Flash Based Solution Allows Fan Page Administrators to Easily Engage Fans and Start Conversations With Engaging, Interactive Content, Right in the Feed
San Francisco, CA – September 30, 2009 – Sprout, the leading technology platform for creating rich, engaging ads and social media applications, today announced the immediate availability of Sprout Publisher. Sprout Publisher allows Fan Page administrators to reach fans with highly interactive content and applications that display in the Fan Page feed and in the fans’ personal activity streams, without the need for fans to add the application.
Fan Page administrators can access Sprout Publisher where they normally update their activity feed. A free, Sprout-branded version of Sprout Publisher is available with templates for common branded content such as coupons, frames, event notifications and news flashes. Free templates are also available for consumers, including gifts, moods and cards for different occasions. The look and feel of the templates can be easily altered using simple, visual tools to change backgrounds, insert text, videos, images and more.
For brands that need additional functionality and more customization, Sprout will develop custom Sprout Publisher templates and applications for a fee. Examples might include gifting or coupon applications using a product catalog feed, applications that include asset or video galleries, and more.
To see Sprout Publisher in action, check out Disney’s ‘Gift an Alien’ campaign, which can be found here: apps.facebook.com/youhavebeenchosen/
“Fan Pages have become an anchor in the social media mix,” said Carnet Williams, CEO of Sprout. “While identifying fans is essential, engaging and communicating with them is the most important thing that brands can do to be successful in social media. Sprout Publisher provides simple tools for Fan Page administrators to quickly create and share engaging content via their activity stream that starts conversations,” Williams added.
“We turned to Sprout to help us create our Fan Page because our business is largely driven by word of mouth and a Fan Page is a great way for us to harness our fans,” said Erica Gragg, co-owner of Escape to Shape. “In addition to providing our fans with up-to-date information via Twitter feeds and RSS, we can now use Sprout Publisher to quickly and easily get great-looking coupons and news flashes out to our fans who more often than not share it with their friends,” Gragg added.
Sprout Publisher provides benefits beyond being able to engage fans. Share functionality built into the templates allows fans to become brand advocates and share content with their friends, ensuring added virality and interactions. In addition, since all interactions take place in the feed, end users don’t have to leave the feed to engage with content, which provides a great end-user experience.
Details and Availability:
Sprout Publisher can be added for free from the Facebook application page: apps.facebook.com/sproutpublisher.
Brands looking for custom templates, applications or to remove the Sprout branding from templates can contact Sprout for pricing information at info@sproutinc.com.
About Sprout:
Sprout’s software platform enables brands and agencies to create and manage everything from rich, engaging social ads to fully integrated social media applications that take advantage of platform hooks and virality. With Sprout Builder, creative professionals can quickly and easily create branded content, widgets and mash-up applications that are easily transportable across Facebook, MySpace and other social networks. Sprout Engage introduces a higher level of interaction by allowing fans to engage with content and personalize and publish brand messages. Funded by Polaris Venture Partners, Sprout is based in Honolulu, HI and San Francisco, CA. To learn more, please visit sproutinc.com.
Today we’re launching a new product for Facebook called Sprout Publisher that provides Facebook fan page administrators with a better means of starting conversations with their fans. Administrators can now reach fans with highly interactive content and applications that display in the fan page feed and in the fans’ personal activity streams, without the need for fans to add the application.
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