GiftCard Partners Blog

It is no secret that social media use is on the rise.  More people are using it, more businesses are using it, and we take it with us wherever we go on our phones all day, every day. Adult social media use is up from 61% in 2010 to 65% this year, and up from 5% in 2005, according to LinkedIn.  43% of American adults say they visit a social media site at lease once a day. As a marketing tool social media is also growing.  If there is this large of a captive audience in the social media arena, and since the costs are so low, social media seems like a logical choice. 86% of B2B firms say they use social media as a marketing tool, compared to just 82% of B2C firms, according to socialmediab2b.com.  Initially when social media blew onto the marketing scene the popular conclusion was that B2C was the only effective way to use social media communication.  But as businesses increase their social media presence B2B communication through social media is increasing.   How does your business use social media? If it doesn't, what is holding you back?   References:
Adult Use of Social Media Soars
28 Awesome B2B Social Media Statistics

Employees' satisfaction with their recognition is not truly measured by the company, but by the employee.  And, although it is easy for companies to simply give employees recognition by giving a raise, employees are not satisfied with this outcome.  Employees want more; they want to feel as though their employer cares about what they want for their efforts, not what the company is willing to give.  The top five reward satisfaction points based on a recent poll were:

WELLESLEY, Mass., Aug. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Today GiftCard Partners' (GCP) Ed Shulkin and Deb Merkin announced 10 years of vision coming to fruition as their virtual workforce now stretches across all regions of the country. Massachusetts, New York, California, Florida, andOregon are just a few of the company's remote workplace "home" offices.

The "Kicks for Guns" program in Central Florida, will be held from this weekend in order to get illegal and unwanted guns off the streets of the greater Orlando area.  No questions will be asked of anyone turning in a gun, and people who turn in guns will be rewarded with gift card options from select local retailers.  These types of buy-back programs are common in communities when local law enforcement is trying to rid the community of certain dangerous materials.  Another common buy back program is for old prescriptions.  Often in communities local law-enforcement will reward community members with a relevant gift card in exchange for their old prescriptions. This is a way for the community to come together to promote safety and unity, and indulge in the offered rewards. For more information on the
gun buy back in Orlando click here.  Have you seen any other buy-back programs? Where and what was the reward? Let us know by leaving a comment.

We have been talking quite a bit about e-certs; how they are used, who buys them, and why the technology is changing the gift card industry.  Here are some helpful hints from our friends at CashStar about how to best market your e-cert programs.
Highlight eCerts on the Home Page “Brands promoting eGift Cards on the website homepage during the week of Christmas realized over four times as many sales per day (339% lift) when compared to the priort wo weeks.”
Integrate eGifting on all Relevant Pages Use page headers and highlights to bring attention to your e-Certs.  Some examples of where to mention e-Certs are: Gift Card Page Gift Center Page Consistent header and footer navigation Customer Favorites Page.  These are pages and areas where there is a high turnaround between seeing a purchasing option and actually making the purchase.  If your consumers see that you offer e-Certs, they are more inclined to purchase them.
Consider the impact of eMail campaigns during the Holidays E-Cert email campaigns provide lift for brands.  There was a 289% lift for brands with no previous e-Cert marketing activity. Specifically there was a 10 fold increase in sales in 48 hours for CVS after using blogging and e-Cert promotion tactics during the holiday season. E-Certs are a powerful part of the gift card market. GiftCard Partners is planning to promote eCerts to our B2B customers who purchase direct during the holidays, based on the clear value of this type of program. How does your company market this technology? Let us know by leaving a comment!