Journal

It’s a Crisis – Where Are You?

Financial Crisis / Finanzkrise — Image by alles-schlumpf via Flickr

One thing that’s irrefutable is that social media never sleeps. A good example of this is the recent Motrin video ad that upset a selection of mothers who felt it was demeaning. Cue an uproar on Twitter that was akin to the best viral marketing campaign and soon everyone was looking for the Motrin ad, and not for the right reasons.

What made the Motrin example particularly interesting is that for almost 48 hours there was no response from either the company or the ad agency responsible for the video.

While the Internet was ablaze with blog posts, forum discussions and Twitter conversations about Motrin and its agency, the silence from both was deafening. When Motrin eventually acted by removing the video, they also said that one thing they had learned from it all was how important it is to listen to what’s being said online.

I find this just a little scary, and yet sadly I’m not surprised. Too many companies are in the same boat as Motrin were – they’re not really listening to their audience. They haven’t connected with social media and it’s hurting them and their reputation.

As Motrin realized, once social media picks up on something it’s an instant result. Yet if they or their agency had had any kind of crisis control in place, they could have reacted to all the negativity coming out about them much more effectively.

Perhaps they do have a crisis control plan in place – yet evidently it didn’t include weekends. If someone had been monitoring their brand, the whole episode could have had a very different outcome. Instead, Motrin and the agency were left with a damage limitation exercise that, while it may not have been avoided, could have been easier to manage.

So what do we learn from this? For any business, large or small, listening is key. Your brand is your name and reputation and what makes you stand out from your competitors – you have to protect it fiercely.

I often hear the reason many companies are so slow to react to a crisis like this is because of the international time zones. I don’t think businesses can afford to let this be the case. As the Motrin example and others like it show, social media and conversations don’t take into account different timezones – why should businesses?

For large businesses that have have international offices, this weakens that argument even further. They of all people should be monitoring their brand worldwide. For smaller businesses it may not be so easy, but there are ways to stay on top of things.

For example, why not outsource on an “as needed” basis? There are many professional freelancers and virtual assistants worldwide who can act as your eyes and ears. If you can outsource to the main countries that your business deals with, surely that has to be worth the cost involved?

They can act on your behalf and come out with a company response, and depending on the severity of the crisis you can either deal with it the next day, or have someone from your company be on call to deal with it immediately.

By using tools like Google Alerts, Twitter monitoring software and other applications, your source will know as soon as something needs to be dealt with. They can then take the appropriate course of action. And because it’s on an “as needed” basis, there’s no extra expense except when it’s required.

It may not stop crises like the Motrin one from happening in the first place, but it would ensure that it was dealt with sooner rather than later. That’s got to be worth any business’s time, hasn’t it?

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Take Me To Your Leader

Most people have seen the classic sci-fi movie scene (take your pick from any made in the 1950’s) where an alien lands and says “Take me to your leader.” The next step is to take the alien to whoever leads the country – so, President of the United States, Prime Minister of Great Britain, that kind of thing.

I thought it might be interesting to swing that around a little. Put you in the place of the alien and offer you some of the blogs I read that I feel “lead” when it comes to not only social media, but pretty much anything. Just a way of sharing some blog love for people you might never come across otherwise, as well as the usual suspects.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Chris Brogan. Probably someone who’s on more people’s list of recommendations than anyone I know, but deservedly so. Offers fantastic insight into social media, as well as being a genuinely nice guy.
Mighty Red Pen. I make this one of the very first blogs I visit each morning. An often hilarious look at examples of really bad grammar.
PR-Squared. As a PR guy myself, perhaps I’m shooting myself in the foot by recommending a PR blog other than my own. But Shift Communication principal Todd Defren’s personal blog is always worth a read.
Children. Outstanding and touching blog aimed at protecting the rights of children worldwide.
Stuff White People Like. Some people have said that this blog is racist. Personally, I find it a pretty funny (and true) look at one particular part of the human race.
Daily Blog Tips. Excellent reference site for bloggers of all expertise. Offers tips on promoting your blog, formatting, and the always fun Blogging Idol contest.

