Heineken is using Facebook in a fun way this Valentine season with their new app – Serenade.

How it works
1. Pick a Facebook friend that you want to ask out.
2. Using the app, you can ask that person out on a date in just four clicks.
3. A personalized serenade video (created based on information you provide) is posted on your love interest’s wall.
4. He or she can then respond “yes” or “no” (which results in a video being posted on your wall).

Happy serenading!

You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours

Facebook fans love incentives–you scratch my back, I’ll scratch your back. Think about your personal page and the feeling you get when you start getting likes or comments on a post about finding your new favorite restaurant or a photo of you at the Super Bowl. When you receive those interactions you are more inclined to like or comment on that person’s posts too (you got to give love to get love). The same goes for business pages—your fans get that same feeling when they receive engagement from your brand.

The majority of people on Facebook are there to interact with friends and family, not businesses. That’s why giving incentives are an intriguing way to engage fans and make them feel special. On your end, incentives will boost your number of fans, traffic and interactions on you page.

There are several ways to offer incentives, here are a few:

• Run a sweepstakes or contest
• Gift card giveaway with trivia questions
• Offer a percentage off or a coupon for liking the page

What do you offer your fans as incentives? Leave a comment. Stop by next Tuesday for the final post in this series: Facebook Page Management Tip #6: Offer A Diversity Of Moods

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It’s been an exciting week for sports (and social media) enthusiasts here in Indianapolis! Below are 5 must-reads on Super Bowl XLVI and social media that we wouldn’t want you to miss.

Who Won the Social Media #SuperBowl? (Infographic)
By Kyle Lacy At the ExactTarget Social Media Lab we looked at the nexus between the game, advertisers, and consumer social activity to see which brands made the most of the opportunity and here is what we found.

Why the Super Bowl’s Social Media Command Center Scores a Winning Touchdown
By Elizabeth Lupfer An exclusive, in-depth look into the Super Bowl’s first ever social media command center, the folks who ran it, and how the convergence of technology and people created the ultimate online Super Bowl experience.

Super Bowl Ads That Scored in Social Media
By Lauren Sher How did your favorite ads play out socially? How did the parade of dogs — Volkswagen Dog, Sketcher’s Dog, and Budwesier’s Dog — compare to the “sex sells” model seen in the Go Daddy, Teleflora and M&M spots? Check out the top 10 most-buzzed about list in the social sphere below.

Super Bowl XLVI Breaks Social Media Records
By Simon Dumenco Bluefin Labs has so far tracked more than 12.2 million social-media comments during and after Super Bowl XLVI, primarily on Twitter and Facebook. That’s a 578% increase over the total Bluefin tracked last year (1.8 million).

Biggest, Record-Setting Social Media Moments Of The Super Bowl
By Cory Bergman Trendrr said this year’s Super Bowl had approximately 5X the social activity over last year. The data is still coming in, and here’s our early crack at the biggest social media moments of the Super Bowl.

What Henry Ford, Espresso, And Community Have In Common

A little over two years ago, I spoke on a panel with Jason Falls and Jeremy Epstein at GrowSmartBiz Conference in Washington D.C. (Thanks to Shashi Bellamkonda for making that happen). It was my first interaction with Jeremy – I started reading and following his work. Now I read his blog more often than any other marketing blog. Why? Because he’s sincere, passionate, inspiring, and extremely insightful. I love his approach – he thinks aloud and collaborates in the open with the members of his community, shares best practices, and relentless connects people. He connected me to Dawna Maclean – who is one of the smartest people I know and a leading thinker in the field of “creating shared value”. And his thinking-out-aloud approach gives me food for thought on an almost daily basis.

While Jeremy Epstein is an accomplished marketing executive, it is his belief in the importance of sharing his learning with his community that inspire the comparison with Yoda (the great teacher from the Star Wars saga who arguably influenced all Jedi) and the fact that a photo of Yoda is in the first page of image SERPs on Google.

Here’s a bit of background on Jeremy. He’s a former Microsoft executive who use to help partner companies improve their marketing engines and operations. After leaving Microsoft, he started his own consulting firm – Never Stop Marketing. He’s worked with clients of all sizes from Fortune 50 to NY Times best-selling authors and many in between, creating and executing innnovative marketing programs. Most recently, Jeremy has gone on to become the VP of Marketing for Sprinklr, a company committed to scaling the vision of a new marketing reality to hundreds of thousands of customers. Thankfully, Jeremy will continue writing and sharing his ideas with the community he has built.

