by Brianna Kessler
Where To Buy:Order your FlapIt at flapit.com. Shipping takes up to six weeks.
Cost: $299
Earned media, such as customer reviews and fan pages, has proven to be one of the most successful free marketing and advertising tools available to businesses. Big businesses and major brands have applied this through social media for years, making it an essential customer relations branding tool. But, the world of social media is continually evolving, and as soon as you think you've conquered social media marketing, it changes again.
It's now possible to expand social media engagement from online to offline with Flapit, the first social media counter made for an offline environment. This powerful, interactive marketing tool will allow small businesses and corporations to increase customer relationships and successfully build reputations by displaying social stats in the companies" physical surroundings.
"Social media is more important for businesses than ever before, driving increased engagement and two-way customer interaction online," says CEO and founder Christophe Avignon. "With Flapit, we wanted to create an object which takes social offline and into the shop floors, stores, hotels, restaurants and offices, but in a design-conscious way."
What it is: Flapit is a "60s-themed analog clock and a physical social metrics counter that connects to all the major social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus & Analytics, YouTube, Weibo, Instagram, VKontakt, Yelp, Swarm and QZone. It shares your online popularity offline.
How it works: Flapit can be displayed anywhere. Just plug it in, connect to the Flapit network and go to flapit.com/flapmenow. Start showing off your social media achievements on the spot. The Wi-Fi-enabled device allows you to customize what is displayed from your social media sites. Display ratings, reviews, likes, promotional prices and discounts.
Why you should have one: Marketing research shows that the majority of customers are more likely to trust businesses and brands with a strong social media presence. Customers look to social media for information about your product and are more likely to try and recommend your brand based upon customer feedback. The success of your company depends upon a strong two-way communication between business and consumer with active engagement.
There are more than 30 million businesses on Facebook and 80,000 on Yelp, with more than 61 million consumer reviews. Yet 92 percent of retail transactions still take place offline. By displaying your company's social media stats, your business can gain customer trust, expand social media presence offline, build relationships and keep customers informed and engaged.