Danny Brown

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Starbucks – A Lesson in Social Media Branding

Venti Mocha!Ask anyone what one of the biggest stumbling blocks for businesses and social media is and the over-riding answer will probably be understanding. Or lack of it.
With so many businesses questioning why they would enter a medium that doesn’t offer the same kind of return on investment (ROI) than traditional marketing, why bother?

One look at Starbucks could offer some answers. The Seattle-based coffee giant has embraced social media with some great initiatives that any business could learn from.

For instance, while other brands are deciding whether micro-blogging site Twitter is for them, Starbucks has tackled it head on. Better still, they’re actually engaging their customers into the bargain. Instead of simply using Twitter as a broadcasting tool, Starbucks is actively conversing with its 17,000 followers (although weekends seem strangely quiet).

By helping people buy Starbucks-related products to sharing information on various charity projects the company is involved in, the Starbucks Twitter account is the perfect example of great brand usage.

On top of that, Starbucks has also set up an interesting project over at My Starbucks Idea. Here customers of the company are invited to share their ideas on how Starbucks can improve. An open forum approach sees users post their ideas and other members vote for the best. These are then looked at by Starbucks for viability.

As an idea in improving a company through the people that matter – the customers – it’s brilliant common sense. As an example of interactive social media at work, it’s perfect.

Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that Starbucks is embracing social media as well as it is. After all, the company has long been an advocate of social responsibility with their eco-friendly projects. With My Starbucks Idea and their Twitter account, they’re merely transferring their offline ethos into the social media world. And a fine job they’re doing too.

How does your brand compare?

Creative Commons License photo credit:?betsyjean79

It’s Nice To Be Nice

The world can be a tough place to live in at times. We try our hardest to make it work, but things don’t always work out to plan. It’s a fast-paced environment where people get left behind or ignored, or simply forgotten about. If you don’t fit into a stereotype, you’re not one of the “in-crowd”.

(And you thought that stopped at high school.)

But you know, as fast as the world is and as unfair as it can be, we can still make it better in our own little ways. Nothing mind-breaking; nothing rocket science in nature. For example, this morning on Twitter I suggested this:

“Look at the first person in your Twitter stream and Direct Message them to say thank you for being a friend.”

Simple, easy and maybe just offering a little fun into our lives and the people around us. What was really nice to see was that people picked up on it.

If we can pick up on something as simple as this with people we may never have met physically, shouldn’t it be just as easy to do so with those we know? So let’s try it.

Look at the last “proper” email you received, reply to that person and say, “Thank you for being a friend.”

Look at the first name in your phonebook and call them to say, “Thank you for being a friend.”

Look at the first person on your Facebook friend list and say, “Thank you for being a friend.”

It’s easy to do. It doesn’t take much. Yet in a world that does its best to put us down at times, it can brighten up a whole day. And just so you know?

Thank YOU for being a friend.

Taking the Social Out of Social Media

I’m one of social media’s biggest fans. The byline of this blog says “social media PR”. I probably have more accounts on social media sites than I need, although I am weeding out the non-essential ones. I like reading social media blogs (amongst many other niches).

So, I’ll raise my hands and say yes, I’m guilty of being a big proponent of social media.

One thing I would hope I don’t do is evangelize about it to the point of boredom and “Who cares?” responses. I know it’s not for everyone, or every business. I feel it could be, but if it’s not to be, it’s not to be.

The reason I like social media so much is because it offers a realistic alternative to the “me, me, me” mentality that is so prevalent in the world around us.

Instead, it encourages discussion, openness and a willingness to listen and engage in discussion. What it doesn’t (shouldn’t?) do is encourage forced views, hostility and closed mindsets.

Which is why, today, I was stunned to be called a “racist” and someone with “aggressions” towards China and her people when I was trying to get across various points on social media, and Twitter in particular.

The conversation that this accusation comes from can be found in the comments thread in this post from Social Media Today. While I encourage you to read the full text to ensure that I don’t offer a simplified and biased view of the exchange, the basic gist of it is as follows.

Social Media Today member Jerry Bowles wrote a piece that inferred 99% of Twitter conversation was “self-serving drivel”. I questioned this, and it seemed that a good discussion about Twitter’s value was about to start. Another member, Larry Choi, proposed that Twitter’s numbers were no more than small potatoes, and that the service isn’t used in China.

I suggested to Larry that perhaps the reason Twitter hadn’t taken off in China was because of the well-documented problem with the Chinese government and their Internet censorship policy. If websites were being closed down and monitored for any anti-government beliefs, then it would be very hard to monitor a medium as instant and as interactive as Twitter.

My response to Larry is what caused the accusation that I’m a racist with aggressions towards Chinese people and the country as a whole.

Cameron Soong replied to my suggestion with the following: “Danny Brown seems to have a racist problem vis a vis the Chinese people. A pity. His aggressions could be more useful to the stakeholders in Twitter.?And leave China to the Chinese, please.”

Now I’ll admit to being many things (and having been called them a few times as well!) but one thing I am not and never have been is racist. Anyone that knows me personally will know that I am one of the least racist people you could meet.

(And my sincere thanks to Jason Tryfon for his support with his comment).

I’m not sure why Cameron thought this way – further in the comments I ask Cameron why, but as of writing there’s been no response. And again, I recommend you read the post and comments in question so it’s not just my version of “the story” that you’re reading.