If you know Jeremy, you’ll enjoy many aspects of this interview. If this is your first exposure to Jeremy, I’m so excited to be the connector.

Why should organizations never stop marketing?

“Those who stop marketing to save money are like those who stop a clock to save time.” – Henry Ford

Or take it from Peter Drucker…”a business has two basic functions: marketing and innovation.” Would you stop innovating? No? Similarly, you should never stop marketing.

Why are some organizations talked about and others not?

I think that those orgs that spend the time to understand the core motivations of their customers (hint: it’s not money) are then able to speak to them in a way that connects. And, they inject those motivational drivers into every aspect of their customer-facing experience.

Is conversation important?

I can’t think of any better way to distill, refine, and improve upon ideas than in the forge of a great conversation with people who really care about a topic as much as you do.

Where does community live (in these days of attention deficit, reluctance to commit to traditional organizations)?

Not in one physical (or virtual space). It lives around an idea, a belief. Either you believe in the mantra “never stop marketing” or you don’t. And, if you do, you can join the community whenever, wherever you want. Be it on FB, LinkedIn, Twitter, my blog, an in-person event, a newsletter, etc. Doesn’t matter.

Are advocates important?

I’m so convinced on the importance of advocates that I believe you’ll see a line item on corporate balance sheets in the not too distant future listing their value as assets.

Can people tell the difference between slick and real? Does authentic work?

Yes and yes. This one, I’m afraid, I haven’t totally figured out yet. How’s that for authenticity?

What about trust? What role does it play?

Look at the Net Promoter Score surveys if you have any doubt that trust drives profitability significantly above average. Unless you are a tourist in the bazaar in Cairo, you usually don’t buy stuff from people you don’t trust. You don’t refer people you don’t trust.  Plus, in an age of increasing transparency, violations of trust will be amplified. Heck, they are amplified.

Finish these sentences…

At my core I am… passionate about using technology to improve relationships and understanding between people.

I love… the feeling of leaving it all on the field.

Don’t… let your babies grow up to be Cowboys.

The thing to watch in 2012 is… whether any US politician will have the cojones to admit that if we don’t get our entitlement programs fixed, address our country’s education pitfalls, and encourage risk-taking innovation, we’re screwed.

My drink of choice… coffee.

One thing about me that people don’t know is… I have a lapel pin collection of over 700 dating back 30 years.

Choose one…

Steak, Chicken or Fish? None of the above. I’m vegan.

Maserati or Prius? Prius. I compost and have solar panels.

Wine or Bourbon? Tough one. Probably wine.

Jeans or shorts? Man, another tough one. Probably shorts.

Guy Kawasaki or Seth Godin? Not even close. Godin by a country mile.

You can find Jeremy here:

Never Stop Marketing Blog

Twitter: @jer979

Google Plus

If you’d like to read more about Jeremy – here’s another cool post.

The sh*t people say meme won’t die. And that’s okay. People are saying some funny stuff.

Let’s take a look at some of the top videos about what “social media people” say. I may be guilty of saying a few of these things myself.

Sh*t Social Media Experts Say

Sh*t A Social Media Community Manager Says

Sh*t Social Media Pros Say

Different perspectives

Fans want to be heard. You want a successful Facebook Page for your brand (a successful Page really depends on your goals, but that’s another post for another time). So, what is the best way to make your fans feel heard and gather information to help make your Page successful all at the same time? Ask. Asking your fans’ perspective to see what value they are getting from your Page is priceless. The following are questions you should consider asking:

• What they think of your brand?
• What you can do better?
• What you are doing well?

After you gather and sort through the data you will most likely find that your fans have a wide variety of viewpoints. From here, you have the opportunity to test different content and adjust your voice to see what really drives community and conversation.

Your fans will take notice that you are actively listening and make them feel that they do have a voice in making your business. It’s a win-win.

Are you asking your fans their perspectives of your Facebook Page?

Related Posts:

Facebook Page Management Tip #1: Use Relevant, Evolving Content

Facebook Page Management Tip #2: Respond To Fans In A Timely Manner

Facebook Page Management Tip #3: Ask Probing Questions

Below are 5 must-reads on using Instagram for business that we wouldn’t want you to miss.

