Crisis management doesn’t operate on an eight to five schedule and it never has. Before social networks existed, as we know them today, there were several strategies one could take when dealing with a crisis. “No comment” was often seen as the best way to stall a journalist as the PR team crawled into the war room to brainstorm as fast as they could to reach some kind of ‘official comment’ and ‘long term strategy.’
Today this kind of crisis management can not, and does not, compete with the ferocious speed and reputation-wrecker that is known as ‘The Tweet.’ What you spend years in building, 140 characters can knock down within hours, even minutes. As Publicists we must rethink the trade.
Crisis Management on Twitter
I’ve written articles on why you should be on Twitter and suggested several strategies on account management. What these articles all stress is that to survive in the social media realm you have to start from a position of trust. Companies that set up a Twitter account as a crisis occurs have minimal influence and power because they haven’t gained this trust.
H&M - Case Study
When the New York Times broke a story about clothes retailer H&M cutting large amounts of unsold clothing, making them unwearable, the organization used the “no comment” strategy to deal with the situation. Sorry boys, that doesn’t cut it anymore.
When the New York Times broke a story about clothes retailer H&M cutting large amounts of unsold clothing, making them unwearable, the organization used the “no comment” strategy to deal with the situation. Sorry boys, that doesn’t cut it anymore.
“Astute Tweeters picked up their error in crisis management and suddenly H&M found itself in trouble, as this quote from a Technorati blog explains:
Tweets lashed out at H&M for what people saw as gross lack of charity in not donating the items. Others keyed in on the environmental faux pas of throwing useable clothes in the garbage. And almost all marvelled at how the retailer could be so callous to the obvious financial hardships people faced in the current economy. It became a firestorm.” (Source: Bernstein)
When H&M finally issued a statement, the damage was done.
Eurostar - Case Study
In 2009 Eurostar found one of its high-speed trains, full of paying customers, stuck deep inside the 31.6-mile tunnel between London and Paris. Thousands of passengers were stranded on other trains needing access to that same tunnel enroute to various destinations. What was being done to fix the situation? How long would it take to fix?
With no word from Eurostar the Twitter community was ablaze with complaints at a rate of nearly one tweet per minute. If Eurostar had its act together they only had to use their Twitter account to connect with their customers, provide them with timely updates on what they were doing to resolve the problem, and at the very least customers would feel that their voices were being heard.
As it happens there was no official Eurostar Twitter ID in place for crisis management. Journalists and passengers seeking real time information on the crisis heard no official Eurostar response. No updates. No apology. Silence.
Innovative Beverage Group Holidings Inc - Case Study
In comparison, Innovative Beverage Group Holdings Inc., whose website crashed after a surge in traffic following a segment on Fox News, notified consumers on its Twitter feed that it was working to resolve the problem. The company also did a search on Twitter for mentions of the site crash so it could respond with tweets describing its repair efforts.
"Twitter gave us an up-to-the-minute ability to take what would normally be a crisis situation and make it just another event," says Mr. Bianchi. "You can't do that with a 1-800-number." (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Over the weekend many people became acquainted with the above photo for the first time. Although a hoax, the picture soon became a PR problem for McDonalds. 'Seriously McDonalds' began to trend on Twitter as people began to re-tweet the offensive photo.
To McDonald's credit they didn't ignore the hoax, jumped on their Twitter account, and issued an official response:
So why does any of this matter to you and your company?
Eurostar is a multimillion-dollar company and it didn’t have a Twitter account set in place ready to go. McDonald's is a gigantic corporation, and even it couldn't stop a reputation-damaging meme from spreading like wildfire. Just imagine how hard it is for the average company.
Fail to prepare and you prepare to fail. Twitter is growing, that there is no denying. There are even murmurs amongst the blogs that Twitter could even overtake the mighty Facebook in years to come. That remains to be seen. But what is clear is you will need to get a Twitter strategy in place before you need it. Playing 'catch-up' won't cut it.
Leia Mais…
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
How To Create Twitter Lists
Categorizing your Twitter followers into lists takes little effort yet the benefits are ten fold. So why haven't you started?! For me the answer was simple, I just never knew how! Having worked with many clients, (from advising all the way to full content creation) I soon discovered that arranging followers into manageable lists helped focus my activities.
Here follows a step by step guide on how to create lists, both public and private.
Getting Started - Lists
Once you have logged into your Twitter account you will see the Lists option just below the 'What’s happening?' box (where you usually type your Tweets.)
Simply click on the List option and you should see the following:
Once you click on the Create a list option a window will pop up similar to the one below:
Begin by typing the name of your list e.g., family, social media experts, clients, friends etc into the List name box.
