Compass Icon: Showcase Book's Locations

SmartSymbols offers a Compass icon, it looks like this: (here is the link to a larger subset ).

There are many good ways you can use it - show where your dealers are located, or where your book’s plot is taking place via Google Maps.

But there is another way you can use Compass icon - highlight the neat places where your product is being used. It could be particularly powerful if the location is distant and interesting - it allows your visitor’s mind explore and wander, it adds a completely different aura to your product.


Here is What I Mean
Find out (or if you know this - that’s even better!) if there is an expedition in some exotic location, and one of the explorers is using your product, be it a camera, a jacket or a book. For example: if you make cameras - maybe Discovery’s Blue Planet has been using it in some of their most interesting diving locations?

If you build cars - are they delivering humanitarian supplies somewhere to someone in need? And of course, if you write travel books - what is so great about the places you are writing about, show us some pictures, highlights, historical facts - something - but only when we ask. (That is one of the wonderful things about interactive icons approach )


Interactive Maps
Of course you can embed interactive maps into the Compass icon, Google Maps for example. The neat thing about Google Maps is that you can overlay destination information, such as photographs. Here is an example of a photo set from Carcassonne.

Takeaway
Compass icon can be a strong customer engagement tool if you use it creatively. Yes, you can display dealer locations and retailer outlets where your product is sold. But don’t stop there - use this powerful technology to extract your visitors from mundane minutia of the day and carry them to exotic places, connect them to interesting people and build product associations that last.