Last Wednesday night, I had the opportunity to attend Taste
of PR, the kick-off to the PR conference coming up in a couple of weeks. The
guest speaker for the event was KSL Social Media Director, Natalie Wardel. She
gave some really good tips that I wanted to note that are important for anyone
interested in getting better with business or even personal social media
outlets. She talked about different things that would classify public relations
in the past that included writing and sending press releases as well as calling
and kissing up to media. Public relations now (which I am SO grateful for), are
more about managing your own message. This includes event planning, managing
web content, listening and responding, marketing, blogging and media pitching just
to name a few. This is a chance to have diverse opportunities and bypass the
newsrooms. This Live News Week Instagram photo brought up another discussion on
how social media is starting to be a huge part of our lives. Corporations can
be a trusted voice when social media can live on it’s own 50% of the time. One
of my favorite things she said last night was that social media is the
ingredient and not the solution. Many companies or those not familiar with
social media and what it can do think it’s the end-all. This is the driving
point that will take them where they need to be. Social media is simply a tool
that when combined with other great marketing and promoting effects, can take
businesses or your own personal reputation to the next level. When it comes to
trust and investing in a business, studies have shown that it’s usually through
a friend’s mouth that recommendations are spread. Marketing Sherpa said that
87% trust a friend’s opinion over a critic’s review. Bzzagent, along the same
lines, said that one word-of-mouth conversation has the impact of 200 T.V. ads.
That is huge when it comes to social media and that it’s not just put out by
professionals. WE have the chance to say what we feel and give our own
opinions! Natalie also said that the goal is not to be good at social media but
rather to be good at your job BECAUSE of social media. She gave 10 signs that
let you know you are involved in public relations and the one I connected with
the most was, “You find yourself performing other duties not assigned the first
week of your new job.” I could relate to that because I LOVE doing the
out-of-the-ordinary. Going above and beyond to do what you need to do to help a
business or company be effective. Can't wait for the conference first weekend of March!
I
recently ran across an interesting video that talked about the death of
“traditional media”. This got my mind thinking back to about six years ago when
I first discovered Facebook. At that point, media and marketing were all about
having a high engagement and high reach to anyone who would listen. Now, where
social media has become the center, and if you want to have any affect as a
business or corporation, your status and tweets need to be up to date.
This is where this video came into play for me. I understood the importance of
social media but the way Ernest Barbaric (@ebarbaric), a professional social
media marketing speaker and consultant, speaks about it just makes sense.
In
today’s world, it’s finding that target audience and starting out with lower
engagement and reach that helps the product or business grow. It seems almost
opposite as to what you would want to do but when products are marketed to a
specific group of people (low engagement and reach), that specific group will
share it with those would like the same thing. Another article I read talked
about how it seems that those who create the most visually unappealing and
least user friendly websites are those created by newspapers, TV stations and
radio stations. They are afraid to change with the times. When it comes to
social media, rather than casting all over the net, you work to help consumers find
you. By being effective with a social media plan, when you provide a product or
service that interests people, those same people will find you if you allow yourself
to be found.
From crafty moms to catchy reads, blogs have the capability of sucking any time for something productive into 3
hours later…. you’re still reading. I think we’ve all come to that point where
we wonder what we are doing with our lives as we read about the next celebrity mishap
or newest low-fat cookie recipe. Looking at the top 50 blogs, The
Huffington Post stands as number one. Didn’t realize why until I checked out
what the hype was about and discovered the human mind is attracted to pictures.
Huffington has it laid out where if you want read up on something: great! Find
the picture you want and click. If you don’t, skip down to the next set of
pictures or better yet, select an overall category. If it weren’t for my
self-control that decreases every time I find a new blog, I’d never get
anything done. The Sartorialist blog, a man walks around the city of
Manhattan looking to spot an outfit he likes. He puts it up on his blog, will
maybe place a comment and with over 70,000 viewers a day, it collected a spot
in one of Time’s Top 100 Design Influences. It’s amazing what fads will catch
on and what may start as a small can have a large affect. Stephanie Nielson was
in a tragic plane crash with her husband in 2008 where over 80% of her body was
burned. Being a blogger before brought her some attention but as she started
writing about her experiences of being a wife and mother, and now, a woman
healing with new skin, it caught on. Her ability to look at everything positive
and laugh in every situation is captivating. She has been featured on many talk
shows (not to mention Oprah) and radiates. She is currently writing a book and has won many awards, including . Blogs have the ability to motivation and influence others.
