Click here to view the embedded video.

With the help of IDF bracelets developed by Publicis E-dologic people could “Like” real objects and activities in the park. On arrival every visitor was outfitted with a bracelet ID linked to their Facebook account and transmitting RFID signals allowing them to use the “Like” machines throughout the park. If a visitor “likes” a special feature of the park, it will automatically appear on their Facebook news feed. Additionally, a photographer was present and if you wanted to tag yourself in any image you just had to wave your ID bracelet to the photographer.
The images also appear automatically on the Coca- Cola Village Facebook fan page, fully tagged of course.

It is a very innovative way to connect the virtual with the real world and enables Facebook users to share their experience with their friends worldwide in a fun and new way.

Personally, I think I would have had a lot of fun “liking” things via my bracelet and being automatically tagged in photos. It is stuff I do anyway on Facebook and I don’t see the harm.  Facebook and Coca Cola just facilitated what people do anyway, only difference that is was in real time.

I would also argue that this exercise was a very clever way to revive the “like” button. These days the button means almost nothing and is just a virtual grunt of appreciation. By transferring it into the real world however, it becomes an association with a real emotion. Surely, that will result in a fantastic brand image for Coca Cola which in turn will result in more sales.

No doubt, Coca Cola gains the most out of this exercise and it has been reported that over the three day period 35,000 pieces of content was posted on Facebook. On average each of the 650 visitors posted 54 branded pieces of Coca Cola merchandise to their Facebook page.

While Coca Cola is famous for bringing the brand alive via events such as the Coke Zero and Mentos Rocket Car or the Coke Happiness vending machine, it is the first time Facebook has ventured outside the virtual world.

I am wondering if we really want Facebook in the real world and if Facebook will repeat this exercise in a different location soon.  It certainly is a trend to bring Facebook, your activities and “likes” into the real world, evident in the launch of Facebook Places in the US last week. Facebook Places, Foursquare and other real time location sharing apps will be gaining more and more popularity and possibly become the next big thing, at least for a while.

I certainly would have a lot of fun using the RFID signal bracelets and hope I get a chance to do so in the future.

I believe this is what’s happening while you sit on the fence:

1. Your competitors are moving in and away – Are your competitors on twitter yet? It’s safe to say one of them is already using these tools. It means that they’re getting the following and attention that could have been yours. They’re also becoming more advanced, knowledgeable and familiar with future tools and marketing techniques making the gap between you even bigger.

2. No investment means no return – Do you own assets or are you paying rent? When no investment is made in the social space and all you do is pay for traffic the only return you see is the return you paid for. Social media is an asset. It GROWS in value. It means your money is invested rather than spent. Two years after starting this blog many of our new business prospects find us online without us paying a single dollar on search.

3. Missing out on word of mouth and traffic – Do you have an opinion about your industry? Do you have specific knowledge you can share that will help people? If the answer is yes then you have two options. Talk to people at bbq’s, networking events and elevators or choose to do the same thing online. Social media is conversation. It’s a place for you to demonstrate value, teach, help and foster an interaction between your customers. You’ll be surprised how powerful one post can be. Social sites are also the top traffic referring sites: 20% is the amount of loyal traffic Facebook brings in as a referring site, making it the most valuable source of traffic.

4. Spending resource and money – Research, customer service and product testing cost a lot of money. What if you can reduce this cost by 10%? How about using the resources you have in a way that saves time? Social media is a great research, testing and customer service tool. Take a look and discover what people are saying about your brand right now?

5. Internal communication, education and innovation suffers – How many of your employees are on social networks? How many of them are encouraged to talk about you online and have the tools to do so? It’s safe to say most of the people you work with have a presence on at least one social network. If you’re not in it you’re missing out on them communicating and sharing your brand with others. You’re also not providing self expression on the company blog or the opportunity to learn from others in the company. Innovation is a word that comes up a lot when talking about business advantage – when there is no place to communicate ideas and opinions in the company, it takes longer to innovate.

6. Missing out on talent – Every business needs to get young talent in. Most of them now communicate online and use these tools for work. If you don’t have a social media play you might be missing out on the best talent out there. The last three people employed by FRANkVizeum came from a social network/blog interaction. Our positions are usually posted on twitter and linkedin which makes the process of finding the right person a lot easier (and cheaper).

7. Not fishing for knowledge – The internet (i can’t believe i’m writing this but hey) is an ocean of knowledge. But you need to talk to the fisherman to catch the best fishes. Other people in social mediums are fishing constantly and if you’re not there you’re not enjoying the most up to date knowledge available. If you’d like to know more about social media and how to start a social business strategy you’re invited to RSVP for the last FRANkademy for 2009.

What do you think? Are these points valid? Do you have any other examples for the cost of inaction?

Click here to view the embedded video.

from Epipheo Studios.