Thursday, April 7, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
How #Mobile #Payment Systems Are Redefining #Commerce
The phrase “mobile payment system” can apply to a number of different technologies and implementations for initiating and accepting transactions using a mobile device.Forrester Research separates systems into two broad categories:
- Payment systems that utilize a mobile network to initiate or authorize a transaction.
- Contactless systems that use a mobile phone in lieu of a traditional credit card.
In other words, mobile payment systems apply to both how consumers pay for goods, as well as how merchants can process transactions.
Systems that Process Payments
On the processing side, startups like Square want to cut down the barriers associated with accepting credit card transactions.
Last October, Mashable’s Jennifer Van Grove discussed three services that allow merchants to accept credit card payments on mobile devices.
Square works by combining a small, square-shaped card reader with a free app for iPhone and Android. Simply plug the reader into the microphone jack of your smartphone and open the app. Now transactions can be processed either by swiping the card or hand-keying the digits.
The promise of something like Square — which charges a 2.75% transaction fee but has no other associated costs — is that it eliminates the need for smaller businesses to set up expensive point-of-sale systems. It’s also portable and can be used with any Android or iOS device.
Square isn’t the only mobile payment processor in town. Intuit GoPayment and VeriFone’s PAYware Mobile are also actively investing in the space.
Systems that Let Consumers Pay by Mobile Phone
When it comes to actually paying for items using your phone instead of with cash or a credit card, the future is all about NFC. Near field communication, or NFC, has been in the works for nearly ten years.
Analysts predict, however, that 2011 is the year that a sizable number of NFC-enabled devices will finally ship to consumers. The premise behind NFC is simple: Rather than swiping a card, just wave your phone at a payment terminal and be on your way.
We’re already seeing pilot NFC implementations from credit card companies and banks, including Visa, Bank of America, American Express and MasterCard.
Last fall, Visa worked with the transit and port authorities in New York to install Visa payWave terminals at select New York City subway stations. The advantages of NFC and contactless payments in areas like the subway are two-fold. First, it’s fast. Second, it helps cut down on the need for paper tickets.
A number of public transit systems are already in the process of transitioning to RFID-enabled transit cards. Using a mobile phone would accomplish the same feat, but with the benefit of also being refillable on the spot.
Going Green and Going Hands-Free
Aside from being able to accept and make payments in more locations, one of the advantages of modern mobile payment systems is environmental. Sure, the ecological impact of a paper credit card receipt is likely small — relatively speaking — but cutting down on excess waste is still good for the environment.It can also be good for businesses’ bottom lines. Apple, one of the first major retail chains to accept payments using mobile devices (first Windows Mobile powered terminals and later the iPhone), has long emailed customers their receipt by default, only printing it on request.
It’s not clear how much money that decision has saved Apple over the years, but given the high number of transactions that each Apple retail store processes each day, it is likely significant. Moreover, every receipt that is emailed is one less wasted piece of printed paper.
In South Africa, cardless ATM withdrawals via mobile phone - Springwise
The virtual ink had scarcely dried on our story about South Africa's upcoming Mahala Free Banking Platform last week when we received word of yet another mobile banking innovation in the country. Customers of Johannesburg-based First National Bank (FNB) can now make withdrawals from an ATM without a bank card using just their mobile phone.
To withdraw cash using the new capability, which was launched last month, customers simply log onto FNB's Cellphone Banking service and select the banking option. They then indicate specifics including the particular account from which they want to make a withdrawal. Once they've completed the transaction online, they receive a text message via SMS that includes a temporary PIN to use at the ATM. For security reasons, the PIN must be used within 30 minutes of receipt; it also can be used only once.
Twitter to offer brands Facebook-style pages - Marketing news - Marketing magazine
Twitter: considering Facebook-style branded pagesBranded pages, through which advertisers could deliver tailored messages, are under consideration, along with other plans to increase the long-term revenue potential of the social network, according to sources familiar with the subject.
It is understood that Twitter chief executive Dick Costolo, and Adam Bain, president of revenue, are leading the push to create fresh revenue streams.
The pages would work in a similar way to Facebook Pages, providing brands with their own space to deliver content and encourage Twitter users to follow them, claim sources.
HOW TO: Improve Engagement on Your Brand's #Facebook Page [STATS]
- Business and Finance: Engagement peaks on Wednesday and Thursday, though this industry tends to spread its posts even on Monday through Friday.
Tip: Post on Wednesday.