Small businesses sometimes need a guide when it comes to the
social media jungle. I found this article where it highlights eight social
media tips to help small businesses grow. I’m not an entrepreneur or anything,
but someday I hope I can help revamp social media sights for a small or large
business. These tips are great not only for businesses but for any organization
(even when marketing ourselves!).
1.Show the “real you”
It’s good to put up tips or link
to a new blog post but companies and professionals at times will want to see
the real you. What can you bring to our business or better yet, this world?
Also including thought provoking questions like, “How can we encourage America
to become more social media savvy?” help to show your thoughts.
2.Pick one thing and do it really well
I don’t know if I completely agree with this because the whole point of
social media is to market and use all sources possible for information. They
brought up a good point when they said prioritizing resources towards activities
that deliver the most impact is smart (for example Follower wonk). When you
find what network has concentration of target audience, you can focus more on
what networks need more attention.
3.Turn Facebook page into a lead-generating
machine
Collecting names and e-mails to communicate with an ideal audience on a
regular basis puts your business out there. In fact, without a list of
qualified leads, you don’t have a business. This list can grow through
marketing moves on Facebook (iFrames) and other networks.
4.Invest in a great twitter design
There are plenty of people or businesses I have found and follow on
Twitter because of their great design. The fact that they invested the time to
create one shows they mean serious business (no pun intended). One way they
suggested how to market your Twitter account is through following Twitter ads
that market to your niche. Many will click to confirm and be directed to your
page. If they are interested, they will follow back. One company
(@HungerGamesPod) searched a basic @TheHungerGames ID and added over 4,000
followers to his account in less than a month by doing so.
5.Bring company onto video
Adding short videos is one of the number one ways to get to the top of
search results. Customizing channels on you tube adds credibility and increases
the chance of viewers continuing on to the website. When humor and graphics are
involved, views will increase, as well as when it’s three minutes or less. The
shorter, the better.
6.Master video marketing
Learning how video content can
increase exposure in search results is key (through proper tags, titles and
publishing). Video thumbnails have higher attraction than just text. Video can
also highlight a company’s personality.
7.Monitor your clients and prospects
Showing clients you are interested
in them can be done through creating alerts and adding their blogs, creating a
twitter list and also adding a tweetdeck. Adding social connections and
monitoring what clients say and do in social networks helps to serve their
needs and build relationships faster.
8.Give away the secret sauce
When content is displayed on how-top tips and industry secrets, it
creates content that solves customers’ problems. It’s a competitive advantage
where content will rise in search rankings and be shared through many networks
with your business title as tagged.
I thought these tips were all really smart and presented
ideas I had never thought about. When you look at successful businesses, make
sure to look at their social media. It’s a rare occasion when successful
businesses will have only a few networks.
Not gonna lie. Love Facebook. When signing up for it 6 years ago (when you had to be connected with a university to join), I thought it’d be something fun to pass the time. I was wrong. With over 800 million users, Facebook continues to climb the social media ladder offering a way to connect to friends and family, shop and store information, and open up to the world. They’ll have to add more kick to their step however now that Google has created its newest jab at a social media network: Google+. Both sights have the positive and negatives that can entice users to switch or become a part of both.
While looking at the difference between the companies, it helps to see who heads the businesses. Geniuses Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook CEO) and Larry Page (Google CEO) are up front and with a competitive edge, both companies are working hardest at having the best teams with the best technology.
Paul Adams, a social researcher for Google was one of the masterminds to create Google+. He didn’t quite get to interject this idea when Facebook asked him to help design advertisements. Adams reply to this on his blog? “Google values technology, not social science.” Thus the war begins. This is the war of all wars for the future of web technology. Receiving and getting info, communicating, posting and living our lives electronically come down to a user name and password for either or both of these empires.
Google, created in 1996, has organized the world’s info and currently stands at $38 million in revenue. It all started with a search. Now they come to offer more than a search with their new baby, Google+. Within the first 4 months, the network had seen 40 million users sign on. This has been the biggest overtaking since Facebook blew MySpace out of the water (Yes, my MySpace account is nonexistent).