23 Brands Using Instagram And What They’re Doing Right
By Jason Keath So the question is, can brands get real business value out of a photo sharing app that is not focused on link sharing or buying products or distributing specials to fans? The jury is still out, but there are some big brands testing the platform for spreading awareness and cultivating relationships with their biggest fans.

5 Key Takeaways From Brands Rocking Instagram
By Jessica Malnik It’s pretty natural that big brands and to a lesser extent smaller businesses are starting to jump on the Instagram bandwagon. With the very recent announcement that Instagram is coming to Android devices, I suspect that number will be increasing rapidly.

25 Ideas On Using Instagram For Business
By Bernadette Jiwa Instagram provides ‘real time’ insights into how people are interacting with the world and most probably your product. This platform will enable brands to connect directly with users and customers like never before and gain ‘real-time’ insights into how consumers are interacting with their brand.

Why Instagram Matters to Marketers: Evolving SoLoMo to SoLoMoSto
By Ann Handley At its core, Instagram allows you to tell stories visually, with a simplicity and immediacy mobile users expect. At the same time, it adds another layer of elegance and artfulness. That’s what makes its stories so appealing, and (for me) why it breaks new ground.

The Marketer’s Scoop on Instagram and How to Use It
By Corey Eridon Not everyone should be on every social network. But here are some reasons that, as a marketer, you should at least keep an eye on Instagram, if not begin participating.

After mentioning Apple’s new textbook market in last week’s blog post (Read: Be Your Own Publisher In The iBooks Store,) I’ve noticed how online tools and social media have changed many aspects of education.

No, I don’t mean how much harder high school teachers need to work to keep their students off Facebook during Algebra. I mean how not only can you attend school without ever entering a building, but you can also get support from others by just sending messages.

During my time at IU, I’ve had assignments that involve blog posts, wiki articles, and students doing group projects via chatroom. In my first year, I was shocked to hear “Your assignment is to come together as a class and create an article using the school’s wiki system!” Just maybe ten years ago, teachers were still using blackboards and instructing you to handwrite a paper with eight book sources.

Beyond that, during a large snow storm last year, one of my classes has an impromptu online meeting using Adobe Connect. My teacher broadcasted by displaying her screen, along with a webcam of herself. We even broke up in to groups using special chat rooms to finish a project. Was this common even five years ago?

EdSocialMedia, a website dedicated to showing the relationships between SM and modern education, mentions that there are a number of thoughtful, scholarly blogs that students can use, though they should be wary of all the “superficial” websites that can lead to superficial papers. Other articles on the website point out that students can support each other in ways that weren’t possible before, and also find out about current events faster than ever before.

Now the biggest question is – how will these change even more ten years from now?

Calling all small business owners! Facebook Marketing Solutions, the official Facebook Marketing page, has launched a contest called Facebook Small Business Boost that will award a $10,000 prize to the 10 participating small businesses that accrue the most likes on their Facebook page by April 1, 2012.

What you need to participate:
1. A Facebook Page for your small business
2. Your business must be based in the US
3. Your page will need at least 50 likes

How it works:
1. Instantly get $50 in free ads if you have at least 50 likes on your Page
2. Get $100 more in free ads if you add 100 more likes to your Page before April 1, 2012
3. Win $10,000 more in free ads if you are one of the top 10 pages that gains the most new likes before April 1, 2012

Enter on the Small Business Boost tab on the Facebook Marketing Solutions Facebook page.

The main reason people get on Facebook is to engage with friends and family, not brands. So, it’s important to relate to your audience and spark conversation by inadvertently getting them to engage. But, how is this done?

There are a number of ways, but one of the most important is to ask lifestyle questions. Lifestyle questions are questions like, ‘what’s your favorite movie’ or ‘where’s the most exotic place you have traveled?’ Be sure not to go overboard with these kinds of questions on your page though, it could annoy your fans and that’s the last thing we want to do.

Asking these types of questions will resonate with people and prompt them to respond and converse with your brand. The fact of the matter is when someone likes your page it doesn’t mean they have any real affinity for your brand, what that like does mean, however, is that person is open to engagement, content and conversations.

Are you asking your fans probing questions? Stop back by next Tuesday for Facebook Page Management Tip #4: Ask For Different Perspectives.

Related posts:

Facebook Page Management Tip #1: Use Relevant, Evolving Content

Facebook Page Management Tip #2: Respond To Fans In A Timely Manner