms to drive short-term sales or other “hand” objectives.  Obviously, DR advertising runs on social platforms, but there are other more creative ways of getting people to act.

For example, Marks And Spencer use their Facebook presence to alert fans to sales, both on and offline.  And they create media pitstops, with timed messages suggesting tasty sandwich options just prior to lunch, or easy meal solutions at the end of the day.

Dell use their DellOutlet twitter account to tell followers about stock sales.

Skittles use their Facebook page to maintain a continuous dialogue with 600k+ fans – this is (at least in part) intended to prompt regular reminders about the brand to increase frequency of purchase and rate of sale.

And Orange use their Orange Film Club page to suggest films for people to see on Orange Wednesdays, pushing more people to redeem the offer, meaning more loyal Orange customers and more vocal advocates.

Anyone got any more examples?

We should be considering how we can get people to buy, go instore or act on a brand message when building social strategies for our clients.  Perhaps time-limited sales to create a sense of urgency.  Or deals exclusive to our social media fans / subscribers to reward them for signing up to our page.   Or timed messages to prompt action close to purchase opportunities (eg the end of the day / Friday night / lunchtime / the weekend).