Offline Actions Can Cause Online Disasters: Papa John’s

If you haven’t heard, Papa John’s social media team had a busy weekend. A Twitter user tweeted a photo of her receipt, and on the receipt, a Papa John’s employee had referred to her with a derogatory name.

The picture spread quickly. In fact, there were 4,542 mentions of the Papa John’s Twitter handle (@PapaJohns) online on Saturday, the day the picture was tweeted. Compare that with around 50-80 mentions on an ordinary day. The Twitpic of the receipt has been viewed over 222,000 times and counting.

Mentions of @PapaJohns

Before the rise of social media, the customer probably would have called management and told a few friends. Obviously, Papa John’s reputation would have been tarnished to far fewer people. Social media, however, gave the customer the power to share what happened to her with people all over the country (and world!). I’m sure the customer had no idea how fast it would spread, but Twitter users were outraged by the discrimination that occurred at the Papa John’s store.

Papa John’s issued an apology, reached out to the customer and assured everyone that the employee had been terminated. Perhaps a good next step would be a video on the culture at Papa John’s and how racism and discrimination are not tolerated.

With 3,500 stores, I know how hard it is for them to make sure all employees follow policies and have just plain good sense, but unfortunately, this is reflecting on the Papa John’s brand as a whole, even though it was just one employee. Brands need to make sure all employees know the online consequences for their offline actions.

The 80/20 Rule

Have you heard of the 80/20 rule for social media? The common rule is that 80 percent of your updates should provide value for your followers and 20 percent can be self-promotional.

It is so important to not just self-promote or sell on Facebook and Twitter all of the time. You want followers to engage with your business, and if you’re constantly promoting your business or selling, followers are not going to want to engage. People need a reason to follow you, and unless you’re a mega-brand, they aren’t going to want to just hear about your business all of the time. 

Offline, if you just constantly talk about yourself, you’re not going to have many people standing in line to talk to you. The same applies online! So, what can you post about when you’re not promoting your organization?

• Post tips or information about your industry. Ask thought leaders in your organization to provide tips for followers. Also, post Facebook notes with more in-depth information or advice.
• Make sure to stay up-to-date on the news in your industry, and post relevant articles. Adding your own commentary when posting the articles is ideal.
• Ask your followers what they think. Getting their opinions on industry topics can not only provide you insight, it can also make them feel engaged.
• Post about events in your community that you think your followers may be interested in attending, especially free events open to the public!
• Do you have partners or clients you work with regularly? Post news about their companies, and they will probably return the favor.

Finding ways to balance your updates can add value for your followers and make them interested in your organization. You’ll find that engagement will increase and your followers will, too!

Tags: 80/20 Rule, facebook, social media strategy, twitter

How Can You Effectively Pitch Media These Days?

It’s pretty clear pitching has changed drastically in the past five years.  When speaking to a group of media pros in the Columbus area, I learned a lot about how our role as public relations professionals as changed, and more importantly, how the media want to be contacted.

Most savvy PR practitioners have been strategically utilizing social media for the past few years.  We’re listening to our audiences, we’re gathering news, we’re promoting our events and announcements, we’re staying on top of the latest trends, etc.  However, I remember the time when it seemed like we still needed to cater to those “old-school” journalists when we were pitching media outlets like newspapers, radio stations, etc.  It was assumed journalists were more reluctant to take your tweet or direct messages seriously – they probably wanted a phone call (or something else entirely old fashioned).

At the PRSA monthly luncheon this week, any lingering ideas I had of stuck-in-time journalists were erased.  I listened to editors, directors and reporters from the Columbus Dispatch, WOSU, 10TV, WTVN and Business First all confirm they want email pitches.  In fact, some said they want DMs on Twitter.  I could not agree more – the immediacy and effectiveness of hitting a media contact on Twitter is far more efficient than sending them one of 300 emails they are getting that day, or calling them (when they are likely too busy to answer or out of the office).

When you start following media contacts on Twitter or LinkedIn, you begin to establish a relationship with that person.  You are paying attention to what events they are covering, RTing their articles, or replying to questions they post.  (You can even build a list of media contacts that you want to follow daily in a dashboard like Hootsuite or TweetDeck).  And vice versa, if that contact is following you, they can see you are a knowledgeable source who posts relevant information.  So, when you send that DM, they are going to pay attention to what you have to share.