Some of Google+ ‘s top features include:
- a one click picture upload from a mobile device (Facebook can do the same but it’s not an automated feature)
- a clone of Facebook’s like feature (+1)
- circles, a feature where it’s easy to decide who can see posts by separating groups of friends (Facebook has run into problems with privacy and where online sharing is broken, Google+ users can share as they do in the real world)
- hangouts, a video chat through the account where Facebook only has the text chat feature
- sparks, collected info on a select topic in one place through what friends are sharing or from blogs on the internet (not a feature on Facebook)
- huddle, enables group chats (also not on Facebook)
Google’s main goal now is to slow down Facebook and use Google+ to improve maps, search engines and advertisements. Improving You Tube and Gmail, Google’s other clients, will also make their ads more relevant.
Facebook, owner of the world’s identities, lets your friends talk about things they’ve searched (whether through Google or not). Facebook has come out on top with connecting thousands of apps and websites along with investing more money into advertisements. In fact, their ad revenue will grow to 81% this year more than doubling Google’s 34%.
Facebook also has their competitive advantage with:
- the new timeline feature which allows users to express the story of their lives through a digital scrapbook
- deeper connections with social integration with Netflix and/or Spotify
- a hidden stab where four of the 11 top executives hail from Google
- the opportunity in four months to mint millions (an expected $80 billion) when the long-awaited initial offering of going public actually occurs
- seeking for a closer relationship with one of Google’s biggest rivals: apple
- the comment on Google’s fight being a “validation as to how the next five years are going to play out” (a.k.a. we created it first and they are duplicating)
Any nice play today kids? A Stifel Nicolaus analyst, Jordan Rohan thinks not. "It's highly unlikely that either Google or Facebook could grow by the billions that investors expect in the display market without engaging directly and stealing market share from the other." With Google+ coming out, Facebook initiated a lockdown motivating and pushing employees to replicate features of their enemy. Zuckerberg served free food this summer to workers on weekends where Page pushed his team to add features at a quick stride – more than 100 in first 90 days. Page even moved his personal office in with the Google+ team creating one of the largest engineering endeavors they’ve undertaken in their 13-year history.
Google has offered their top engineers and executives more than $10 million in cash and equity if they stay. Their workforce has also received a 10% raise. Even with this, Google’s employees would do better to support their company in valuing that their proposition is different from Facebook; that will compel people to switch accounts or use both. Of the 40 million users on their new site, Google is not certain how many are active in their account. The plus side however is when Facebook makes a mistake next, Google+ will be waiting with arms wide open. Where mobile is the next background for Google, they will find ways to put Google+ in phones.
Being the best will be a fight so may the best company win (seeing most Americans will probably be comfortable with wherever they are at).
I love social media. From keeping in contact and reuniting with friends to being updated on recent news, the benefits of Facebook, Twitter, and other social media outlets are unlimited. What if, however, social media could keep you from being accused of a crime you did not commit?
Rodney Bradford of Harlem, New York was committed of gunpoint robbery on the morning of Oct. 17, 11:49 a.m. to be exact. When the 19-year old Bradford was arrested next day, Facebook became his best friend and alibi.
Arrested for the gun point mugging of Jeremy Dunklebarger and Rolando Perez-Lorenzo, between Bridge and Prospect streets at 11:50 a.m., Bradford argued he was visiting his father at that time, and ironically updating his Facebook status. When Bradford’s defense lawyer, Robert Reuland, told a Brooklyn assistant district attorney, Lindsay Gerdes, about the Facebook entry, the page was reopened to verify the update had been typed from a computer located at 71 West 118th Street in Harlem. When that was confirmed, the charges were dropped.
John Browning, a lawyer and member of the Dallas Bar Association who studies social networking and the law said, “This is the first case that I’m aware of in which a Facebook update has been used as alibi evidence.” Browning is currently writing a book about lawyers and social networking.
Many other cases have been solved or proved evident through Facebook and MySpace accounts including divorce situations and burglary cases. One employee who said he was too sick to work at his desk was found to have been well enough to add numerous blog posts nearly every day. Postings by a sheriff’s deputy on his MySpace page led to his firing for “conduct unbecoming an officer.” Social networking has become a powerful tool for almost any situation involving a crime, questionable event or act.
Bradford’s friends have nicknamed him the Facebook kid and Bradford is now able to continue to attend school instead of prison all because of a status update. Hopefully, none of us will ever have to use our Facebook postings to our advantage in this way.
We often underestimate the power of social media. I find myself amazed at the technology at our fingertips. I remember joining Facebook when you had to be a college student. Now my 10-year-old brother has an account. Even though these social networks can provide great communication and create and maintain relationships, they can also hurt organizations. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and many other networks all have this in common. They can spread good OR bad news to the point of destroying a company’s image.
