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Facebook Application Review of StoreYa

E-commerce going SOCIAL

Today we will make the review of the Facebook Application called StoreYa, which helps Online retailers to "become Social in less than a minute".

The basic idea of this great Facebook Application is to offer to Online Retailers a solution for importing their online Store into Facebook and customize the new storefront to match both Facebook arena and the specific store's look & feel. In a nutshell when you use this Facebook Application users can see all the products offered that you sell in your online shop and when they chose what they want to buy and click on a product they are automatically taken to the real shop to finish the process of purchase.

In my opinion the idea of this Facebook Application is great, since I think that users are still reluctant from buying directly on Facebook, and this opens a new world of possibilities for online retailers, that want to take the next step into the social world but yet have not found the right way to do it.

Another interesting feature offered by the StoreYa is the backend platform which enables online retailers to track the performance of their products, analyze the interactions of users with products and also make searches on Facebook seeking for purchase intent from users updating their status.

I had the chance to talk with the developers of this Facebook App and they explained to me how this works with the following example:

For example: if you're selling shoes, and you type in "I want to buy shoes" you will receive fresh statuses that were just being posted by users.

In my opinion StoreYa did a great job in terms of the solution that they provide as well as the potential increase on sales that they offer to online retailers. My qualification for this Facebook Application is 4.8 out of 5. A must have Application, if you are selling online.

Recipes to Season Your Public Relations Skills

All you have to do is flip through a Williams-Sonoma catalog to sharpen your skills in public relations and marketing, and you'll realize quickly that PR is all about entertaining. At the heart of good PR is even better relationships.  Take your love for food and entertaining and digest some PR and marketing tips that will ultimately feed your audience's cravings.

1. Select the right utensil:  Each audience requires a unique communications tool. Slice right through to reach your target audiences.  Mix in information that they will find useful to them.  Identify your audience’s “persona”. Blend your message just right to reach customers, stakeholders, employees, and trade industry in a manner that they like to be communicated to. 

2. Search your pantry.  Like the kitchen pantry, the Web is full of information and “ingredients” needed to learn more about your audience. What are they talking about?  What are they say about you or your organization?  What do they want to hear? 

3. Deliver when they’re hungry:  In the new e-marketplace, ideas are ubiquitous.  Let the world know about your organization’s expertise and feed them in the various forms such as great websites, podcasts, blogs, e-books, and online news releases that focus on the audience’s needs.

4.  Practice, practice, practice:  Continually learn about your company, its products and services, goals, and vision.  Sharpen your skills.  Become instinctual in what you do as marketing and public relations professional.

5. Hold cooking classes:  As important as it is to learn about your organization, companies gain credibility, loyalty and strengthen brand identity through thought leadership and smart content.  Thought leadership is content that is designed to solve buyer problems or answer questions to show that your organization is worth doing business with.  Your cooking classes will be in the form of webinars, e-newsletters, blogs, and video.

6. Have a cocktail party.  If the Web is a bustling city, then social media is the place where people gather together.  People like to do business with people they like.  This trend holds true in social media, so join the party, interact with friends and find new business opportunities.

7.  Try a new recipe.  Always look for market-fresh strategies and try new things.  PR and marketing have new rules today.  It's not always about seeing it on TV, it's about visibility on the Web.  It's about authenticity, not fluff.  It's about personal relationships, not broad-based messaging.  It's not about one-way messaging, it's a about looking in both directions.

Here’s more:

- Pitch bloggers because being covered in blogs opens visibility by mainstream media.

- Don’t tell journalists what’s so great about your product or service. Rather, tell them how it will solve

  problems.  Help them understand the big picture. 

- Create a robust online media room to turn journalists who are just browsing into interested writers who

  will highlight your organization positively.

Hungry for more?  Or, want to share an appetizer?  Comment below!  And, feel free to visit mediyummy.com for more delicious media.

Facebook Application Review of Next Video

Comedic Videos on FACEBOOK

The Facebook Application that I will review today is called Next Video and I am pretty sure that if you are reading this post from your office, you will be more than happy to check it out.

The idea of this Facebook Application is to simplify the process of finding the latest trending comedic videos, and to create a place on Facebook where users can watch some of the web's best content while still engaging with their friends.