These are just some of the blogs I read on a regular basis that I think you’d like. I’ll be sure to share more in the near future. How about you – any blogs that you feel are worth reading?

Footnote. The animal in the picture is a lemur. They are currently on the Endangered Species list. If you wish to help protect them, you can find more details at the World Animal Foundation.

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Milk Cartons and Plastic Ninjas

I’m a fairly resourceful guy. Don’t get me wrong – I’m no Chuck Norris, but I’d like to think I’m pretty good at working a way around a problem. Just give me a little time and I’ll work out a way. May not be the right one, but if it’s workable then that’s all I need.

Which is why I get frustrated when simple things turn out to be anything but.

Take milk cartons, for example. Almost 100 years old now, they still have the same basic design flaw that the very first ones did – the cardboard spout that the milk comes out of when you pull the flaps apart. Not only can they be a pain to open without spillage, once you’ve managed to open the carton then the fun’s just beginning.

If you’re like me, sometimes you just like to drink from the carton when you’re really thirsty. (And no, it’s not gross to drink from the carton!). Trying to do that, however, without getting milk all down your top is second only to sneezing with your eyes open for levels of impossibility. Strike one against consumer friendliness.

Then you have the plastic ninjas. You know when you buy a new pair of scissors, or a carving knife, and they come enveloped in that tough plastic to stop you accidentally cutting yourself when opening? What they don’t tell you is that you don’t get a chance to cut yourself because they’re impossible to get into in the first place! You need another knife or pair of scissors to open the new ones – doesn’t that seem just a little counter-productive?

So why do we make ourselves like milk cartons and plastic ninjas when it comes to social media?

I read a great blog post today by Lisa Hoffmann. In it she suggested that the reason so many companies aren’t getting into social media is because we’re scaring them away. Yes, the people that evangelize most about social media could be the ones responsible for stunting its growth.

We’re doing this by pretending to be experts when there’s still so much to learn. We do this by telling businesses their approach to social media is rubbish and they should follow our lead. After all, we’re the social media experts and we know best.

Except we’re not and we don’t.

We may know what’s best for our needs, but until we get to know about a business we don’t know about theirs. So why do we jump straight in and say to business owners, “Get a Twitter account now. Join Friendfeed. Start Digging. You’re nothing if you’re not on Facebook.”

Instead of telling businesses what they will do with us, shouldn’t we be saying what they can do? Show them what’s available and what each benefit is, as opposed to join this or sign up for that or else you’re missing out?

Yes, businesses need to get into social media and begin building their community. But unless they’re able to do it the way that is right for them and not simply just right for us, then they’ll continue to be disappointed with the results. And frustrated.

Much like trying to deal with milk cartons and plastic ninjas.

Discussing Social Media with… John Easton

A little while back, I sent out a request via Twitter asking if anyone would be interested in being interviewed for a discussion on social media. With the medium meaning so many different things to so many people, as well as how it can be used, I was interested to hear the views of the people I connect with.

My original plan was to run a ?round table? style of blog post – raise the questions and then have a mix of views as the responses. However, the answers I received back were all excellent, and showed why social media is the mix of interesting people and views that it is. So, I decided individual posts would be far more effective in an on-going series of interviews.

Sharing his views today is John Easton, founder of Eastonsweb Multimedia, a new media company helping businesses attract the best customers through the use of video, web and multimedia tools. My sincere thanks to John for taking the time to reply and share his views. To connect with John, or find out more about him, please visit his blog Customer Flypaper.

If someone was to ask you for your definition of social media, what would it be?

The use of online, communal tools and their associated communities to engage an audience around a message, idea or discussion.

What is your reason for using social media?

That is an easy question. I use social media to expand my thinking beyond the boundaries I set by interacting with truly fascinating people and to lend my thinking to supportive communities of interest. In addition, I find social media to be a great tool for expanding my professional network.

Do you feel that social media is being used to its maximum effect?

