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How do you deal with 24/7 Social Media Crisis and Spike Events?

Posted by Virginie Glaenzer on January 28th, 2013 at 7:23 am

Picture this – it’s Friday. You’re on the social media team at work and have sat thru 5 days of meetings, read hundreds of emails, spent countless hours engaging online, had more tasks assigned than you could possibly handle and worked late a couple of nights to make your deadlines. The end of the day is rolling around and you’re looking forward to the weekend, tired, satisfied and ready to unwind.
Ahhhhhh. By 6 pm, your time off has begun.
But here’s a not-so-news flash that we all know: People are online all the time! And it doesn’t really matter to them that you’re going out for a drink with friends or have a night at the movies planned with your family.
You probably have moderation team in place for your Facebook page or Twitter account to cover off-duty hours, and maybe even scheduled some posts for the weekend, so you feel safe.But do you have a 24/7/365 Spike Event plan in place?
What happens if an issue comes up on Friday night or Saturday morning or holidays?
We all need downtime - what if your Community Manager has gone camping, wine tasting or just goes off-line for the weekend?
What happens when YOUR page... Read more

Posted in Opinions | 3 Comments »

One Angry Tweet can Destroy Your Brand or Should a Brand Remove User Content?

Posted by Virginie Glaenzer on January 25th, 2013 at 12:14 pm

All it takes is one hot product, one great ad campaign, one media mishap, or focused attention from a top tweeter, and your Facebook page or forum could be bombarded with comments tomorrow.
Are you ready to deal with the deluge?
The influx --- if it’s positive -- might be welcome, but people who reach out to tell you that they love your product or service want to be and deserve to be acknowledged and thanked.
So many brands in the world, including major brands, have jumped into the social media world without adequate online moderation...or without any at all.
Why? Because:

They think they can handle it on their own
They believe no one else can properly represent the brand and its brand voice
They assume that they’ll never be big enough to need dedicated moderation (that’s small thinking!)
They hope that they’ll never attract negativity, and don’t believe positive places need moderation.

“We can just do it ourselves.”
Some brands try to do everything in-house. The issue here is that online moderation requires a skill-set not necessarily present among the staff, even if they’re experienced social media users. Defusing a flame war or calmly addressing a rapidly escalating customer service issue without taking the criticism personally, and... Read more

Posted in Opinions | 4 Comments »

Brand Approach to Social Media: Where’s the Party?

Posted by Virginie Glaenzer on January 7th, 2013 at 10:15 am

As brands have rushed toward social media and now attempt to evaluate what it’s doing for their businesses, we’re all very interested in how it’s going. What are we getting out of it? Who’s doing it best? What are they doing that makes it better?
We’ve always thought of social as a gathering of people — a party that the brand throws for its customers. Sometimes brand execution matches that metaphor, and sometimes it’s really more like plain old advertising or promotional campaigns. The question is, how do people react to what brands put out there, and what do they do about it.
We’ve all been to that party that never took off. Maybe you attend a gathering where you don’t really know the hosts very well, but you feel flattered to be asked; you have high expectations. At least you have some expectations that motivate you to go; maybe other guests you expect to meet, or some announcement or special event in the offing.
But when you get there, no one seems to be in charge. Every now and then someone makes an announcement about where you can find the refreshments, but no one actually speaks to you, welcomes you, or... Read more

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Posted in Opinions | No Comments »

The Six Holiday Commandments for Exceptional Customer Service

Posted by Virginie Glaenzer on January 2nd, 2013 at 3:06 pm

"Bah, humbug!" No, that's too strong
'Cause it is my favorite holiday
But all this year's been a busy blur
Don't think I have the energy
- The Waitresses, Christmas Wrapping
For brands large and small, customer service conducted online and via social media is crucial, and this time of year, it’s an even bigger deal.
Going above and beyond for your customers is integral to all businesses, even more so during the holiday season. Here’s why:

It’s the most wonderful time of the year: The holidays are big for most brands, from the true meaning of Black Friday to accelerated gift and service purchasing. People are shopping and spending, and you’re competing for both dollars and loyalty.
…and the most stressful: Your customers balance work, family, and social obligations all year long. This time of year, add meal and party planning, finding the perfect gifts and getting them there on time, dealing with kids’ wants and needs, possibly inclement weather, travel, holiday visitors and juggling an expanded social calendar to the list.
…and the media are watching: Fail to ship by the promised holiday date and ruin a child’s holiday? Did your website crash because your Facebook promotion was TOO successful? Have a confusing layaway or gift return... Read more

Posted in Media Planning & Buying, Social Media | No Comments »

Taking the Fright out of Social Brand Management

Posted by Virginie Glaenzer on October 30th, 2012 at 10:15 am

With Halloween on the way, treats are something to look forward to, but the real challenge for brands is effectively dealing with the tricks.
Social media pranks  -- small, thoughtless ones as well as those perpetrated by dedicated online trolls -- can spur a real crisis for any brand, so it’s important to be prepared just in case this occurs at any time of year.

These can include:

The Virtual Egging: Misinformation campaigns -- “Acme Corporation staff strip search their employees- pass it on!”
The Ding Dong Ditch: Attacks on a brand on its social platform -- spam posts, NSFW pic spams, false accounts of poor customer service or faulty products.
The Smell My Feet: Attempts to force a brand to respond to ridiculous queries for the “humor value.”

Any major brand can present a great big bull’s-eye for trickery, and by that we mean tricks by those who do not have a legitimate customer service concern or complaint, but who wish to “score points” against a brand for other reasons.
There are several reasons why a brand might be targeted by trolls and pranksters:

It has a high profile
Brands with high on and off-line recognition possess significant cachet as targets. It’s more fun for trolls to force... Read more

Posted in Opinions, Social Media, Word of Mouth | 2 Comments »