Ideally, the best pitching strategy for today’s busy media:

• Send them a relevant, targeted email.  According to one media pro, format your subject line like this: “subject, verb, object.” For example, “Tressel leaves OSU.”
• After you send this email, send them a direct message on Twitter, and let them know you just sent them an email about Tressel leaving OSU.  Reporters always want an exclusive, so if you can, give it to them… and doing it via Twitter DM is an immediate, private way to do so.

Again, this strategy works best when you’ve been following this media contact previously.  So get out there and follow your target media contacts.  Build that relationship, offer them exclusives and get those targeted, concise pitches flowing!

**Special thanks to all the media who participated in the PRSA luncheon this week; the information was very valuable!

Tags: media, pitching, pitching media, public relations, twitter

A Simple Social Media Lesson

There have been several recent gaffes by brands on social media. Many of them have been accidents, but they still reflect poorly on the organizations.

The most recent is Entenmanns. The brand sent an interesting tweet shortly after the Casey Anthony verdict was announced. Using the trending topic #notguilty, Entenmanns’ social media agency said they didn’t realize the trending topic was referring to the trial. The Twittersphere was abuzz about the tweet, and many thought it was an insensitive reaction to a surprising verdict.

Another blunder occurred when an employee of Chrysler’s (former) social media agency thought he was posting on his personal account, but his negative tweet about the Motor City was posted to Chrysler’s Twitter page.

Entenmanns and its social media agency have apologized. Chrysler also apologized and ended its relationship with its social media agency. These mishaps aren’t likely to affect the companies in the long-term, but incidents like this are a source of embarrassment and bad PR for brands. And something we’ll talk about in the social media world for a while.
Obviously negative incidents like this spread quickly. It is social media after all. There is a simple lesson to be learned from Entenmanns, Chrysler and the social media mishaps that came before them. Double check your updates, and use good judgment.

Tags: best practices, social media, trending topics, twitter

Webbed Marketing Recognized For Digital, Interactive Talent at Ohio Interactive Awards Receives Award for Best Use of Twitter

Webbed Marketing, a leading Internet marketing agency in Columbus, Ohio, was recognized as one of the state’s top digital and interactive talents at the 2011 Ohio Interactive Awards.

Webbed Marketing’s social media team earned the award for Best Use of Twitter. Bill Balderaz, Webbed Marketing’s founder and CEO, was also a presenter at the recognition ceremony, which was held at the Ohio Union at the Ohio State University, in Columbus.

A total of 15 awards were presented in the following categories: Advertising, Sectors/Industry, Social Web, Best Integrated Campaign, Best Use of New Technology, and Interactive Agency of the Year. Winners were chosen by a panel of marketing industry leaders who work with and represent some of the world’s most recognizable brands and Fortune 500 companies. Entries were judged on a 5-point scale in four areas: Challenges, Strategy, Objectives, and Results.

Webbed Marketing earned the award for Best Use of Twitter for their campaign with the City of Columbus. Webbed Marketing assisted the City of Columbus with the promotion and coverage of the 2011 State of the City Address. This was the first time the City used social media to promote an event or speech. Leading up to the event, Webbed Marketing used Twitter to promote attendance and raise awareness of the event, and encouraged those who could not attend to follow Twitter and the hashtag #SOTCbus for live updates throughout the address. In the days leading up to the address, Webbed Marketing asked the general public to submit their questions for Mayor Coleman via Twitter and Facebook, and the top three would be answered on these outlets following the event.

Additionally, the campaign reached out to local bloggers who regularly covered key issues that would be mentioned in the Mayor’s address, such as downtown development and the environment. In total, more than 50 people tweeted live from the State of the City Address using the #SOTCbus hashtag.

Webbed Marketing also sat in the press room with Mayor Coleman after the event to answer questions that came in on social networks, and the answers were tweeted the following day. Mayor Coleman appreciated that social media channels are just as important as the mainstream media outlets, and he was enthusiastic to participate in the Q&A.

And by answering the general public’s questions for Mayor Coleman on Twitter the days following the event, Webbed Marketing was able to keep the buzz around the State of the City Address going long after the speech was over.
“Ohio is home to some of the best and brightest digital and interactive professionals in the world, who do incredible work for both major and emerging brands,” said Bryan Huber, a founding member of the awards program. “The Ohio Interactive Awards were created to showcase and recognize that tremendous talent.”