I would say yes. Does this mean that there aren’t unexplored SM applications? Without getting too philosophical here social is just like traditional media. It’s constantly evolving and at its present state of development, the medium is being used and explored by some of the world’s most creative minds and with every Twitter tweet and new blog posting a different angle is being explored. So I’d say it is where it’s supposed to be.

What social media tools or applications do you use? Why these ones in particular?

My choice of social media tools is a function of my capacity, being a business owner and parent. My personal and professional goals are to build relationships with interesting people and grow my professional network and the behavioral profile of those I am looking to engage.

That said I am an active Twitter user, a vigorous blogger and I am an enthusiastic member of several online communities (The Society for Word of Mouth is one). I can interact with each of these communities via my desktop PC, my laptop computer and my BlackBerry and each of these neighborhoods has members who regularly stretch my thinking.

Where do you see the future of social media, both in general and for you?

In general I see social media and its conventions converging more and more with traditional media. The line between the Internet and television as an example will blur. Gone will be the days of cable networks and TV stations. You will watch user generated video alongside professional media wirelessly through your glasses and you will be able to exchange comments with other viewers in real time building relationships as you add perspective to each clip.

I don’t see my goals for the use of SM changing but I will certainly ride the wave and continue to be a bridge between those on the bleeding edge and more middle of the road adopters.

Are businesses effectively using social media? If not, what can they do to improve?

That’s a loaded question. Big business is not successfully using SM. Most of the leaders in this pool approach SM from the old world perspective of controlling the conversation, not realizing that a revolution has already taken place with the power having changed hands from the elite few to the masses. SM is less about controlling the message and more about participating in the discussion, give and take.

Small businesses are doing a better job but still have opportunities to explore. They have to learn to be less revenue focused when it comes to measuring the benefit of SM and consider the wider spectrum of return (building awareness, testing ideas, soliciting new product/service ideas, collaboration, word of mouth, etc).

After all is it better to close one deal or to build a Twitter relationship with someone who can evangelize your offering to several thousand people with the tap of a keyboard?

What do you feel are the best and worst features/uses of social media?

I believe the good and bad of SM is less about the features inherent in the technology and more about the way people use it. At its best social media accelerates the spread of information through networks of linked? communities and at its worst it can be a haven for often mindless and self-promoting chatter. All of this depends on the behavior of community members.

You can find more ?Discussing Social Media with?? interviews here.

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How Do You Boil Your Social Media Egg?

One thing I used to love when I was growing up was breakfast at my grandma’s. She’d make toast soldiers and boiled eggs.

(Just in case anyone doesn’t know what toast soldiers are, it’s when you make normal toast and then cut it into about 4-5 strips. You then butter these strips and use them to dip into eggs or beans).

The reason I liked having breakfast at my grandma’s was because she always gave me a choice of how I liked my eggs boiled. Unlike my mum who always hard-boiled her eggs, which was okay when I was in the mood for them. But every now and again, you just want to get a runny egg and dip some toast in it.

This is where my grandma stood tall.

If I wanted runny eggs, she’d boil for three minutes and then I’d have my runny yolk. If I wanted hard-boiled, she’d keep them on the heat for six minutes and you sure got one solid egg!

It may not sound like much, getting the choice between soft or hard-boiled eggs, but trust me – for a 6-year old kid, it was everything. I felt that I had a voice, and my grandma really wanted to know my choice, as opposed to me having to like something just because everyone else did.

Social media’s kind of like the boiled egg. Initially, it can be a tough shell to crack if you’ve never tried it before. You wonder what’s the best approach – should you slice the top open and dig in slowly from there, or try and break it open evenly and absorb it whole?

Deciding how you want to use social media can be a lot like choosing your yolk. Do you want to just dabble and maybe use a mix of Twitter and Facebook? Then you’ll just want the three minute boil. If you really want to get something to dig your teeth into, though, and you want to try all the different tools and sites that social media has to offer, you better give your egg an extra three minutes.

But you know what? It doesn’t matter how you like your social media egg. Just like my grandma always gave me the choice, so you have the choice too. Because both ways are right. There is no wrong. Social media is your egg to boil as you choose – the main thing is that you enjoy it when it’s done.