The findings for the retail vertical.- Retail: Sunday is a big day for engagement on the shopping and retail front, but only 5% of entertainment posts go up on Sunday. The industry’s posts lean heavily toward Friday, which has below-average engagement.
Tip: Target shoppers on Sunday.
- Fashion: Engagement peaks on Thursday, but dips on the weekend. The industry pushes the most content on Tuesday, the day with the lowest engagement.
Tip: Optimize engagement on Thursday.
- Healthcare and Beauty: Like fashion — perhaps because consumers are shopping and preparing for the weekend — healthcare and beauty brands see the most engagement on Thursday. But a lot of content is posted on Mondays and Fridays, when engagement is lower.
Tip: Post content on Thursday.
- Food and Beverage: More than the other verticals, the food and beverage brands do a good job of spreading their posts throughout the week and weekend. But in this case, engagement peaks on Tuesday and Saturday and dips on Monday and Thursday.
Tip: Target Tuesday.
- Sports: Not surprisingly, especially during football season, Sunday is king for sports brands and teams on Facebook. This data is affected by the fact that Super Bowl Sunday fell during the data collection period, but Sundays remain strong during other weeks, too.
Tip: Increase your post volume on Sunday.
- Travel and Hospitality: The highest engagement occurs on Thursday and Friday, when the week is winding down and people are looking to escape from the office.
Tip: Get these eyeballs at the end of the week.
Joe Ciarallo, Buddy Media’s director of communications, says a lot of smart brands already target their audiences when they’re most engaged. For those who don’t, Ciarallo says they should consider scheduling Facebook posts to go live during times of high engagement at night and on weekends.
Be Concise
The data indicates that the length of the post can determine engagement just as much as the time of the post. The bottom line: Keep it short and sweet. Posts with 80 characters or less — the length of a short tweet — garnered 27% more engagement than posts that were more than 80 characters. But brevity is far from a common practice — only 19% of posts in the study were shorter than 80 characters.
And while the content should be short, the URL probably shouldn’t be — posts with a full-length URL had three times the engagement of their shortened bit.ly, ow.ly and tinyurl counterparts. The reason is likely because readers want to know where the link will take them. Ciarallo says a brand-specific URL shortener, like bddy.me or on.mash, keeps a post short while also providing context.
Ask For Engagement
Words ranked in order of their effectiveness at converting Likes and comments.If you’re looking to get Likes on a post, all you have to do is ask. Ciarallo says simple, outright instructions — “Like us if…” — are much more effective at getting a Like than a post with a long explanation of why you should “like” something. Remember, “liking” only takes one click and then the “liked” item is syndicated on a user’s own page, so don’t be afraid to ask for the thumbs up.
The same goes for comments — outright saying “post,” “comment” or “tell us” motivates fans to engage. If you’re seeking answers, put a simple “where” or “when” or “would” question at the end of the post — you’ll get 15% more engagement than if the question is buried in the middle. Shy away from “why” questions, as they seem invasive and ask much more of a user than a “what” question, Ciarallo says.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
f-commerce store roundup: 32 notable big brand facebook stores [screenshots] | Social Commerce Today
f-commerce comes in three basic flavours
- On Facebook (Facebook stores (f-stores))
- On-site (Integrating Facebook into e-commerce sites – social sign-on, social plugins, Open Graph)
- In-store (Integrating Facebook into the in-store experience – Facebook connected fitting rooms, Facebook Deals (check-ins)…)
Today, we’re just showcasing 1) – f-commerce in the form of f-stores on Facebook itself. These stores themselves, break into three basic types…
- Faux-Stores – You can browse, but you can’t buy – product image galleries linking to product pages on web-stores
- Fan-Stores – Fan-first/fan-only Facebook stores hosting exclusive retail events for fans (B2F (Brand to Fan)), typically selling a small range of products for a limited time (aka campaign stores/tryvertising stores/pop-up stores)
- Full-Stores – Offering the full web-store experience optimised for, and inside, Facebook
So without further ado, here’s our selection of noteworthy f-stores from big and innovative brands. Let us know what we’ve missed!
F-Commerce on Facebook (f-stores)
- What’s notable about it: Where it all began: The first transaction in Facebook at 11.50 am EST on July 8, 2009 for bouquet of flowers ‘A Slice of Life’ on the f-store of U.S. florist 1-800 flowers…
- What’s notable about it: First movie rentals (streaming) store – exclusive premium content for fans – direct from the Studio – sent Netflix shares tumbling
- What’s notable about it: The most popular f-commerce enabled page on the planet 31m+ fans
Check out the source for all the other examples..