Country musician Dave Carroll who is a member of the band, Sons of Maxwell, proved this point by an experience he had with United Airlines in July of 2008. Traveling with his Taylor made guitar, Carroll found baggage handlers in the Chicago O’Hare airport ‘throwing’ his $3,500 sentimental instrument that he had owned for over ten years. He immediately spoke to a flight attendant who told him to speak to a lead agent…who could not be found. When talking to a third employee, Carroll was told he signed a waiver, when in fact, he had not and no waiver could explain what was happening outside. Nine months later and after repeated calls to United Airlines, Carroll was eventually told United would not take responsibility for what happened and there would be no more following e-mails.
Carroll only asked for a final settlement of $1,200 (what it cost to repair his guitar) in flight vouchers but was shocked to hear not even that would be given. Carroll’s final reply was that he’d write three songs about his united airlines experience. His estimated goal? To get one million followers to his first song. Much to Carroll’s surprise, “United Breaks Guitars: 1” was posted on YouTube and within three days, had over one million followers. As of August 2009, there are over 5.3 million views to “United Breaks Guitars: 1” and over 290,000 views to the second song, “United Breaks Guitars: 2”. Curve Productions Inc who assisted Carroll in his attempt, said to just search "United Breaks Guitars" on Google and you will find over one hundred blogs and pages commenting on the song.
According to Carroll’s website the response has been incredible. He thanks United and said, “they’ve given me a creative outlet that has brought people together from around the world.” According to numerous sources, United lost roughly $180 million due to falling stock three days following the “United Breaks Guitars: 1” posting. Based on United’s Twitter page, there are only 12 tweets posted in mid July where they claim that it had ‘struck a chord w/us and we’ve contacted him directly to make it right.’ They also expressed their apologies and plans to use the video for training purposes.
Carroll released a settlement statement saying that United had ‘generously but late’ offered some compensation. He said that he’d be very happy to see United give that money to a charity of their choice. United announced July 10 on Twitter, “Wud like Dave 2 sing a happy tune—as asked we gave 3K to Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz 4 music education 4 kids.” However, there was no information found on a donation from the Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz website to my knowledge. There is also not a single ounce of information about the situation on United’s website.
Correlation to public relations based on what happened? Simply put, United Airlines should have put Carroll first because after all, maintaining good relationships with clients should be a priority. United could have saved a lot of trouble by responding to Carroll quickly but instead, lost almost $2 million because of bad communication and reasoning. Not only did they refuse to compensate for his guitar, they also did not respond officially until 9 months after what happened.
When there is a problem within an organization, as a public relations specialist, you fix it. Don’t ask why or how, just do it. A $1,200 loss in comparison to a $180 million loss is a pretty big jump. The result of hoping Carroll would just forget and move on was a bad choice. Carroll said it best himself when he said ‘the system is designed to frustrate affected customers into giving up their claims’ and that ‘United is good at it.’
Not only has the airline been hurt, but the women who assisted Carroll in his final debate has a reputation that will affect her for the rest of her professional life. A Ms.Irlweg is described by Carroll and even though his settling statement claims that song number 2 will give her a break with a better explanation, the damage was already done by the first video. There was no information that I could find about the current state of her job, but I wouldn’t doubt United Airlines’ decision to find a new director or PR specialist over customer complaints. I hope United has learned their lesson and will positively take every customer claim or complaint seriously. For the company themselves, the ending result could have a positive effect for the future of the company. They did mention that the videos would be used in training new employees. I wonder how that will go over.
If something does happen where an organization gets in trouble, there should be an immediate reaction. Even when Carroll threatened to create the songs, United reacted as if they’d never talked to him in the first place. Good public relations should have settled his complaints after the first protest or even after the threat of posting the now famous “United Breaks Guitars” hits. The PR of United Airlines should now focus on bringing their name back into the spotlight or back period. The loss of stocks expresses that enough. After time, a company or organization’s name can reclaim what they offer but will unfortunately always have their mistakes on record. United will hopefully be able to mask this mistake.
Social media is out there. It’s alive and kicking. Even though it may seem like nothing good or bad can come from a tweet on Twitter, a status update on Facebook, or even a music video post on YouTube, David Carroll proves it can. Now not only Americans but Canadians and possibly everyone around the world know to take precautions when choosing whether or not to fly with United Airlines. As Carroll says it best, "I should have flown with someone else or gone by car because united breaks guitars."