However, a word of warning: The name used in List name will become your list’s URL e.g., twitter.com/username/Family
Even more importantly you will be asked if you want your list to be public or private. This is equally important.
What's the difference between public lists and private lists?
Public Lists – These lists can be seen by anyone and anyone can follow them. For example, public lists are ideal for recommended follows.
Private Lists – When Twitter says private, they mean private. Only the creator of private lists will be able to see or subscribe to them. Why would you do this I ask you cry…this list could be used to monitor your competitors activities on Twitter...and you wouldn't want them know to know this now would you?
So this is part one of Twitter Lists. Soon I will blog about the way you can utilize these lists to increase your productivity on Twitter.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Social Media - Being Genuine is Key
We all know the stereotypical image of the publicist; a bullying, Blackberry-obsessed, cut-throat, 'kill their own mother to get an article on the front page of The New York Times' screaming mess. We’ve created the monsters and myths and now we have to live with the consequences. It's not pretty.
But do not despair publicists for there is still hope for us all! Now is the time to not only rebrand ourselves, but to really change the way we reach out to the people! No more jargon to clients about Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare blah blah blah! No, it is ideas, not technology that we must embrace.
But do not despair publicists for there is still hope for us all! Now is the time to not only rebrand ourselves, but to really change the way we reach out to the people! No more jargon to clients about Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare blah blah blah! No, it is ideas, not technology that we must embrace.
Consumers, smarter than ever, can smell bull from a mile away – you know that eye catching headline, the one you spent ages getting the key words all lined up and ready to go, well that smelt the worst.
Guarded, mistrustful, and much much MUCH more intelligent than people dared give them credit for in past, consumers get dizzy from all the spin that's thrown at them. In short, they assume deception.
Guarded, mistrustful, and much much MUCH more intelligent than people dared give them credit for in past, consumers get dizzy from all the spin that's thrown at them. In short, they assume deception.
So what can we do?
Being relatively new to this PR business (around 5+ years now) I consider myself somewhat of a New Age publicist. Quite simply I live and I die by these three criteria:
2) Thinking like a consumer.
3) Being as creative as I can whilst monitoring my competitors.
1) Listen.
Gone are the days when publicists dictated reality. We don't control the news anymore, if we ever did. You want to claim that your client's product is the best in the world, well it damned well better be. If it isn’t then there's a wealth of customers on Facebook, Twitter, Blogs and Forums claiming otherwise. I know who I believe.
If your claims don't match what’s being said on the web (aka the reality) then mistrust between company and product increases even more. This makes your job, as a publicist, a million times harder. Listen to your target audience before you say a thing. There are a wealth of monitoring tools out there, most free, so there are no excuses. If a customer voices their dislike just acknowledge it! Trust me, ignoring a negative comment does not stop them from existing. Also, if you take one thing away from this blog entry promise me one thing....you will never delete a negative comment from your Facebook page. This is social media suicide. I'm speaking from experience...hey, we all had to learn sometime!
2) Think like a consumer (this is easy, you are one).
Do you know why I consider myself a good social media advisor? Easy - I use social media sites 24/7 just like the consumer I am. Sure we are not all the same, but I feel like I know certain benchmarks that work.
Example of thinking like a consumer:
If a client asks me to create a Facebook page for them I only have to ask myself, “why would I add your page and what do I gain from doing so?” If I can’t find an answer then that raises some serious concerns. Does the client have the willingness to pull some resources together e.g., money, manpower, time for meetings etc to provide valuable content to it's fans? Social media, despite the myth, is not cheap...time is money my friends.
So what am I trying to say? Well, I don’t ‘like’ a page because I like a brand; I ‘like’ a page as I gain something valuable from doing so e.g., exclusive information only available to fans, exclusive coupons, latest deals, insider information etc. Always think like a consumer and your content has a better chance of gaining some coveted ROI (I will be posting about ROI in the next few months).
3) Be creative (oh, and monitor your competitors).
And so we reach the final part of my philosophy. Be creative and monitor/learn from your competitors. I’m on Twitter and Facebook Monday – Sunday. It’s hard, frustrating and time-consuming work (yes I know it’s a shock…social media is not easy), but the more you put in, the more you get out.
Read every article and book you can get your hands on…and don't be afraid to experiment. We are all learning here. I’ve made mistakes but I’ve also had incredible successes. The world is moving so fast that we, as professionals, have to adapt to the latest technologies and develop our skills from day-to-day.
