Many businesses worry that there is a weak connection between their engagement in social media and actual sales. But there are examples of companies that use social media to drive sales:
- Pizza Hut generated $1 million in sales via an iPhone application
- Sony and Dell have generated millions via Twitter channels
- Dunkin’ Donuts are tracking sales from its Twitter account
- Uniqlo in the UK are giving discounts based on the number of times an item has been tweeted
- Below is also a case study from Jimmy Choo on how to drive sales:
The latest example I have found (via a tweet by Sally Falkow) is Delta Air Lines that lets customers book airline tickets on the Delta Facebook page. According to an article on CNN, the ‘Ticket Window’ service has been up and running for about one month.
“Our customers are spending more time online and are looking for new ways to connect with us. We’re now delivering technology where our customers are – from our own website to our Facebook page to Internet news sites and beyond,” said Bob Kupbens, Delta’s vice president – eCommerce in a press release. “We already know Facebook is the most used website by inflight WiFi users on more than 2,000 Delta flights every day, giving us the natural launching point for a new online Ticket Window.”
Delta plans to expand its Ticket Window to other sites, including online banner ads to allow full booking capabilities within the airline’s advertisements.
EasyJet also do this on their Facebook page – http://www.facebook.com/easyJet . This could really be the end of the microsite!
Thanks for the tip, Nick. I hadn’t seen that. It is quite clear that clever companies are starting to see how they can monetize the fan base on Facebook and Twitter. We will certainly see others follow suit.