Following Partnership with Parature to Offer Dedicated Customer Service, Rosetta Stone Expands Facebook Retail

Rosetta Stone Inc., a leading provider of technology-based language-learning solutions, is pioneering a new social shopping experience as the first language-learning company to launch a storefront on its Facebook(R) page. This venture will allow the company to provide social commerce to its more than 600,000 Facebook fans.

The Rosetta Stone Store on Facebook reflects both Rosetta Stone’s response to customers’ wants as well as the rapid growth of Facebook commerce toward a full-blown, cutting-edge shopping experience. Rosetta Stone’s Facebook page allows fans to experience the company’s newest language learning solution, Version 4 TOTALe(R), and play a complimentary version of the TOTALe game Picari(TM). The page also features multimedia content such as product videos, customer testimonials and support, reviews and ratings, store finders, special offers, and contests and sweepstakes. While the company will continue to maintain its website presence, this latest brand initiative shows Rosetta Stone’s forward thinking in embracing the growing trend of customizable customer experiences embedded directly on the social networking site.

“Learning a new language is a powerful experience that creates new connections and allows people to successfully integrate into our global community, and no one understands global community better than Facebook,” said Shavanna Miller, Social Media manager at Rosetta Stone. “We feel that our innovative efforts to connect with our customers via Facebook will provide an exciting new way for us to fuel the powerful emotional connections created through language.”

Rosetta Stone’s Facebook retail expansion follows its launch of dedicated customer service on the platform last year through a partnership with Parature for Facebook. With the industry’s first customer-service and support application for the social networking site, Rosetta Stone is able to:

– Provide an immediate and personalized response to customer questions and requests

– Give a face to Rosetta Stone’s dedicated Customer Success team, which is extremely invested in helping customers achieve their goals in language learning

– Integrate the company’s customer-relationship management (CRM) system with Facebook, allowing customers to chat with a Customer Success representative, get answers to constantly evolving FAQs and watch how-to videos designed to help customers solve issues that may arise

In addition to providing this new retail and customer-service presence, Rosetta Stone continues to engage Facebook fans through a variety of contests. Recently, the “More than Words. Stories.” Contest was held on Facebook. Fans and learners submitted text or video stories about their language journeys as they related to one of six themes: perspective, heritage, priorities, possibilities, success and passion. Two lucky winners were chosen by a selection panel, which made its decision based on various criteria, including ratings from the public. Over 100 fans submitted their language journeys, and more than 3,000 people voted for and “Liked” their favorites on Facebook. The Grand Prize winner received $10,000 toward a trip of a lifetime; the Runner-up received $5,000. Currently, Rosetta Stone Facebook fans have the opportunity to enter Rosetta Stone’s Getaway Giveaway sweepstakes. The month-long contest, which started Oct. 28 and runs through Nov. 28, 2011, asks Facebook users to enter their email address for a chance to win a trip giveaway worth $5,000.* By sharing the contest with friends, fans can receive additional entries for each friend who participates.

For a look at the new Rosetta Stone Store on Facebook, please visit facebook.com/RosettaStone.