I’m excited to publish a new segment of our “Nuts & Bolts of Social Media” video series. In this interview, SAS’ Lori Schafer talks briefly with Michelle Thomas and Jaimee Newberry from Zappos. Michelle, a Senior Brand Marketing Manager, and Jaimee, a Product Manager & UI Designer, both offer up unique insights as they discuss:

• The revered Zappos culture, including the concept of their “culture book”
• What the Zappos ‘wow factor’ means for customer service
• What makes them so successful in social media
• The new Zappos iPad application (with 10,000 downloads in the first week!)
• The fun things Zappos does as a company
• And more…

Michelle has a quote in this video that I really love. While talking about building open and honest relationships with customers, she says “Be real, and you have nothing to fear.” I couldn’t agree more.

As a side note, Lori Schafer and Bernie Brennan co-authored Branded! How Retailers Engage Consumers with Social Media and Mobility. Branded! reviews a number of retailers, including Zappos, who have embraced the "culture to consumer" approach to their business and fully leveraged the potential of social media and mobility. If you like these stories – be sure to check out the book.

We hope you enjoy the video!