Sponsors of the 2011 Ohio Interactive Awards include Website sponsor, Sync Creative; Promotional sponsor, Kessel Communications; and Event sponsors, Columbus Interactive, Dynamit, Ozone Studios, Talktainment Radio, Webbed Marketing, Exact Target and Resource Interactive. Founding sponsors of the awards are TeamBuilder Search, Bryan and Leigh Huber, and 247 INTERACTIVE.

About the Ohio Interactive Awards
Created in 2009, the Ohio Interactive Awards celebrate and recognize Ohio’s creative talent and the exceptional work produced by the interactive marketing community. For more information on the awards, visit http://ohiointeractiveawards.com.

About Webbed Marketing
Webbed Marketing is a team of experts in the Internet marketing field. Their goal is to grow businesses through the application of Internet resources. The firm specializes in search engine optimization and marketing, as well as viral marketing services, word of mouth and buzz measurement and social media strategies. Visit www.webbedmarketing.com for more information.

Social Media For The Good Of The People

I sometimes hear people say that they are afraid to use social media. There are too many bad things that can happen. Their house will get robbed when that person just waiting on Facebook to rob them, sees that they have checked in at a local restaurant. (If you have your Facebook privacy settings configured correctly, the only people who are going to see your check-ins are people that you have allowed access to your profile and I sure hope they aren’t going to rob you!)

Still other people are afraid to post pictures of their kids or grandkids because that creep lurking on social networks will want to kidnap them. And of course don’t ever pay for anything online because you wouldn’t want to have your credit card number out there. Instead, be safe. Order by phone and give all of it, including your security code, to a total stranger located who knows where.
I tell these people it is like a hammer. Sure you COULD hurt someone with it, but when it is used in the way it was designed, there is no better tool for the job. That is why I was so pleased when I saw a story about a woman who found a kidney donor for her dying mother via social media! Now that is using a great tool exactly as it was designed.

So if you are one of those folks a little leery of using social networks, my advice is “do your homework first.” Find out which networks would most easily and efficiently fit into your lifestyle and connect you with friends and family in ways that are useful to you. And read the help files and make sure you are following the steps to secure your information according to that network’s best practices. You never know when you might need some special help for you or a loved one, and it just might come from a Facebook friend or a Twitter follower!

Tags: privacy settings, social media, social network security

Tips for Monitoring Your Social Networks – a HootSuite Tutorial

HootSuite is a social network management tool that allows team collaboration, multiple networks (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare, MySpace, Ping, WordPress, mixi), tab organization and more. Webbed Marketing uses HootSuite to manage our own as well as client social networks. Here is how we do it:

Sending a Message

To send a message through Hootsuite, click on the text box at the top of the page that says, “Compose message…” When the text box expands you can enter the text you want to send, enter a link you want to connect to the message (and shrink if necessary) and select which network(s) you want to send the message to. You can select both a Twitter and Facebook page.

Scheduling a Message

To schedule a message, enter the message you want to send and click on the “Schedule Message” icon. You can select the date and time in the future that you would like your message to be sent. The message will then appear in your Pending tab(s).

Note: If you schedule a message for both Twitter and Facebook and want to edit those later, you will need to edit the message on both the “Pending Tweets” and “Pending Stream Posts” tabs.

Adding a Social Network

To add a new social network, hover over your already added social network icons and click the “Add Social Network” icon/plus sign. Next you will select the type of network you are adding and be asked to connect to Twitter/Facebook/etc. Be sure you are signed into the account you want to add. A new tab for that account will be created.

OR

Click on the owl icon and then Settings and Social Networks. Within the Settings window click on “Add Social Network.”

Adding a Stream

To add a new stream to a tab, navigate to the tab you want to add the stream to. Next click the “Add Stream” icon at the top of the page. From there you can choose which type of stream you would like to add. Types of streams:

Twitter

• Home feed
• Mentions
• Direct Messages
• Sent Tweets
• Pending Tweets
• Favorite Tweets
• Retweets
• Twitter Search
• Twitter Lists

Facebook (Profile or Page)

• News Feed
• Pending Stream Posts

LinkedIn

• Network Updates
• Pending Status Updates

Foursquare

• Recent Checkins
• Your History
• Pending Shouts

Adding Team Members

To add a new team member to a social network, click on the owl at the top of the page, then scroll to Settings and click on My Organization. Then select the social network you want to add a team member to, select a current team member to add or enter the email address of a new team member to invite.

