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December 3, 2009 | Melissa Eggert

‘Tis the Season to be Social

It’s officially the holiday season, and this year retailers are taking the anticipated shopping frenzy to a whole new level. With the rapid growth of social media in the past year, it’s no surprise that Facebook and Twitter have taken the foreground in helping stores promote their gift-worthy goods. Shop.org reported that nearly half of retailers stated they would increase their involvement with social media for the holidays.

The numbers reported for Black Friday and the new Cyber Monday proved that their involvement is paying off. Black Friday, the largest shopping day of the year, brought $595 million in online sales, up 11% from last year. And Cyber Monday, a new term for the start of the online shopping season following a long Thanksgiving weekend, increased sales by 13.7% from 2008.

Retailers recognize the importance of the online conversation, seeing a positive correlation between their participation and profit. And Twitter is the perfect place to announce sales, hot items, contests, and ongoing promotions. Why? Because it gets the message across quickly in the simplest form to the largest audience possible.

Some Black Friday and Cyber Monday examples:

Best Buy’s TwelpForce , which includes 2,500 of Best Buy’s employees in an online question and answer session with customers, was available around the clock for the weekend.
Toys R Us created its own Black Friday tab on its Facebook fan page, showcasing its Black Friday deals on toys.
Gap tweeted where its “Cheer Squad” would be handing out free merchandise in New York City.
The Washington Post created a “Black Friday Sales Twitter Aggregator,” which posted tweets of popular brands by category.
@BlackFriday, @BlackFridayWeb, @BlackFridayList, and dozens of other Twitter handles were created solely to tweet on the best bargains.

Social media will continue to be an integral part of the holiday season, with ongoing campaigns advertising month-long specials, custom gift idea pages, and printable coupons. Retailers speculate another jump in online traffic the few days before free shipping or rush shipping on merchandise ends. So, will you be a social shopper this holiday season?

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October 19, 2009 | Lisa Wieting

Life on the T-List – Social Media Breeds New Generation of “Celebrities”

As newsrooms shrink, online media is growing as a premiere resource. Twitter, blogs, MySpace and Facebook have emerged as legitimate venues to obtain information and build a brand. Personalities such as Tila Tequila and Perez Hilton have become household names first because of online and social media leading to traditional media exposure later. So what are a few lessons we can take from those on the “T-List?”

Transparency is critical –For the first time, the average person has direct contact with a celebrity, personality, influencer, etc. Twitter users have come to demand authenticity and celebrities that are the most successful “Tweeters” (Ashton Kutcher, Pete Wentz) manage their own accounts. While it may not all be positive attention, people appreciate the opportunity to personally connect. People want honesty, not canned statements. Social media is evolving that expectation.
Time is of the essence – When Michael Jackson passed away, his death was reported on Twitter, Facebook and blogs far before any traditional media source reported his death. By the time information was posted on a news site or broadcast on air, word had spread like wildfire through the online and social media channels making traditional sources appear irrelevant. Instead of going to CNN’s website for “breaking news” people were following threads on Twitter and visiting entertainment blogs for true up-to-the-minute information. Reaction times are nearly extinct with the birth of social media.
Move over A-List – Big names such as Julia Roberts, Cameran Diaz and Brad Pitt all command millions of dollars for a movie role but names such as Heidi Montag, Perez Hilton and Audrina Patridge are just as well known due to social media. “A-Listers” are losing their pull at the box office while online and social media personalities continue to rise. You don’t have to be the biggest or most recognized to be relevant.

For a fun look at how Social Media is changing our lives, check out “Web Site Story”:
http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1913584

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October 9, 2009 | Robin Lybarger

Honesty Can Be The Best Virtue

With the onslaught of communication channels people expect “transparency”. While I am not a big fan of this buzzword, I think the idea it conveys is here to stay. Put simply, today’s consumers demand companies and individuals to be open and honest. If a company or celebrity tries to hide from an issue, it will certainly spiral out of control. Please note, that if a situation is legal in nature other rules apply.

Now, take the recent situation with David Letterman. Okay, I definitely do not condone his actions of infidelity, but the way he handled the situation publicly was a good example of how to deal with a crisis situation. It was obviously painful to address his infidelity on air honestly and openly, but it squashed rumors and allowed him to own up to what he had done and whom he hurt. A very humbling experience indeed. In my opinion, the fact his fans heard the confession firsthand will certainly bode well for him.

With nearly two decades in the public relations business, I have always counseled my clients to get in front of a crisis. It is important to communicate YOUR message as the conversation will go on with or without you. This is an approach even more important in a world that includes instant communication tools – such as Twitter and Facebook.

At the end of the day, it is only human to respect and appreciate when people are open and honest. I remain amazed at how many companies are still afraid they will lose control if they say too much. Let’s be honest, in most situations if don’t speak up you will lose even more control!

As the Harvard Business blog says, Letterman’s ability to manage the crisis on his own terms helped him contain the damage.

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October 9, 2009 | Lisa Wieting

Can Twitter Kill the Sidekick?

I am not a T-Mobile client and really have never paid attention to the differences between carriers…until today. I ran across a post from a prominent entertainment blogger who reports that:

“T-Mobile’s service for their Sidekicks went down worldwide a week ago and many many many users STILL have not been able to access their contacts. Since then, T-Mobile’s customer service and communication with their customers has SUCKED. It’s pathetic, disgusting and insulting! To add insult to injury, the ONLY thing T-Mobile is offering their customers, whom they obviously don’t value or respect, is one month of free data service.”

From there, the blogger introduced the Twitter topic: #TmobileStillSucks

For the past 20 minutes I have been following the above hash-tag (which could be on its way to becoming a trending topic). Here is a sample of what is currently being said on Twitter:

“SOO glad I canceled t-mobile before this drama!! worst service ever #TmobileStillSucks”

“(Expletive) T-Mobile. I’m so sick of their awful customer service. #TmobileStillSucks”

“I hope #TmobileStillSucks will be a trending topic. LOL”

The last post from @TMobile_USA was on October 6:

“Due to Sidekick data outage, Sidekick cust. will receive a 1 mo credit for data service. See www.t-mobile.com/sidekick”

The e-tailing group inc. conducted a recent survey about social commerce and found that 74% of online shoppers buying decisions are influenced by others’ opinions and product recommendations from friends are twice as influential as product recommendations from merchants. This does not bode well for T-Mobile.

The company clearly did not have an online crisis communications plan prepared prior to the outage situation. While a huge inconvenience for its customers, the situation could have been addressed more strategically by doing the following things:

Immediately own up to the situation so that the information is coming from you first versus the “Twitterverse” and online world. It shows personal accountability and is the only way to take some sort of control.

Provide continual updates about what is being done to alleviate the situation. T-Mobile has not posted anything on Twitter since October 6 (three days ago) and the post merely offered users a one month data service credit.

Is anyone at T-Mobile monitoring what is happening online? Twitter is a great customer service tool if you actually use it. Someone at T-Mobile should be devoting his or her time towards monitoring what is being said online and responding.

People online are talking about the compensation offered – one month credit for data service – and they feel it does not address the inconvenience and frustration of the problem. This is a great opportunity for T-Mobile to listen to their customers and use that information to re-evaluate their strategy, reach out to bloggers and “Tweeters” and turn the conversations into something more positive.

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