I've been watching a fascinating case study this week on how a
business can harness the power of social networking to energize its
loyal customers.
Nov. 16-22 is Collection Week for Operation
Christmas Child, a ministry of Samaritan's Purse. All over the
nation, volunteers are bringing shoeboxes packed with Christmas
toys to local collection centers, where volunteers are loading them
on trucks to ship to regional centers to eventually be distributed
to children in far-away places like the Philippines, Libya, Uruguay
and Iraq.
Last year, the Tulsa collection center, where I
volunteer, collected more than 21,000 shoeboxes. This year we're
expecting to fill three semi's. Upwards of 100 people from all over
eastern Oklahoma are directly involved, and hundreds more
indirectly, so communication is vital. We have a website, email group, and
similar communication tools.
The power of conversation
But OCC is a business, too -- a major corporation,
professionally managed -- so I keep a professional eye on how they
market their company online. And this week, I've been watching a
terrific example of social networking unfold on Facebook and
Twitter.
On OCC's Facebook Fan page, they have
been updating status about once an hour. Here are some
examples:
- The Minnesota Vikings are doing more than winning games this
season. They're packing shoe boxes with some very special kids.
Persis Elkins, Director of Family Services for Ronald McDonald
House of the Twin Cities, said, "It truly is something special ..."
Read More
8:36 am Thursday
304 people like this
47 comments
- Recording artist Matthew West is packing shoe boxes! In fact,
he's giving this Christmas away and encouraging others to do the
same. Check out the "Give This Christmas Away Tour" site ... Read
More
1 pm Thursday
113 people like this
24 commments
- Shoe box gifts can have a huge impact on children and their
entire families. From Joel in Guatemala: "During the Bible Club
classes with the (Operation Christmas Child Discipleship Course), I
invited my parents to go to one of the services at the church, and
thank God they received Jesus in their hearts." Read More
4:15 pm Thursday
192 people like this
33 comments
All status updates link to pages on their website that contain
some kind of call-to-action. They also have uploaded 17 albums of
photos, several videos, and cross-linked to 88 allied sites.
Meanwhile, over at Twitter, OCC is active, but it's more
participatory, with a variety of OCC volunteers chiming in.
- Blogger @prodigaljohn & his readers have now raised over
$45K to build 2 schools in Vietnam. Amazing!
http://www.firstgiving.com/SCL
2:41 PM Nov 17th
- RT @OCC_shoeboxes: 9-year-old leads church's OCC shoe box
project. http://bit.ly/4fEUHI
10:06 AM Nov 10th
The lesson for businesses
On the surface, this appears to be spontaneous social chatter.
But underneath, I'm sure underneath there is a solid strategy and
efficient execution. None of the updates, I've noticed, are empty
"Look at us!" promotions; they all offer real information that its
hard-core fans want and might catch the attention of casual
onlookers too.
It takes planning and manpower to gather the information, digest
it, and feed it into Facebook and Twitter on an ongoing basis. This
is not an ad-hoc effort.
So what is the lesson for businesses? I think it's this: If you
want to engage your loyal customers and attract new customers in
the social arena, you must carry on an authentic conversation on an
ongoing basis. Maybe not once an hour, like OCC, but often enough
that, like all good marketing, you stay top of mind.