Monitoring Networks

Users can monitor all of their social networks directly from Hootsuite.

For Twitter accounts you can monitor the home feed, mentions, pending tweets, sent tweets, direct messages, twitter lists and twitter searches. You can then reply to, retweet or DM the message.

For Facebook accounts you can monitor the page feed, including fan comments as well as pending posts. You can then like or comment on posts directly from Hootsuite.

For Foursquare accounts you can monitor friend checkins/shouts and your recent check-ins. You cannot check into locations from HootSuite but you can send “shouts” to your friends.

For LinkedIn accounts you can monitor connections’ activity and comment directly from HootSuite.

How do you use HootSuite? Share your tips in the comments!

Tags: hootsuite, management, socia media, social networks

New Twitter.com is Coming Soon!

On September 15 Twitter announced the launch of a new Twitter.com that would be faster, easier to use and provide rich content. If you are like me you have not experienced these new features yet. Here is a quick review of what we can expect to see on the new Twitter.

The new Twitter.com will be separated into two main sections/columns. The left column is where the timeline will remain. Mentions, retweets, searches and lists will now appear above the timeline.

The right column will still show recently followed/follows, favorites and trending topics. This right column is then where things get interesting! You will now be able to view videos and photos directly from Twitter.com. By clicking a tweet the photo or video will expand into the right column without having to navigate away from Twitter.com. This section will also show additional information about the Twitter user or message, like replies, retweets, other Tweets, followers, location of Tweet and more.

Do you have the new Twitter yet? Tell us what you think of it so far!

Check out https://twitter.com/newtwitter for more information and watch the video below for a sneak peak.

(This video gets interesting about half way in)

Tips for Live Tweeting from an Event

Live tweeting is a great way to generate buzz around an event. Not sure what all is involved in live tweeting? Here are some tips to follow before, during and after your live tweeting experience. 

Before the Event

Start a Hashtag. Choose a hashtag that is relevant to your event (event initials, abbreviation) and that no one else is using. Search for your desired hashtag on Twitter Search to be sure it is not being used for another purpose.

Choose a Twitter Client or Application. Decide if you will be live tweeting from your phone or computer and download a functioning client. Hootsuite and TweetDeck are great clients to use on your computer. Some great smartphone applications are Twidroyd, Tweetie, TweetDeck, and the official Twitter app. When choosing which client to use, remember that you will need to be able to check replies, post pictures and follow the conversation/hashtag.

Promote off Twitter. You should also notify your Facebook fans, blog readers, LinkedIn connections, etc that you will be live tweeting during the event. Include the twitter username and hashtag you are using when sending this update.

Measure and Track. Use a social media monitoring tool to collect all the tweets about the event so you can review them later.

Educate Attendees. Let the event attendees and followers know about the hashtag before and during the event. This can be shared in your own tweets, other social networks, blog posts about the event, a press release announcing the event, on your events webpage, etc.

Consider Creating a Separate Twitter Profile. If this is a recurring event and you anticipate a large number of tweets being sent out, consider creating a separate Twitter account for the event. The challenge is that you then have to get your current followers to follow a new profile but the hope is that you will not be annoying followers who are not interested in the event.

During the Event

Share Speaker Insights. Don’t just share that a certain speaker is presenting but share their major points. These updates can include exact quotes, crediting the speaker by their username.

Share Speaker Username. Ask speakers to include their Twitter username at the start of their presentation. This way event attendees can follow them and refer to them by their username in their tweets.

Use Twitpic. Add more to your live tweeting by sharing live photos. Picture of the crowd, speakers, booths, networking, special guests are great.

Engage With Others. Follow the conversations others are tweeting at the event. Also watch for replies, questions, comments and concerns and address them.

Use Usernames. When sharing information from, about or a picture of a speaker, company or attendee, always use their twitter usernames.

Don’t Over-tweet. Keep everyone up to speed on the event, speakers and information without overdoing it. You want to contribute to the event conversation without flooding it with useless information (the speaker is walking onto the stage).

Hashtag Hashtag Hashtag. Don’t forget to use that hashtag! This is important to people not in attendance that are following the event so they do not miss anything.