Recommended Reading:
Final Thoughts
We now have a wealth of case studies and successful campaigns. Not all have worked, but we can always learn something, even from failures.
I will now leave you with one of the most creative examples of social media I think I have ever seen. It incorporates all of my criteria; Listening, thinking like a consumer and being creative (actually, being very brave.)
“After ranking last in a consumer preferences survey of national chains in 2009, Domino’s Pizza launched its humility-filled Domino’s Pizza Turnaround campaign, which featured consumers hating on the product. Consumers complained that Domino’s Pizza crust tasted like cardboard and its sauce tasted like ketchup, among other pitfalls. Domino’s listened and its chefs got to work, reinventing a “new pizza.” (Mashable)
Leia Mais…
The Importance of Twitter Lists
It won’t take long, as you sift through the wealth of articles on Twitter, to realize that this 5-year-old company is fast becoming a powerhouse for news syndication, customer service and brand building. When the entire world is tweeting about a government assassination before the President has even confirmed the news…well, it speaks volumes.
We’ve come to understand the importance of the #Hashtag over the years and are finally beginning to compile a good set of ‘guidelines and best practices’ (which we all know will continue to evolve) but there is still one important organizational tool that appears to be overlooked – lists.
Twitter lists became available in 2009 allowing users to organize their feeds into groups. Sure it isn’t the most exciting feature available but if used correctly it can act as an invaluable tool for streamlining your contacts and day-to-day activities on Twitter.
“…you can create a list that groups together people for whatever reason (the members of your family, for example), and then you can get a snapshot of the things those users are saying by viewing that list’s page, which includes a complete tweet stream for everyone on the list.”
Why List Building is important
Twitter, like any other social network, thrives on the community building aspect. As a business, you really should be segregating your audience into various communities e.g. partners, journalists and customers. If you want to know what your consumers are thinking, and you don’t want to read through the hundreds of updates from CEO’s, marketing teams or the ever increasing ‘bots,’ then tomorrow’s post is for you.
In short, Twitter lists provide you with a finer level of control over your followers. This way you will never miss a compliment, question or, we hate to bring them up, complaints.
Come back tomorrow for a step-by-step guide on how to create lists in Twitter.
Leia Mais…
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
How To Use Twitter - The Pitfalls
2011
If you take one thing away from this article, please let it be:
I’m guessing most of you read about Chrysler’s little misshape on their Twitter account @ChryslerAutos. If you didn’t you can check it out HERE and get up to speed.
Now Chrysler isn’t the only big brand to make a mistake on Twitter. These ‘mistakes’ are happening all of the time and many are much more difficult to resolve than with a simple, “Oh, urm…our account got hacked.”
Looking into these occurrences I began to question what strategies, if any, these companies have in place regarding their public persona across Social Networks. I was being forced to ask myself a very important question – Whom should you trust with your Social Marketing? Who should steer the ship? Who should be Tweeting?
Once a Tweet is sent it is out there (forever if someone takes a screen grab as evidence). That Tweet serves as a HTML coded monument to your fleeting thought, sudden passion or, in some instances, your sudden rage. I’ve been both shocked and amused by some of the big mess-ups from major brands on Twitter and it just goes to show that, although appearing an easy/cheap route to reach your client base, Twitter is a very very difficult discipline.
The funniest example I could find (for those not involved anyway) was by one AT&T customer service representative that appeared to ‘go rouge’ on her employers. Although coming from her own personal Twitter account, Rachael Pracht decided to reply to a journalist regarding an article he had written regarding AT&T’s service. She took offence responded over Twitter:
“This is bullsh*t, I am an AT&T customer care rep & if I credit every crazy person who called in I’d get fired.”
Sadly Rachael bit off a little more than she could chew and Siegler decided to screen grab her Tweets and post a full article on the popular website techcrunch.com. Oops Rachael.
So before you give the Twitter account to the tea boy remember that people are actually listening to what ‘you’ have to say. Once a mess is created it is there and can become a really big headache to cleanup. Just as those loose lips could sink ships back in 1944 carless Tweeting can damage your Brand Reputation in 2011.
So what guidelines would we suggest?
1) Do not Tweet anything you would not say directly, face to face, to the person.
2) Ask yourself, “Am I happy for all my followers to read what I am about to say?”
3) Double-check your tweets! (This simple rule can avoid a multitude of sins.)
So next time you sit down to discuss your Twitter strategy please think carefully. Who do you trust to be the voice of your company? In 2011 that voice is active and influential to your brand’s reputation 24/7.
