Hi, we're running some tests where we have a user search the primary (brand) term, and then have them go back and search for a positive term (brand name + product name) or something like that.  In small tests, we've seen this have a positive impact on 'related searches'.  However, we are just now rolling this out on larger test cases, so the jury is still out on how much it'll work.  I suspect it is a combination of this plus some of the tactics used to manipulate Autocomplete that'll do the trick.  Let me know if you have any luck or want to brainstorm!

This is great; I especially like the idea of giving 1 free treatment to a friend - that is clever

Hi Everyone, I am working with a pest control company that is looking to branch out into social media.  Their primary goal is to connect with their existing customers to improve retention.  The secondary goal is to potentially pick up new clients.

With that said, I wanted to see if you all had some ideas on things that they could tweet/facebook about on a regular basis?  Posting about bugs on a daily basis gets pretty boring.

I know Rand has been talking a lot lately about not being so narrow, so maybe we should talk more about general home improvement?  Any thoughts or ideas?

Thanks!

EDIT:

I should clarify that this is a company that has maintenance plans.  You don't call them only when you have a problem. You sign up with them, and they treat your property every 3 months, or whenever you call.  Only about 2% of their customer base is one-off phone calls to fix 1 problem and never come back again.

I don't think their existing customer base will have any issues with Liking them on Facebook or following them on Twitter. The initial plan is to incentivize them to do so, but once we get the like/follow, we want to continually be in front of them with interesting content, contests as Jay suggested, etc.

Hi Everyone, I am working with a pest control company that is looking to branch out into social media.  Their primary goal is to connect with their existing customers to improve retention.  The secondary goal is to potentially pick up new clients.

With that said, I wanted to see if you all had some ideas on things that they could tweet/facebook about on a regular basis?  Posting about bugs on a daily basis gets pretty boring.

I know Rand has been talking a lot lately about not being so narrow, so maybe we should talk more about general home improvement?  Any thoughts or ideas?

Thanks!

EDIT:

I should clarify that this is a company that has maintenance plans.  You don't call them only when you have a problem. You sign up with them, and they treat your property every 3 months, or whenever you call.  Only about 2% of their customer base is one-off phone calls to fix 1 problem and never come back again.

I don't think their existing customer base will have any issues with Liking them on Facebook or following them on Twitter. The initial plan is to incentivize them to do so, but once we get the like/follow, we want to continually be in front of them with interesting content, contests as Jay suggested, etc.

Hi, we're running some tests where we have a user search the primary (brand) term, and then have them go back and search for a positive term (brand name + product name) or something like that.  In small tests, we've seen this have a positive impact on 'related searches'.  However, we are just now rolling this out on larger test cases, so the jury is still out on how much it'll work.  I suspect it is a combination of this plus some of the tactics used to manipulate Autocomplete that'll do the trick.  Let me know if you have any luck or want to brainstorm!