The document discusses how various companies are humanizing their social media presence to strengthen customer relationships. It provides examples of Starbucks, Home Depot, Sprint, Intuit, Tropicana, Fuji Film, and Panasonic leveraging social media to gain customer feedback, drive innovation, and build brand loyalty. Volkswagen consolidated its Facebook pages and rewarded top fans with a trip to a racing event to show appreciation for their social media engagement.

1. Humanizing Social Media A perspective by Bansi Patel

2. Who Am I ? AVELLE| the new Bag Borrow or Steal

4. Starbucks| Actioning Customer Ideas Customer Loyalty Competitive Differentiation Brand Ambassadorship Real-Time Engagement Customer Driven Innovation Humanizing Social Media Starbucks leverages user generated ideas captured through its blog, “Ideas in Action” to gain valuable insight into brand and products. Starbucks reviews these ideas to perform customer driven innovation and drive competitive differentiation.

5. Home Depot| Driving Customer Responsiveness Microblogging platforms such as Twitter, have enabled real-time conversations to take place, creating a new level of customer responsiveness. Home Depot proves they take their customers seriously, by replying to their comments directly and quickly. Customer Loyalty Competitive Differentiation Brand Ambassadorship Real-Time Engagement Customer Driven Innovation Humanizing Social Media

6. Sprint| Forums for Feedback “ Suggestions for Sprint” encourages feedback, which is then posted on the public forum for further discussion amongst consumers and Sprint employees. Top contributors are recognized by being awarded participation points, furthering motivation and driving customer loyalty. Customer Loyalty Competitive Differentiation Brand Ambassadorship Real-Time Engagement Customer Driven Innovation Humanizing Social Media

7. Intuit| We hear you, Ask the Expert Intuit's QuickBooks "We Hear You" Community is another great example of customer driven software enhancements. Active community members are asked to weigh in, through the “Ask the Expert” forum, fostering brand ambassadorship, and allowing consumers to get real-world insight. Customer Loyalty Competitive Differentiation Brand Ambassadorship Real-Time Engagement Customer Driven Innovation Humanizing Social Media

8. Tropicana| Change you can believe in Tropicana found invaluable insight into what consumers wanted packaging to look like. After thousands of complaints on Facebook and other channels, Tropicana reverted packaging back to its original design. At the time, Tropicana had plans to contact everyone who voiced their opinion about the changes they made. Customer Loyalty Competitive Differentiation Brand Ambassadorship Real-Time Engagement Customer Driven Innovation Humanizing Social Media

9. “ Every picture matters” allows Fuji to showcase its customer’s appreciation of how Fuji products play an important role in their lives. Fuji Film| Every picture matters Customer Loyalty Competitive Differentiation Brand Ambassadorship Real-Time Engagement Customer Driven Innovation Humanizing Social Media

10. By sharing stories of how she uses Panasonic products to create and capture family memories, Carla has become an informal ambassador for Panasonic, through its “Living in HD” playground. Panasonic| Living in HD “ When I won, I told everyone I knew about it so word of mouth is very powerful.” Customer Loyalty Competitive Differentiation Brand Ambassadorship Real-Time Engagement Customer Driven Innovation Humanizing Social Media

11. Panasonic| Living in HD “ Panasonic rewards their most active families. One family got to go to the Olympics. Another always had great technical feedback so they sent them to China to visit their production factory. Another family was rewarded with an exclusive preview of their new washer and dryer (which isn’t even out yet)” “ I've been really impressed with Panasonic. They’ve offered a lot of support in terms of using their products…The interesting thing is that everyone I've come in contact with has been really enthusiastic about the company and the program. It also helps that all the products truly amazing. I'm not a gadget person but I know what a good picture or sharp video looks like and all their products kick ass.

13. Meet the Volkswagens| Facebook Fan Page

14. Volkswagen & Meet the Volkswagens Consolidate

15. Volkswagen & Meet the Volkswagens