Social Media Widgets Can Drive Traffic, Sales and Product News

Today, I want to talk briefly about widgets. I've been a big fan of these fun little tools for many years. They are increasingly popular with web savvy consumers. (According to eMarketer, widgets are used by 43.5% of adults and 77% of the teen Internet population.) However, in talking with clients and colleagues, I see so few marketers willing to embrace them.

Of course, it's easy to dismiss traditional widgets as a tactic if your brand doesn't naturally fit the original "news feed" concept (i.e. weather or stock widgets). But, if you get creative with it, you can develop widgets that go beyond "updates" and truly drive site traffic and even sales.

Years ago I worked with the interactive company Macquarium Intelligent Communications and we created some super cool widgets for a pet supply brand. Imagine a cartoon dog or cat that sits on your desktop. They'd bark or meow. They'd yawn and stretch. They'd chase their tail or knead the ground. And, when the 90 day limit on their flea collar was up, they'd start scratching to let you know it's time to buy a new one. Click on the itchy little guy and you were directed to the pet supply site waiting for your new order. It's this kind of creative thinking that can take widgets out of the "news feed" realm and into a sales device.

Even looking back to the "news feed" scenario, you don't have to be a news source to generate relevant updates. Papa John's has done a great job connecting with the youth and college market through widget promotions and ordering allowing hungry students to immediately see and respond to deals as they are announced on their desktops.

Similarly, mobile widgets are a great way for brands to instantly connect with customers. In fact, GPS-backed mobile widget apps like Where.com are increasing in popularity as the widget alerts are tied directly to your location. Imagine your customer is driving around and she gets a widget alert that the retail boutique she is passing is having a BOGO deal on shoes. Or, as a guy passes a sports bar, his phone tells him they are serving dollar beers. I can hear the screeching tires right now.

There are also interesting ways you can skin widgets with branded imagery. Coke has done a great job with this in terms of their CokeTags which are seeing strong success within Facebook. The widgets rarely have anything to do with Coke, but the brand dominance is strong as consumers are linked to the content they want.

So, where do you find these widget apps? KickApps makes it easy for novices to really dive in. Widget Labs is pretty cool too - despite their recent dust up with Ning. Zumobi offers tile widgets for mobile use. WidgetBox has great widgets designed for use within social networks.

Here are some key tips in your widget app development:

1. Make is useful, otherwise, there is no point in the consumer keeping it active.

2. Make sure it is easy for the user to install. Too many steps - especially asking for too much customer info will turn them off.

3. Offer security reassurances. It's true that some widgets are trojan horses for viruses. (But, it's nowhere near as common as some would have you believe). Nonetheless, you need to assure your target audience that you are not a hacker. The more prominent the brand placement, the more assured they will be.

4. Consider your ultimate ROI when designing the widget. What is your goal? Sales? Click-throughs? Shared content? Don't go in blindly - design with the end in mind.

5. Keep an eye to the future. I foresee an increase in game-app widgets designed to create a personal brand interaction. And, with the convergence of web and broadcast content, TV Widgets are coming ... fast.

Widgets are a great form of social media because they can be easily shared between users and often drive viral content.

But don't just think of it as a sales tool. Public companies should employ widgets as an investor relations tool to keep their news in front of shareholders. As a corporate communications tool, widgets can be a great resource to keep the entire staff informed of the latest happenings - this is especially valuable for multi-nationals. And, widgets can be a great way for web viewers keep up with and share your podcasts.

Just get out there and play around. See what other people are doing and consider the content your audiences wants. Then, invite them to use and share your brand's widgets within the social media environment. Good luck and let me know how you do!

-- my two cents