The way this Facebook Application works is very simple. Basically it searches through public Facebook posts for any video postings that users have made that contain keywords, such as "funny" or "hilarious" and like that identifies comedic content. Once this scraping is done users can access to all this content in a like "ChatRoulette" environment with the next button always there to skip the content to the next surprise.

This Facebook application can guarantee hours of entertainment without too much hassle, since all the filtering is already done. If you like the content you can also favorite it or post it in you wall to share it with your Facebook friends, and if you don't like it you just have to press the next button to start all over again with the experience.

The qualification for this Facebook Application Review is 4.7 out of 5, honestly it's being a while since I get to review an app that is so entertaining and easy to use as this one. My advice, go and check it out.

Facebook Application Review of My 2011 New Year's Resolutions

New Year's Resolutions on FACEBOOK

It's being a long time since my last Facebook review, but it came to me a request to review a Facebook Application which I couldn't deny since we are finishing this 2010 and is about time to wrap up our new year resolutions.

The Facebook Application that I will review today is called "My 2011 New Year's resolutions" and is a simple app that will engrave in stone (or bits) our new year's resolutions so as to help us to achieve them.

The basic idea of this Facebook Application is to let everybody know which are our new year resolutions and like that be more motivated by our friends and surroundings to achieve those goals. As some people say, if you say it, you are committed to...

So basically when you install this Facebook Application you will have to post your New year's resolutions and they will be published on your Facebook stream where everybody can see it and like that provide you with their support.

I think the the overall idea of this Facebook Application is very interesting and the impact of the application can be really substantial. I personally believe that once you share your goals with other people, "peer pressure" can be a good thing to lead your own success.

It would be great if I could see somewhere within the Application my friend's resolutions so as to provide them my support as well. Some kind of follow up section that could turn into an interesting meeting point where friends a resolutions get together. This would give some extra value to the app, and allow users to use it more than just one time.


My qualification for this Facebook Application review is 4.2 out of 5, I liked the idea and the concept behind it. This is a great example of something simple, well developed and straight to the point.

Facebook Application Review of Crane BlueBook

Visual Tagging on FACEBOOK

It's being a while since my last Facebook Application Review, but life has been quite busy lately, but now I am back and today I will review the Facebook Application called Crane BlueBook.


This Facebook app enables you to "tag" your friends statuses with one out of the 12 fun and visually iconic BlueBooks icons. These icons range from congratulatory to gently critical so basically you will be able to tell your friends almost everything through them, and if you feel that they are not enough you can always add a comment.

The use of this Facebook Application is very simple and intuitive. Once you install the app you will see your friends listed on the left with their updated status, and an empty box that you will need to fill by dragging one of the 12 books that you have on the right side of the app. Once you have "Tagged" your friends you click the post button and you are done.

Maybe by using this very nice designed Facebook app you will be able to tell all those things that you never dared to say with words by using one of the cool icons offered.

It would be very good also if within the Application users could request/suggest more icons so as to fit the needs of every user.

Overall this Facebook Application is very simple, and fun to use. I think that the challenge will be to make users return to it after using it for the first time, since there is no rewarding or follow up of the actions that you do with the app.

The qualification for this Facebook Review is 4 out of 5. Because of it's design and usability. Maybe if the approach would be more social to generate a long term engagement between the users that use the app, they could get some extra points. Still one of the best designed so far out of the previous Facebook Applications reviewed on this Blog.

Twitter Tips you can learn from Apolo Ohno and his Zero Regrets book launch

This week, I'm willing to bet that well over 200,000 people will purchase (or at the very least, plan to purchase) Zero Regrets: Be Greater than Yesterday, a memoir by Olympic champion Apolo Ohno.  Why?  Because Ohno has become an expert in social media marketing, particularly with Twitter, where he has roughly 204,500 followers and averages 150 new followers per day.

Ohno knows his audience.  He tweets from the heart, and gives them reasons to follow and stay motivated.  Here's how he does it.

Tip #1:  Make every post meaningful. You are what you publish.

Apolo Ohno launched his @ApoloOhno Twitter account during the summer before the 2010 Winter Olympic games with a strong first post:

July 19, 2009:

7 hours of training complete. 1 more training session to go. Champions are made when the curtain is down....I love it :-) Apolo Anton Ohno

While his Twitter account was young, this message was re-tweeted because it showed his personality and his passion.  It also energized followers to stay tuned well before the Olympics. Each post should offer value to the follower.

