May

3

How Palm is strengthening their mobile brand online

Filed Under Branding, Customer Service, Engagement, Marketing, Mobile, Social Media 

Palm is getting ready to launch what will most likely be their best-selling handheld device ever, the Pre. There have been several attempts from most major handset manufacturers to catch up with the iPhone over the past couple of years but none have really lived up to the hype including the BlackBerry Storm and Google’s G1. Early demos and press of the Pre (which is rumored to launch May/June) have generally been great and there seems to be a lot of people that think it will be a huge success.

What I’d like to summarize as best as I can in this post is what Palm is doing online to engage with potential early adopters and long-time loyal Palm fans (which there are many of). I believe Palm could be considered a Prom King Brand, which advertising consultant Alan Wolk describes as a brand that people don’t mind “conversing” with. I think that alone has simply been the biggest factor in helping Palm successfully grow an online following.

Here are 7 things I noticed they are doing very well:

1. The Official Palm Blog

The blog looks to be managed by Palm’s Director of Online Communications, Jon Zilber and Palm’s PR agency, Edelman. It is updated a couple times a week, just enough to keep people coming back and interested. There are great discussions going on beneath most entries where Palm fans voice their opinions and seek answers to Pre questions (which usually get answered).

In Rohit Bhargava’s latest book, Personality Not Included, he refers to a great example of a Moleskine blog that was started by one passionate Moleskine customer, or what he calls an “accidental spokesperson” (pg. 59). Moleskine didn’t realize it would make sense for them to have a blog until one was started. The blog owner was later hired to officially continue his efforts for the brand. It’s obvious that a blog makes sense for Palm, especially since there are already several “unofficial” blogs out there that are doing very well. This official blog gives them better control over the information and rumors that are released about their own products.

The only thing I would suggest is for Palm to make it easier for visitors to share the content via Digg, Twitter, and Delicious.

2. Facebook Fan Page

The fan page is currently approaching 7,500 fans which is a solid start but still way behind BlackBerry which has 135,000 fans. The newsfeed is regularly updated with links to developing Palm news (even on other sites) and other online media. The Discussion board is very active and is used frequently to have featured Palm employees answer fan questions (where the accompanying blog entry directs you). Comments and Likes are common on most newsfeed items which makes it obvious the fans love the constant updates.

3. @Palm Twitter Profile

The Twitter profile appears to be for many purposes. The profile bio sums it up nicely, “Stay connected with Palm and learn about news, products, tips and tricks, deals and more.” Addressing customer support issues is another way they are using Twitter. What caught my attention was how well they are using their blog, Facebook, and Twitter together to host conversations and spread new content.

When asked about who handles the account, the reply was:

I think that will change after the Pre launches and the account grows along with Twitter.

4. Pre YouTube Channel

No need to go anywhere else, these videos straight from Sprint and Palm offer plenty of in-depth demonstrations of how the Pre will function and improve your mobile life. Apple did something similar for the iPhone but did it directly on Apple.com. Posting the videos on YouTube allows them to spread easily online by allowing people to embed them wherever they want. YouTube videos also tend to rank very high in Google search results.

5. Pre-Launch Pre Buzz

It’s becoming more common to see a brand highlight and try to aggregate all the buzz going on online in one location. Skittles drew a lot of attention to their site recently when they redesigned their homepage to link to Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, and Facebook. If you head over to the Pre homepage on Sprint’s website, they are doing something similar but keeping it all on one page. I think this site also aligns nicely with their recent What’s Happening advertising campaign that got a lot of attention.

6. Become a Real Reviewer

The Real Reviewers program is a great way to give back to the online community by creating an opportunity for die hard fans to get their hands on a free Pre for 6 months. This type of transparent focus group can be great if the company really believes they are about to deliver an amazing product. Put it in the hands of some of your brand’s biggest fans and let them do what they do best.

This immediately reminded me of another similar project that was launched recently by Ford called the Fiesta Movement. Ford partnered with Ogilvy to identify 100 “agents” that get their very own Ford Fiesta for 6 months before anyone else in the U.S. These selected agents are already starting to create and share their experiences with the car on Twitter, YouTube, and their blogs. All this new content is being aggregated on the newly created Fiesta Movement website.

Just like Ford carefully chose their agents, Palm is looking for select applicants that are completely wired online (like me!) and heavily rely on their mobile phones for constant connectivity to their social networks. This post called Do Something Small on the Brains on Fire blog reminds marketers that really good things can come from putting a lot of time and effort into working with a small group of loyal customers instead of always trying to reach as many people as possible at once.

7. Notify Me Pre Alerts

SMS/Email alerts are still a great way to reach out to potential customers who are willing to opt-in to your brand and get the first updates about a new product or service. This method of engagement starts online and extends to email, text, or even live phone outreach if it makes sense.

Because Palm is a reputable company that I have known for many years, I trust that they will not use my personal info for any other purpose besides what I signed up for.

Final Thoughts

Palm had a rough couple of years, but with the Pre it certainly looks like they are about to strengthen their position as one of the major players in the smartphone market. Growing their online community and leveraging it to constantly improve upon their products will only help the company overall.

A couple of questions come to mind: How will they react to any negative feedback and press once the Pre is launched and how will they make sure their other products don’t fall off the grid?

Connect with me on Twitter @jsmakr and while you are here, check out 6 ways to provide customer support and feedback online.

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Comments

  • Being a Treo owner for many years, I saw first hand on the Treo forums how enthusiastic Palm owners could be. But it wouldn't surprise me if the Palm forums have been slowing down while BlackBerry and iPhone forums both saw great growth over the past couple of years.

    I am not sure if this is still true, but what I think should change is that most of these very active communities never really get any attention from people on the inside. Twitter and Facebook are great but forums continue to be where the tech savvy really discuss these brands and seek support for technical issues.
  • Thanks for the shout out. I agree that Palm is likely still a Prom King Brand, though I'll caveat that by saying I don't know for sure how much of its luster it's lost, how associated with the early 2000s Palm still is.

    I suspect that for less tech savvy types, Palm is still pretty cool. Just not sure how much Blackberry has replaced it in most people's minds as the business tool of choice.

    A lot of that is going to come down to what the Pre actually is: how cool is it, is it going to generate "Palm Pre Better Than Blackberry Curve" headlines or just "Palm Pre Better Than No Phone At All" ones.

    But as your post nicely points out, if the headlines are the former, Palm has done a great job of getting their social media backbone all set up and ready to go.
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