After the Event

Share Highlights. Once you have reviewed the tweets from the event consider sharing some of the highlights with your followers through a blog post or Facebook note.

Follow Back. Be sure to follow everyone who was involved in the conversation, using the hashtag.

And while you're at it you can follow me on Twitter too – @dcrebekah

If You Can’t Beat ‘Em… Change the Rules – Regulating Social Media

The other night I was settled into my couch and flipping through the channels on my television. Not looking for anything in particular, I settled for ABC’s “Shark Tank.”

Actually, that’s a complete lie. Nobody “settles” for “Shark Tank.” That would be like “settling” for a Chuck Norris movie. I guess you could say I was “lured in.”

Anyway, after the first couple of hacks were finished peddling their silly ideas, two sharply dressed men showed up asking for a pretty large sum of money for a very small stake in their company. Usually, this means they are about 30 seconds or so from being shown the door. However, this time was different.

These two men had created an online service called “Jump Forward” for college athletic coaches and high school athletes. Jump Forward essentially simplifies and enhances the recruiting process, allowing both coaches and high school athletes to create profiles and browse others. A sort of e-harmony to make sure each athlete finds the coach of his or her dreams, and vice versa.

The interesting thing about Jump Forward is that it holds a patent for a mobile application that ensures that communication between coaches and players stays within the strict recruitment rules set forth by the NCAA. If a coach has already reached a limit for a particular form of communication with an athlete, the service will prevent said coach from sending another message or making another call.

Intrigued with this idea, I searched the Internet news wires for other instances of social media infiltrating the “protected” bubble of collegiate athletics. The results were not hard to find:

• On February 17, the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) entered into an agreement with athlete-to-coach social networking site, Eporro.com.
• University of Michigan Head Football Coach Rich Rodriguez offered 6′5″ 355 pound offensive tackle, Aundrey Walker, a full-athletic scholarship via Aundrey’s Facebook page.
• Ex-Tennessee Head Football Coach Layne Kiffin prematurely announced the commitment of defensive end J.C. Copeland on Twitter, an NCAA recruitment violation.

The integration of social media into the collegiate athletics recruiting process is really quite interesting. NCAA rules regarding communication in general between coaches and athletes are extremely strict, complicated and constantly changing. The development and growth of social media makes creating and enforcing these rules all the more difficult.

In one of its more definitive decisions, the NCAA completely banned coaches from sending text messages to recruits in 2007. However, the explosion of social media has blurred even this rule a bit. Division I and II coaches are permitted to communicate with prospect athletes via one-on-one messaging from social networking sites (Division III banned all social networking for recruiting purposes in 2007). But what if the recruit chooses to receive the coach’s “approved social network communication” on his or her phone, as a text?

Perhaps Illinois Head Football Coach Ron Zook had the right idea when he said, “I’m not sure the NCAA understands exactly what [social media] is … I sure don’t.”

It is slightly amusing to consider the fact that the athletes being recruited probably have a better handle on social media and mobile communications than the regulating body that makes the rules and drops the hammer when the rules are broken. Then there are the poor coaches are stuck in the middle, wondering, “Should I Tweet or should I go” (on a traditional house visit).

I think the NCAA gets it right, for the most part. The ban on texting was in response to athletes complaining about getting such a barrage of messages from coaches that it was intruding into their personal lives. Additionally, this was at a time when “unlimited texting” mobile plans were still a pipe dream; you can imagine the costs incurred by the young athletes (meaning their parents) for all the incoming texts.

Because the NCAA is supposed to have the best interests of the student athlete in mind, it makes sense for them to embrace communications through social networks. A high school athlete can choose when to look at his or her Facebook page, so the intrusion into their personal lives should be restricted. Additionally, coaches will likely remember to appreciate the value of a personal visit and the disvalue of being an Internet spammer.

As is evident by the recent news that the FTC and FDA are cooking up federal regulations for social media, this is only the beginning. With mobile applications becoming more sophisticated by the hour and crazy “tablet” computers that look like Magna Doodles on the way, regulating bodies will feel more and more obligated to put down their two cents. And that will become tougher with each new development in the social media phenomenon. The lid on the can of worms is so loose your mother could open it.

Tags: college football, college football coaches, college football recruiting, NCAA recruiting, NCAA sports, NCAA violations, social media, social networking