MANILA – October 30, 2013 – Capitalizing on the Philippines’ love affair with social media, Smart Communications has unveiled Smart #Hashtags, which the mobile telco said could deliver on the Holy Grail in digital marketing: Converting trending topics into actual sales.
The service allows brands to connect directly with their target consumers who post Twitter updates, using a predetermined hashtag. The service acts as a bridge between the virtual and physical world through the smart use of hashtags since brands can tap into the communications provider’s more than 70 million subscribers under the Smart, Sun and Talk ’N Text networks for their marketing campaigns.
< src="http://www.adobomagazine.com/global/UserFiles/Image/20101214091206868_leah. " width="192" height="200" hspace="5" align="left" alt="" />“With Smart #Hashtags, we are paving the way for brands to extend the reach of their social media campaigns and connect with consumers directly, helping them go beyond just mere ‘trending’ on Twitter and, in turn, potentially generating more revenue for the company,” says Leah Besa-Jimenez, Media Convergence Group Head at Smart.
Piloted recently during an event staged by a multinational fast-moving consumer goods company, Smart #Hashtags worked by prompting users who tweeted using the brand’s event hashtag to register and enroll both their Twitter accounts and mobile numbers to the program.
After registration, subscribers received an SMS driving them to a CRM activity in exchange for 20 free texts to Smart and Talk ‘N Text subscribers. At this point, brands can determine how they want to reward or engage the consumer: whether through a drive-to-store coupon offer, a discount announcement, or a product giveaway, among others.
“Companies have always felt the constant challenge of converting their online campaigns to offline purchases,” notes Besa-Jimenez. “Smart #Hashtags has demonstrated that we can help brands finally transform online conversation to offline conversion, leading online consumers directly to the offline path to purchase.”
