Social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace have become the party lines of this young century. They are inviting and intriguing and a powerful communication tool. Learning how to use them wisely for marketing can increase your business profile.

New York Times’ AllBusiness.comPublished: December 24, 2008

The Power of Less

Social Media StrategyIt is not an answer, it is a journey in relation management

Two-way Symmetric Model

A model of public relations that emphasizes the profession as a system of managing relationships between organizations and individuals and their many publics, internal and external.

Emphasis is on building mutual understanding, trust and relationships.

Two-way Symmetric Model“Although conceptually the 2-way symmetric model of public relations is the ideal, it's not usually the practice. PR people like to be in control and get messages out and see the messages resonate and the audience respond accordingly… The new [social] media, Web 2.0, is disrupting everything. Web 2.0 is not just adding to the communication mix. It requires a completely new way of thinking.”

Peter Debreceny, chair of the Institute for Public Relations Board of Trustees

Two-way Symmetric ModelToo much control can backfire when the public has access to information.

2006, the public relations firm Edelman and their client Wal-Mart were publicly lambasted for creating a blog about the experiences of a couple travel in their RV and writing about their wonderful experiences and happy encounters with Wal-Mart employees.

2004, CBS anchor steps down following controversy of a purported 1970s era document, criticizing George W. Bush’s Alabama Guard service, was shown to be a forgery by a blogger.

Two-way Symmetric Model Social media now requires organizations and PR professionals to engage in a two-way conversation or risk being left on the sidelines while the “public” controls the communication. Web 2.0 gives people the tools to access and publish content quickly and inexpensively like never before. Organizations have had their reputations and brands tarnished because of this online conversation.

Ex. Comcast

Comcast’s LessonIn 2006, a YouTube video was posted of a Comcast technician sleeping for an hour at a customer’s home while he was placed on hold. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvVp7b5gzqU

Dissatisfied customers created a website, http://comcastmustdie.com/ and blog, http://comcastmustdie.blogspot.com/

And the conversation spreads to the blogosphere, “PR Nightmare: "Comcast Must Die" Blog Unifies Angry Customers,”http://www.livingstonbuzz.com/2007/12/06/pr-nightmare-comcast-must-die-blog-unifies-angry-customers/

An integrated, on going social media strategy can help develop and maintain a healthy organization / public relationship.

MonitorListen

Respond

MonitorThere are various tools, both free and paid, to search for online mentions of your organization.

Google, http://www.google.com Google Alerts, http://www.google.com/alertsTweetDeck, http://www.tweetdeck.com/Trackle, http://www.trackle.com/search/Socialmention, http://socialmention.com/

Just remember, your competitor is following your online mentions as well.

Monitor: Comcast’s LessonBy monitoring the comments posted on blogs, emails, tweeter, etc. Comcast was able to begin addressing the negative feedback it was receiving.

Though it takes them about three years to begin to rebuild there tarnished image.

ComcastMustDie.comSept. 7th, 2009

Dear Friend and/or Fellow Traveler,

ComcastMustDie.com has now evolved. This is partly because we have declared victory against Comcast, a vast, greedy, blundering, tone-deaf corporate colossus which, in less than two short years, has finally seen the light.

But tone deaf no more.

As both The New York Times and Washington Post have reported, Comcast has heard our angry voices and taken concrete steps in the process of putting customers first. Meantime, it has used ComcastMustDie and now, Customer-Circus.com to specifically resolve many hundreds of customer complaints. There is a long way for Comcast to go, but there is also no question that it has been forced by us to reckon with us. Now we will employ the same formula to other serial customer-abusers.

ListenTurn the bull horn around and begin to listen to the public’s comments.

Create venues for internal and external feedback and idea generation.

Create a blog for user feedback. Create a blog for employees to communicate with management. Create a Twitter site for near instantaneous two-way communications.

Listen to your public.

RespondRespond to feedback. Remember, even if it’s negative it isn’t personal. It is an opportunity to turn a non-supporter into an enthusiast.

Respond, even if your answer is no.

Respond, be sincere and genuine.

Learn by Comcast’s mistake, don’t ignore the feedback.

Respond: Comcast’s Lesson

In 2006, Comcast would regularly ignore 2/3 our their customer’s blog comments and Twitter posts and their customer service problems became an online uncontrolled conversation.

By 2009, Comcast had dedicated personnel to monitor and reply to comments and feedback.http://twitter.com/#!/comcastcareshttp://twitter.com/#!/comcastvoices

People Centric Think people, not social media.Think happy customers, not marketing.Think enthusiast, not influencer.Think learning cycles, not campaigns.

People Centric: Launch vs. Learn

People Centric Raise whuffie*, go deeper than trust.Be concerned about existing customers. Be less concerned with influencers more concerned with how to make customers influential.

* The Whuffie Factor by Tara Hunt, building social capital with your public through your actions.

People Centric: What is whuffie?Reputation. Trust. Reach

Positive sentiment

Influence

People you know / who know you

People you count on

Access to ideas, talents, resources

Saved up favors

Own accomplishments

People Centric Listen. Collaborate. Integrate feedback.

Make members of your public feel they are respected members of your team.

Give incentives, not pay.

Invite them into the inner sanctum.

If only setting up a Facebook page or Twitter account would be an answer…

it takes an integrated communication strategy that requires a commitmentof time and resources to build whuffie.

Whuffie is about listening, community contributions, relationships and caring:

Social media use is important and should be implemented into overall strategy.

Social media raise the bar, empowers your public and help contribute to better organizational image.

If we are doing the good job, those connections, conversations and sharing will lead to success.

Social Media Tools:

Social Media Tools:

Southwest Airlines: A Success StoryTwitter - over one million followers. Customers can use Twitter to post complaints, thoughts, or suggestions, and Southwest will then tweet back to the customer. The company also uses Twitter for internship recruitment, and contests or discounts. Additionally they send out travel advisories such as cancellations, delays, or weather issues. Blog - Nuts About Southwest, awarded 2009’s “Best Blog” for the third year in a row at the PR News Platinum Awards. Features current events related to Southwest as a company and also information about employees. They have different polls to get customer feedback, as well as videos, podcasts, and guest posts from customers. These guest posts are reviewed by Southwest and they will do their best to resolve any issue or answer any questions. The blog itself acts as a sort of hub that ties in all of Southwest’s social media efforts. The bottom of the page has links to YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.YouTube - a variety of entertaining videos including singing or rapping flight attendants, and a humorous game they call toilet paper racing which must be seen to be understood. Besides this they have informative videos that deal with customer relations, informing customers about policies and procedures, and videos about the ways in which the company is advertising throughout their airports. Flickr - a discussion forum for suggestions, thoughts, and complaints, but also has photo groups where anyone can add photos. Southwest then takes these photos and will use them in their other social media platforms. It seems that this page is a popular site for plane enthusiasts and has over a thousand members. Facebook - almost one million friends. The page has contests and sweepstakes to win free travel and other prizes such as hotel stays, restaurant gift cards, and even cars. The company uses Facebook to promote their bags fly free campaign

Excepts from CalliBabcock's Blog

David Shanks, Assistant Professordfshanks@stcloudstate.edu

Tara Hunt, author of The Whuffie Factorhttp://slideshare.net/missrogue