Just had our webinar with Groupon as part of the Social Media Leadership Forum. These were the key points of interest for me:

Groupon says it aims to help build companies through Groupon offers

Companies such as Orange use Groupon to target existing and new customers with bespoke offers

Groupon advises companies to cap offers to help them manage demand successfully

Groupon has an advanced social media strategy which is city based and localised for different markets. They don’t just promote offers but look to share fun content to engage with their social media customers.

They have a deliberate personal social media strategy and customer services engage vigorously through Twitter, offering email addresses if people want to revert to email regarding any issues.

Groupon also has an interesting blogger outreach programme, where they enable bloggers to support them developing offers.

The scale of their customer base is obviously an attraction to companies.  Groupon argues that their users are not just bargain seekers:  if managed well, they will buy more from merchants who use the service.

Thanks to a stream of clever adverts, T-Mobile has gained a reputation as a brand with its finger on the pulse of popular culture. They’ve followed up April’s Royal Wedding spoof with a video with an alternative version of Angry Birds.

Players are invited to take part in a seemingly normal game of Angry Birds. However, all is not as it seems…

Watch the video to see what happens.

This video is a great way of combining popular technology with guerrilla marketing,

Moo, the creative business card company, has recently announced a new partnership with about.me to create QR codes linking to a page containing all the individual’s social media and contact information. This means you’ll be able to add a QR code to your business cards, which people can scan with their smart phones to reach your information.

In fact, the partnership was inspired by a movement of Moo users incorporating the code into their designs. The company is known for listening to its community, and this is a great example of adapting to new technologies.

If you’re thinking of using QR codes in a campaign, you might like some of these ideas.

Website/Blog secret message

Qurify is a service that allows you to enter a secret message or link, and then creates it into a QR code. You can then embed the code into your website or blog, or download it to use it on other marketing material. Try recording a welcome video, then creating a QR code out of the URL.

Combine geocaching and QR codes

Geocaching is another slow burning social media trend, and it’s often used for scavenger hunts (particularly at press-related events). Combining a clue in a QR code with a geocache place is a great way of adding a techy twist to an old favourite.

Add it to packaging

If you’re selling a food or cosmetic product, you’re legally required to provide certain information on the label. However, space restrictions can sometimes limit how much you can add, so a QR code can give you more flexibility with the information you want to offer.

Print advertising

I recently spotted a poster advertising campaign for the TV show Family Guy, asking a question and giving the QR code as an answer. It’s a great way to get potential customers to go straight to your site, which means they’re a step closer to making a purchase.

What would you use a QR code for?

You might use Twitter to chat to friends, catch up on the news, follow your favourite celebs or network. But have you considered looking for a job through the 140-character social network?

Twitter allows you to get in contact with companies and influential people who you might not have been able to before. This contact can give you the edge over the competition, and help you land your perfect role.

Here are ten tips for Twitter success in the job market.

1) Desperate to work for a certain company? Follow them on Twitter. More and more companies use Twitter as a first port of call to advertise their vacancies.

2) Use that Twitter bio to pimp yourself out. That little space should be your sales pitch, and it’s often the deciding factor for whether people will follow you or not. Give them a reason to follow you. Describing your favourite sandwich filling or revealing the name of your cat is not what employers are looking for (unless the employer is Marmite. Or the RSPCA.)

3) Consider posting a TwitCV. Squeeze your experience, ambitions and skills into a tweet (leaving room so others can retweet you) and you might just catch the eye of that perfect employer.

4) Use the link in your profile for your online portfolio. There are a few free options about, like extendr.com, and you could always link to your LinkedIn page or blog if you prefer.

5) Communicate! Chat to other people, use it as a networking tool and share other people’s content. You never know what opportunities you could pick up from these new contacts. A friendly, informative tweeter is always more likely to get a follow.

6) Check your spelling and grammar. Install a dictionary to your browser and make sure you use it! Consider installing After The Deadline too for a last check. Twitter is full of journalists, PRs and bloggers, and they can spot bad grammar a mile off.

7) Got a blog or website? Tweet your latest posts (2-3 times a day to catch different time zones). Your followers can then easily access your ‘About Me’ and ‘Hire Me’ pages.

8) Search for hashtags and keywords relevant to your chosen career area, read up and share as much content as you can. Basically, if you want a career in a certain field, you’ll need to prove that you know your stuff and that you’re constantly learning. Consider signing up to an edition of paper.li, which gives you a daily roundup of content related to your Twitter account or keyword.

9) Don’t overshare. Twitter is social, but a potential employer can see what you’re saying, and many employers now do a social media search before inviting candidates to interview. Try to keep your hangover/relationship/bored statuses to Facebook when possible.

10) Try a Twitter job search engine, like TwitJobSearch.com, which can help you find the latest jobs that agencies and employers have tweeted about.