RFID and social media – Creating a real-world ‘share’ button

Twenty years ago a personal brand recommendation for a product or service might have come from a friend over coffee or a beer, these days it will regularly come via your Facebook news feed or Twitter.

Each social network is potential tool for personal recommendation

To have your users, clients and customers regularly sharing content about their positive experiences with your company or product is the Utopian scenario that very few brands are capable of reaching.

Social media has been at the heart of tech-savvy marketing agencies and brands for a number of years now. With almost a billion users across the globe, few have failed to see the potential for increasing engagement with their customers and brands. Research by Syncapse showed that the average Facebook fan is worth $136.38 annually – with some brands seeing values significantly higher.

So what would happen if you could let those people experiencing your brand in the real world become online brand ambassadors as they experience it?  Well now you can do just that by using RFID technology in tandem with social media.

Creating a real-world ‘share’ button

Using RFID technology, companies can empower consumers to share their experience on social media networks in real time – simply with the wave of a hand. It’s as simple as embedding a RFID chip into a wristband, tag or promotional item. Anything. RFID readers placed around your venue can be programmed to share status updates, images, videos, or even links to a brand’s web properties.

Simply swipe your ID to 'Like' on Facebook!

The idea is gaining momentum with a number of larger brands who have run pilot schemes using the technology. For example, Natwest recently trialled the UpD8r Facebook RFID solution from ExceleratedApps at a recent event for their online Cricket Club with great success.

“The feedback from attendees was excellent, and they found it a fun way to share the experience with their Facebook friends.”

Dominic Warne, Senior Manager, RBS Sponsorship

Even 100 attendees at the exclusive NatWest event were able to create over 20,000 impressions on Facebook walls for their branded experience – whilst it was still happening – with almost 5% of friends seeing the posts engaging and clicking through to NatWest Cricket Club web properties.

“We’ve seen the benefits with a hundred people, and now we’re exploring the potential for events with thousands of attendees.”

Dominic Warne, Senior Manager, RBS Sponsorship

Meanwhile in the US, Nokia used RFID technology at an outdoor music event to generate over a million Facebook impressions and thousands of online conversations about their brand.

Nokia used RFID-enabled foam hands to share content on Facebook

There are always going to be some users willing to share their experience via a mobile device, or when they return to a computer, but the RFID social sharing solution UpD8r is enabling that organic sharing process to be possible via every single attendee at your event or brand experience.

Additional benefits include full analytics regarding the number of posts shared, impressions created, and how many people are engaging with the content and visiting your web properties as a result.

Every day companies are coming up with new creative and innovative ways to leverage RFID technology. If you haven’t looked at putting RFID social sharing at the heart of your real-world event, then it’s about time you did.

Do you have an idea or experience using RFID social sharing that you’d like to share? Please feel free to comment below or contact Richard Smith to chat through any ideas you might have.