In Conclusion:
Have some guidelines in place. If the person/s in control of your Twitter account also have a personal account make it plain that neither should meet…EVER. Or be linked…EVER. Caution & Common Sense is the mantra.
Leia Mais…
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Social Marketing - Do I Need To Be On Twitter? Part III
For the past two days we've been answering the question, "Does my business need to be on Twitter?"
To recap, we've already uncovered two things to think about before we answer this question:
1) Is your audience there?
2) What do you want to achieve?
Now we look towards a more pragmatic issue, "Do you have the time to interact?"
3) Do you have the time to interact?
If you don’t have the time to answer a direct tweet, please get off Twitter (I’m sorry but this is something I feel very strongly about). If you schedule tweets that offer nothing to your audience, please get off Twitter. If you want to ignore a complaint on Twitter because you don’t want to ‘get into it,’ please get off Twitter. If you want to shoot out twenty Tweets a day with no interaction, please get off Twitter.
There are no hard and fast rules on how much time you should spend tweeting. Many Celebrities will Tweet once a week, sometimes less, and still achieve their goals. There is however a general consensus that interaction should score high on your list of do’s and don’ts. Most of us are on Twitter to achieve openness, a better customer experience, to resolve issues. This takes time, effort and true interaction.
An example of why you should interact? It is all very well sending special offers out into the Twitterverse, but if you don’t answer a query regarding the offer then you’ve wasted your time. This is not a one-way street - INTERACT!
4) Are you prepared to listen to your audience?
If we don’t listen effectively then we can’t interact effectively. Please remember - This is Social Media, not Tech Media.
People follow Brands on Twitter for personal gain e.g., for latest news, deals, to communicate their experiences and to voice their satisfaction/grievances. As the voice of your company/brand on Twitter you better be ready to listen or your going to fail miserably. Use the tools out there to monitor what people are saying about you and react accordingly. If someone is complaining about your service make sure you try and resolve the issue and learn from it. If you don’t show that you are listening then your customers are going to feel like they are talking to a brick wall. This is not good and renders your time on Twitter worthless. Listen - Learn - Adapt.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Social Marketing - Do I Need To Be On Twitter? Part II
Yesterday we asked the question, "Do I need to be on Twitter?" Checking that our audience is actually there, we now ask ourselves "what do we want to achieve?"
So lets say you own a dry cleaning service. You’ve found your audience is active on Twitter. Why on earth would they follow you on Twitter? What do you want to achieve?
Scenario 1
You want your Dry Cleaning service to appear current and tech-savvy for that competitive edge and you’ve been told that your company will implode if you don’t have a Twitter Account. You start your account; begin adding as many people as possible and start shooting out Tweets, most probably along the lines of:
“Come to our Dry Cleaning business”
“Visit our Dry Cleaning business”
“HEY, WE ARE A DRY CLEANING BUSINESS SPEND YOUR MONEY WITH US”
The main offenders of these types of tweets, from my experience, are bands (although it’s more about their latest album than their dry cleaning business…obviously).
Scenario 2
Your Dry Cleaning service is looking to promote exclusive deals and coupons for your customers (OK, I’m intrigued). You respond to direct messages from your followers to provide a better customer experience (OK, so you are real). You will openly interact with a Twitter follower regarding a complaint (OK, so this is a new forum for customer relations and satisfaction).
Scenario 2 shows exactly what you want to achieve – more customers, and satisfied ones.
Conclusion: Make sure you know what it is you want to achieve. Once you have your objective you can make an informed decision on whether or not Twitter will reach these objectives. If you don't believe you can reach your objectives by using Twitter...then don't use it.
Examples of companies that have clearly asked themselves what it is they want to achieve:
Conclusion: Make sure you know what it is you want to achieve. Once you have your objective you can make an informed decision on whether or not Twitter will reach these objectives. If you don't believe you can reach your objectives by using Twitter...then don't use it.
Examples of companies that have clearly asked themselves what it is they want to achieve:
JetBlue Airways – JetBlue provides their followers with the latest updates on in-flight services, new travel routes, fare sales and even answer questions regarding their travel services.
TrackThis – TrackThis provides their followers the ability to track any packages sent through mailers such as UPS, FEDEX and USPS.
Leia Mais…
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Social Marketing - Do I Need To Be On Twitter? Part I
“Oh you MUST get on Twitter. Everyone is!”
The above declaration, especially in light of Charlie Sheen’s rapid rise on the platform, does appear to hold some truth. Celebrities are being paid to recommend products; ‘trends’ reveal consumer demands and even revolutions have been coordinated on the platform. It truly does appear to be ‘the age of the micro blog.’
