February 5, 2010
Thank you to everyone who attended our event yesterday. We were thrilled to have a packed room and so much enthusiasm. Big thanks to our presenters and to San Francisco Social Media Week and the San Francisco Chapter of the American Marketing Association for their help getting the word out. For those who were unable to attend we’ve placed links to the presentations, and the Justin.tv broadcast, below.
January 20, 2010
Sprout Builder subscribers take note!
We’ve been notified by one of our service networks that they will be conducting data center maintenance on January 21 between 1AM and 2AM PST. The service will only take about 10-15 minutes and will fall sometime during this window. Published Sprouts will NOT be affected, however, the Sprout Builder application will not be available at this time.
Thanks and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
January 12, 2010
We’re happy to announce the return of our Building Brands on Social Networks event series. We’ll be visiting 5 cities in the upcoming months and hope you’ll participate when we come to your area. This is your chance to meet with one of the few Facebook Preferred Developers.
Are you an account executive, creative director at a brand or agency? If so, this event is the perfect opportunity to learn what it takes to be successful building your brand and driving sales on social networking platforms.
January 11, 2010
The Sprout platform is now integrated with the live-streaming technology, Ustream. We are also working with other live-streaming partners to bring multiple options of live video broadcasting technology to all our customers.
What exactly is Ustream and how does it work on Sprout?
Ustream allows anyone with a camera and an internet connection to broadcast live video to a global audience. Using the Ustream technology, you can setup a channel and engage your audience within a matter of minutes. Ustream has been used to live broadcast events such as political debates, talk shows, sporting events and more. While Ustream offers basic embedding functionality, many of our clients asked us for the ability to embed a live broadcast directly into the Sprout Platform so that they can completely customize the look and feel of their broadcast. This is now possible with the integration of Ustream in the Sprout Platform.
We are proud to announce the launch partner for the newly released Ustream component, Dick Clark Productions for the Golden Globe Awards. Here is the fully functional Ustream live broadcast within a Sprout social experience:
Let us know what you think and if you’d like to run your own Sprout campaign with live stream functionality.
January 11, 2010
Sprout is happy to announce that Jones Soda’s new Facebook fan page is Sprout-powered! The page combines discounts for custom printed Jones Soda bottles, a slide show of user-generated labels which fans can vote on, a link to the Jones Soda iPhone application, a Twitter feed, and the latest Jones Soda video! Check out the Jones Soda home away from home on Facebook. Continue reading this post »
January 11, 2010
To build brands on social networks, marketers are experimenting with a wide range of strategies. But which efforts are most effective? A recent study by MarketingProfs shows that branded applications top the chart, but they are under-utilized: less than a quarter of all respondents had created them. At Sprout, we know from first hand experience that applications are at the heart of successful campaigns. But we also understand that getting the most out of a branded application requires an integrated approach to social networks.
As brands move away from traditional marketing strategies, campaigns are becoming increasingly conversational in nature, with consumers adding user-generated content and sharing. In general, consumers have greater expectations around engagement with brands on social networks. At Sprout we work with brands to drive engagement opportunities at key points in the cycle: (click to enlarge):
December 29, 2009
A fan page that Sprout created for beauty product manufacturer, Living Proof, has been applauded by Inside Facebook. Living Proof has done a great job of engaging fans who visit the page by actively participating in conversations with fans. Living Proof also understands that building a great looking page isn’t enough. They are driving new customers to the page with Facebook ads. They have gone from about 1000 fans to more than 7000 fans since launching the new page.
After discussing the free sample campaign that allows visitors to request free samples, the writer says, “It also helps that the company seems to offer a quality product; many of the wall posts praise the company, with users trading information on where to buy Living Proof products. The page’s administrators are also very active, and there is easy access to customer service email and live chats, the company’s Twitter feed and a comprehensive collection of YouTube videos, all from the Facebook page.” Read the article here.
December 3, 2009
We’re making some changes to the account sign up process at Sprout that we’re hoping will make things less confusing. In short, we’re phasing out the “30-Day Free Trial” that we’ve been offering on paid accounts. If you’re looking to try our product for free, you can still do so by signing up for a FREE Level account. You can upgrade free accounts at anytime to one of our paid subscription levels.
We hope this will be less confusing than having to provide your credit card information when signing up for the 30-day free trial. Now, you can test out of service and provide credit card info if/when you’re ready to upgrade. The one thing to be aware of is that you won’t be able to access all the functionality available within paid accounts from the FREE Level because it offers a limited feature set.
These changes will take effect as of Friday December 4th.
December 2, 2009
Back in October, REI approached Sprout about a Facebook strategy that would help them introduce new fans to REI and keep established fans engaged, updated, and connected with the REI community. Sprout designed and built a Facebook Fan Page for REI that launched on October 16th.
Before partnering with Sprout on their Facebook Fan Page, REI felt like they didn’t have a solid way to grab new Fan Page visitors’ attention. Sprout used the assets provided by REI to create a bold-looking page that grabs users’ attention and encourages them to interact. To attract new fans, REI hoped to use their Fan Page to make a statement as more than a retailer. With that goal in mind, Sprout included expert advice, contests that gave fans a chance to get involved, and content from REI’s Twitter feed, YouTube videos, and Flickr photo streams on the page. REI wanted their fan page to help them achieve their retail goals, too, so Sprout implemented an REI Outlet deal of the day feature as well. The expert advice and deal of the day features have proved most popular on Facebook, helping REI to achieve two important objectives: educating new and old fans alike about the unique facets of REI that make them more than just a retailer, and boosting retail sales. Continue reading this post »
November 30, 2009
At the last Palo Alto Facebook Developer’s Garage, the Facebook Platform and Connect teams announced the 3-6 month developer’s roadmap. This roadmap is publicly available on the Facebook developers site. This is an effort to keep the developers who are building applications and games well informed and not surprised by any of the changes.
