As we discuss social media this week in class, I decided to relook at how my "card" of choice uses non-traditional media to get their name out in the public. I am talking about Discover Card, a leading credit card issuer and payments network, headquartered in Riverwoods, IL. I have heard that they were on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc., but I didn't really know how it worked and of what benefit it would be to the company. Here's the non-traditional media that they participate in and how they are using it to benefit the company:
Twitter:http://twitter.com/discover
They currently have 678 followers. They use the site primarily to update followers and cardmembers of current CashBack Bonus and ShopDiscover offers. They also use the site to let people know about new features and benefits for Discover Card cardmembers.Mobile:In January of 2009, Discover Card launched their Discover.com mobile site. The simplified website can be accessed directly from cardmembers mobile phones to: make a payment on their account, view recent transactions, view recent and pending payments, view rewards activity, and enroll in the 5% Cashback Bonus Program.
You Tube:http://www.youtube.com/discoverfinancial
Discover joined YouTube in March of 2006. They currently have 42 subscribers to their channel. The channel has had 5,975 views and 743 video views. The channel features current and past Discover Card commercials and Financial advice videos.
Flickr:http://www.flickr.com/photos/discovercard
At the Flickr website, you can view all 150+ card design choices and also view photos of volunteer and charity events that involve Discover card employees.
Facebook:
Discover Card has created a fan site on Facebook to address "friends" comments, questions, etc. They used to employ a team of 2 individuals to respond to "friends" and direct them to where they can find their answers and information related to the company and their products, but now the responsibility falls to one individual. On the fan page, they include links to the coporate website, all of their products, discussion board, etc. The fan site currently has 5000+ fans. Recently, however it looks like they are letting the fans take over the "fan" page with negative comments instead of addressing the issues like they could.
Blog:http://discovercardblog.wordpress.com/
Discover Card started blogging in February of 2009. They currently use the blog to promote new features or products available to Discover Card cardmembers. As of recently, it looks like they are updating the blog more frequently, but in the past it was sporadic at best.
While I think that it's great that Discover is trying to stay with the trend and new marketing channels, I think that they need to figure out how to best use the channels to their advantage. Considering that their cardmember portfolio is 40-50MM cardmembers, their reach in the non-traditional media is not really attracting too many people. People also will lose interest in the sites if they are not updated on a regular basis.
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What a great idea! - To take something that is most likely ignored (your card), and then to explore how the issuer experimented with Social Media. Excellent choice.
ReplyDeleteSome simple images on the page would add a little something to the post.
Thank you! Unfortunately, I have looked at the major competitors and no one has a clear advantage when it comes to social media. I will also work on images for my next posts.
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