But let me ask you this, “As a business, do you need to be on Twitter?”
With more and more blogs writing about the do’s and don’ts of Social Marketing it can feel that, for your brand/product to have any chance of survival in a rapidly changing landscape, you must have a Facebook Page, Facebook Group, Twitter Account, Blog, YouTube Channel, Foursquare Account, and a MySpace account…or is it delete your MySpace account? The jury is still out on that one.
So what is Twitter?
According to Wikipedia, “Twitter is a social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author's profile page and delivered to the author's subscribers who are known as followers.”
This definition, although factually true, doesn’t explain Twitter’s pragmatic function. For businesses, the beauty of Twitter is its immediacy, search ability and transparency. Conversations are happening on Twitter, and some of them can make or break you.
“So I do have to be on Twitter then?”
Well yes…and maybe no. Before you start registering your account and begin tweeting ask yourself some very important questions:
2) What do you want to achieve?
3) Do you have the time to interact?
4) Are you prepared to listen to what your audience has to say?
1) Is your audience there?
We have coordinated many successful campaigns over Twitter and some, as the platform was developing into what it is today, not so successful. In the early days we were learning just like everyone else but through analysis of our results it was clear why ROI just wasn’t there; because the audience just wasn’t there.
It doesn’t matter how effective you are at constructing the perfect tweet, if no one reads it, you’ve wasted your time. Clients who see a massive ROI on their Facebook page might not see any positive results coming from Twitter. That’s why it is always best practice to ensure your target audience is using Twitter first, especially since Twitter can consume so much of your time (more on that tomorrow).
Leia Mais…
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
The Power of 'The Brand'
How is your Brand Identity doing in 2011? Have you researched your product's and customer service reputation on Google lately? Have you read the posts on your Facebook wall? What does the Twitterverse have to say about you?
With the rise of Social Networks like Facebook and Twitter, 'brand identity' is becoming easier to track (albiet with a little organization and the right tools) but ever more difficult to control.
When people see your brand what do they associate with it? Is it your downfall, “Oh wait, if it’s from them, I want nothing to do with it?” Or does it represent the good you do and the quality you provide? Are people reminded of your credibility and want to read more, or are they turned off?
Once branded, it is extremely difficult to remove the association of that mark (although not impossible - look at Dell Computers as a great example of a business successfully changing their negative Brand Identity).
If your reputation is bad enough, the negative recognition will create an emotional connection to your brand that is so strong that your potential client or customer will never come near you again when they see that mark. But if your Brand Identity is reputable, verified by those who should know, you may just have raised the flag of favor upon what you do; a flag that will call people to action in support of your company or cause wherever they see it.
One of the best examples of a positive Brand Identity is of course Apple. Jon Stewart's latest piece on Verizon's announcement, that it will finally carry the iPhone, speaks volumes. In short - "I know my iPhone wont work correctly, but I want it anyway." That is some serious Brand Power.
UPDATE, January 19, 2011: Apple reported record-breaking earnings, with revenue of more than $26 billion for its fiscal first quarter. During the quarter, Apple sold 7.3 million iPads, 16.2 million iPhones, 4.1 million Macs and 19 million iPods.
Who do you think has a great Brand Identity and why?
With the rise of Social Networks like Facebook and Twitter, 'brand identity' is becoming easier to track (albiet with a little organization and the right tools) but ever more difficult to control.
When people see your brand what do they associate with it? Is it your downfall, “Oh wait, if it’s from them, I want nothing to do with it?” Or does it represent the good you do and the quality you provide? Are people reminded of your credibility and want to read more, or are they turned off?
Once branded, it is extremely difficult to remove the association of that mark (although not impossible - look at Dell Computers as a great example of a business successfully changing their negative Brand Identity).
If your reputation is bad enough, the negative recognition will create an emotional connection to your brand that is so strong that your potential client or customer will never come near you again when they see that mark. But if your Brand Identity is reputable, verified by those who should know, you may just have raised the flag of favor upon what you do; a flag that will call people to action in support of your company or cause wherever they see it.
One of the best examples of a positive Brand Identity is of course Apple. Jon Stewart's latest piece on Verizon's announcement, that it will finally carry the iPhone, speaks volumes. In short - "I know my iPhone wont work correctly, but I want it anyway." That is some serious Brand Power.
UPDATE, January 19, 2011: Apple reported record-breaking earnings, with revenue of more than $26 billion for its fiscal first quarter. During the quarter, Apple sold 7.3 million iPads, 16.2 million iPhones, 4.1 million Macs and 19 million iPods.
Who do you think has a great Brand Identity and why?
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