Tip #2:  Make it episodic, while sharing some news 

For someone with high visibility like Ohno, his audience is unique in that they're willing to read anything he posts.  Looking at the entire timeline, Ohno has tweeted everything including his gastronomic appetite, albeit a healthy one, Dancing with the Stars, interesting dreams, 8Zone, school visits for Century Council and his Maui vacation with his Alaska Airlines sponsor... This is interactive storytelling - many of which garnered tremendous media attention in their own right. Plus, it has a way of getting followers addicted.  In early Spring, 2010 Ohno started tweeting about his book, Zero Regrets.   In one of his early posts about his book, (if not his first) he tweets:

March 9, 2010

So pumped up for tomorrow and Thursday meetings about my new book! More to come---- Plus I'm in one of my fav cities in the world! NYC Apolo Anton Ohno

This tweet accomplished several things by giving his followers a tip on his next major move after the 2010 Winter Olympics.  "More to come" also gave them an action to stay tuned or keep following.  Finally,  he noted his love for New York City.  This got Big Apple followers excited about their city and roused followers from other parts of the nation to encourage him to come visit their city someday. (And, just maybe they were already thinking about the book signing opportunity in their town.)

Tip #3: Offer the invitation to interact and stay connected.

Ohno has been very good at interacting with his Twitter followers.  While he receives a large number of @mentions each day, he's proactive in checking them and re-tweeting whenever he feels moved to do so.   Here, he posts simultaneously to @8zone and @ApoloOhno via Facebook about his Twitter interview about his book, among other topics, with@WonderwallMSN.  If followers feel it's worth it, they'll tell their friends.

October 22, 2010:

Tune in to my live Twitterview with @WonderwallMSN in 15 mins - HERE ON TWITTER! #ZeroRegretsBook #DWTS                        #206FOODMAN#MR25/8 8 Zone

Generally, Twitter followers list their @mentions to thank them for their re-tweets.  Ohno spreads his appreciation and acknowledgment with whole-hearted thanks and blessings.  This shows personal engagement followers like to exchange.  This is very true for businesses, large and small.

June 28, 2010

180,000 followers. I'm truly blessed to have people in my life who are interested enough to hear about what's going on with me! Thank u!Apolo Anton Ohno

Tip #4: Consistent messaging strengthens the brand.

One thing is for sure. Ohno's followers know that once a day, he's going to tweet some inspiring, motivational message.  He stays true to his brand and persona.  Followers rely on receiving information that is useful to them and shares the love.  This tweet was re-tweeted 65 times.

August 26, 2010

Create your own path. No guarantee that you'll reach what u are striving 4 - but u must continue either way. #nolookingback#ZeroRegrets #FBless

Tip #5: Trend topics with the hashtag.

When starting a topic on Twitter, the hashtag is a must.  But, make sure the hashtag is small and simple.  Afterall, you need to leave room for retweets.  Ohno has consistently hashtagged his book with #ZeroRegretsBook.  This shows his conscious effort to get the name out and search-able within the Twitter community and beyond.

Tip #6:  Offer a greater experience with tweets that direct followers to photos, video and/or music.

While there have been some great images from the Olympic games, Ohno has added fun and quirky photos of himself, food, scenery, etc. to mix it up and keep followers engaged. Being part of the hugely successful Old Spice viral ad campaign allowed him to partake in making it even more successful, as he made mention, and offered links to the Old Spice YouTube channel.

Tip #7:  Think in 120-character tweets.

Micro-blog and leave 20 for re-tweets.  Ohno has done this successfully by asking simple questions to his followers about recommendations on where to eat in town, feedback on projects he's considering, etc..  He's also savvy about sending out short tweets that make an impact and inspsire followers to send his message along or reply.

Avid followers are familiar with his style:  spontaneous, meaningful, insightful, fun and packed with surprising tidbits about his personal interests like sports, cars, and food, for example.

October 6, 2010

Let's go tweeps! Countdown 2 the official release of "Zero Regrets" Soon! Oct. 26th! Stay motivated! I'm back @ it...with pure intensity. Apolo Anton Ohno

With Zero Regrets: Be Greater than Yesterday out this week, he's gracious in his tweets, trending the topic, and followers will know where to meet him for a book signing in their city.  Nicely done.