The whole episode left me disappointed. Apart from the unwarranted accusations that Cameron made against me, it also made me question how we can try and increase awareness and respect for social media, when even members of a social media website can be so negative and vitriolic.

It seems ironic that in a discussion about social media tools, Cameron effectively went into broadcast mode and ignored the conversation – everything that social media is not. Is it any wonder that social media continues to be looked at as a novelty rather than a genuine personal and business tool when those inside it are practising the opposite of what it’s trying to be?

Perhaps Cameron can answer that.

In the meantime, Jerry’s point about Twitter is a valid one that certainly makes for a good discussion, and it’s that type of conversation that makes social media the medium that I support so much.

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The REAL Social Media ROI – Risk of Ignoring

It seems everyone’s been talking lately about the Return on Investment – ROI – of social media. On the one hand, we have businesses trying to see where they’ll make a profit; on the other we have social media proponents explaining you shouldn’t try to measure social media ROI the same way you would in normal business practices.

But maybe we’re looking at the wrong ROI to start with – instead of return on investment, perhaps we should be more worried about the Risk of Ignoring.

This can work on both levels, personal and business-led, but for the sake of this post, I’m going to stay with businesses.

(If only from the viewpoint that it seems to be businesses more than individuals that are using social media less effectively).

Say the CEO of Company X brings in his sales or marketing director to the boardroom, and tells them he’s heard wonderful things about this “social media craze”. He’s heard that millions of people are using it, and he wants his company to have a bite of the money that these millions of social media users have, just waiting to be spent.

So the sales or marketing director decides to have a look at social media. Perhaps he’s even on Facebook, so he knows what social media is all about. He’s told his CEO not to worry, Company X will soon be rolling in extra cash from all the wonderful sales to be made through social media marketing.

So the director sets up a Twitter account – after all, just look at the conversation going on there. That’s a surefire sales arena if ever there was one! He starts following people left, right and centre and pretty soon he has a sizable following back. Time to start selling Company X to the masses, thinks the director, and starts sending out Tweets and direct messages about how great Company X is and why people should buy from them NOW.

The director has carried out the legwork and now has his message in front of hundreds, if not thousands, of people. Time to sit back and wait for that Holy Grail of ROI to start. Which it will – just not the one that was expected.

This is where the Risk of Ignoring plays its hand.

By ignoring the simple fact that social media is about conversation, the director has completely missed the point. Instead of building up a loyal and quality-led following, all he’s done is build the equivalent of a non-optional email list for a sales pitch.

Now he’s wondering why so many people are un-following him on Twitter. He’s also wondering why no-one has rushed to Company X’s website and bought anything from their online store. Most of all, he’s wondering what he’s going to tell the CEO at the next progress report meeting.

I see this happening all too often with businesses. While originally there may be good intentions for using social media, trying to use traditional sales or marketing tactics will usually backfire. Whereas CEO’s and sales or marketing directors may be used to success with the heavy-handed “shout at everyone” approach, it’s just not going to work when it comes to social media.

You want your business to enjoy success with social media users? Be social with us. Get to know us, and what interests us, and in return I can pretty much guarantee you’ll have the interest you want in you and your product. Because we are actually interested in what you have to say.

Just don’t ignore us.

Ten PR People to Follow on Twitter

A recent post over at ProBlogger offered an excellent overview of 10 people that new Twitter users should follow. Admittedly, it consisted of the usual suspects, but then when the suspects are so good it’s hard to complain.

A conversation with one of my Twitter friends Lizz Harmon raised the question of which public relations-type Twitter users would make an equally good list for people to follow. Sources of great information for both PR professionals and interns alike. So, in no particular order, here is the list of 10 PR People to Follow for anyone interested in PR.

  1. Beth Harte. One of the earliest adopters of Web 2.0 and social media benefits, Beth offers an excellent voice in PR and currently teaches public relations, marketing and more at Immaculata University.
  2. Todd Defren. The Principal of Shift Communications, Todd is also the founder of the social media press release and an influential voice in Web 2.0 public relations.
  3. Lisa Hoffmann. Lisa is the Chief Copywriter at PRstore and is vocal in her support of combining social media, PR and communications.
  4. Lizz Harmon. Far from inclusion just because of her suggestion of this list, Lizz would make any PR list on Twitter. President of HarmonTampa Public Relations and another key social media proponent.
  5. Dave Fleet. Dave is a Senior Consultant for Thornley Fallis Communications and has an extensive background in PR and communications. Always an interesting conversation.
  6. Dana Willhoit. With a background in news journalism and lead press release writer for The Press Release Site, Dana offers an invaluable view from both sides of PR.
  7. Joan Stewart. Otherwise known as The Publicity Hound, Joan is one of the foremost voices in PR on Twitter and an excellent source of useful Tweets and opinions.
  8. Brian Solis. Principal of FutureWorks PR agency and owner of the industry-respected PR 2.0 blog, Brian is one of the key voices when it comes to social media and PR.
  9. Sarah Evans. Director of Communications at Elgin Community College, Sarah has recently begun guest authoring at respected website Mashable.
  10. Jason Kintzler. Founder of PitchEngine, a social media newsroom that’s fast becoming one of the go-to resources for social media press releases.

Like any list, this one is by no means exhaustive and I’m sure there are others just as worthy of a place on it. However, as a mix of PR professionals and services for anyone in PR (or interested in it), it’s not a bad starting point, though I’d love to hear who you would have on your list.

Of course, if you feel like following me, please feel free to join me on Twitter. 😉