South Africa is going gaga about social media, and Cape-based e-business developer Realmdigital has the high-profile reference sites and smart development platform befitting a leader in this nascent space.
CEO Wesley Lynch says the 11-year-old firm, which already has an impressive Web portfolio in the retail industry, including Exclusives, is making an aggressive play for social. Thus far it boasts an impressive client list and an array of Facebook and other social apps and campaigns. Realmdigital offers a choice of custom social apps or hosted tools for DIY development.
These have included various kinds of competitions, all of them entered by 'liking' a campaign on a Facebook fan page. One such site awards prizes for the best end-user story featuring a personal experience with the client brand, while another allows click-through to a competition on a client Web site, and a third allows lucky-draw entry into a competition.
A different application gives fans access to cut-price sales, redirecting purchase orders to the client Web site, while another lets fans compile a wish list of products, which they can post on their profile page (and their friends' news feeds) as a fun way to compare with their friends' choices or a means to publish a birthday gift list. Fans can also elect to simply buy products on their wish lists, in which case they are directed to the client's e-commerce Web site.
Realmdigital clients also get access to vouchers, syndicated news headlines, product customisation, best photo competitions and more when engaging Realmdigital.
Common Web platform
What is the secret of the company's rapid rise to prominence in social? In short, all Realmdigital's apps are Web-integrated. Whether Web-based, social or mobile, they are developed on a single development platform, aptly named 'Platform'. This allows consistency and efficient leveraging of messaging, look and feel, as well as content, says Lynch.
Using Platform, Realmdigital has Web-enabled iconic brands in travel, retail and other industries, including the aforementioned Exclusives, SAA, Naspers, Die Burger, Media 24, Ford and Mix Telematics (Matrix Vehicle Tracking).
Now that it has a Facebook module, this provides a common development platform across customer channels, says Lynch. “It provides a tested environment for quick, integrated development of all the components needed on all the platforms that companies need to be on today.”
He explains that a Web site without social or mobile integration is a limited proposition.
“It is a vital competitive edge to be able to share social and Web content. Platform allows export of social competition entries, survey results or behavioural tracking to the Web site or enterprise backend systems, and it allows social page visitors to subscribe to Web newsletters, among others. Moreover, the cost of extending one's Web presence to social is very low, with flexible environments like Platform.”
So if it is cutting-edge integrated social development you want, you can either do it yourself or engage the leader in the field.
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