Tag: Social Media

Social Media Magic: The Disney Perspective

Posted on by mlavens in PR News & Info

It’s no secret that Disney is everywhere. Whether its TV, Radio, clothing or entertainment, Disney is there. One place that is particularly interesting with Disney is social media. They don’t focus on their social media outlets the way others do. Harrison Kratz wrote a piece on Social Media Today that highlights this. He points out three things that Disney does to quietly own their social media.

  1. “Likes” aren’t their goal
  2. They pull on heartstrings
  3. They understand the consumer cycle

I never really thought about Disney’s social media tactics. I will be honest, I follow them on Twitter and Instagram, but mainly because I’m a shareholder and I just love the company overall. This goes back to the idea of likes not being a goal. They have an audience, so they don’t need to push.

This past weekend I ran the Wine and Dine Half Marathon, and I couldn’t wait to Instagram my pictures from the run. I even hooked up my Twitter so that runDisney would post my times as I passed the checkpoints. I was utilizing Disney’s social media without even thinking about it.

What makes Disney’s social media so unique is that it has hundreds of different platforms. The parks have their own social media, so do the franchises the own, and even the movies have social media platforms. Mashable went inside the Disney Consumer Products (DCP) division of the Walt Disney Corporation, and examined their social media strategies.

One of the DCP does this is by being informal. Social media is not the place for traditional advertising. Users don’t want to seem like the company is trying to push a product down their throats. Building a relationship and causal conversation is more ideal. Another important aspect to keep in mind is that social media is everywhere and it changes how we communicate. Disney realizes this and knows it’s fundamental when keeping up with their fans. I know I think it’s magical when I get a reply or retweet from Disney.

Sandy Goes Viral

Posted on by mlavens in PR&CC: 1070

The east coast was slammed by Hurricane Sandy this weekend and into the rest of the week. She didn’t just make an impact on the eastern states, she also made an impact on the social media world.

A parody Twitter account @AHurricaneSandy was created, with joke tweets about what Hurricane Sandy was doing. The account has over 236,000 followers and over 300 tweets for just the short time that account was active. The creators of the account stated that it was created as a humor account, but the storm was serious and people should donate to the American Red Cross to help those involved.

What’s interesting about the account is that, although this was a very serious storm and not something people should take lightly, it is still nice to have some humor during the tragedy. Other twitter users have made jokes about Sandy as well like, “Gangnam Style must be a rain dance and we’ve brought this on ourselves.” But overall, most tweets have been updates from news channels, government officials and residents about storm updates. I used Twitter as a place to get updates on the storm and to check in with family or friends.

Fake Sandy PictureAlso, Twitter (and other social media sites) had a number of fake pictures going viral. I first saw this picture of the storm behind that Statue of Liberty on one of my friends Facebook pages back in Michigan. I commented on it saying it looked nothing like that in New York, only to find out a couple hours later, it was one of many fake Hurricane Sandy pictures that went viral. I’ve still noticed this picture along with others being posted around Facebook and Twitter.

It’s amazing so many fake pictures have gone viral since the start of this storm. I think I’ve noticed more fake photos making the rounds on social media than real ones. I’m guessing it’s because these fake photos have elements that catch people’s attention. With the above picture, it’s an intense, but beautiful photo. Then again, that’s that magic of photoshop. Other fake photos add a shocking element like showing sharks in the flood waters or dark clouds that look like the end of the world. They seem to be more intriguing than true pictures of Sandy.

It just goes to show that even natural disasters have an impact in the social media world.

What is the Future of Social Media?

Posted on by mlavens in PR&CC: 1070

We live in a world full of social media. Whether we’re browsing people’s photos on Facebook from our computers or updated a status on Twitter from a phone, social media is all around. This form of media happened so fast and is relatively new, so is it just a fad or is it here to stay?

According to Charlene Li, one of the most respected voices in social media, the future of “social media will be like air.” No offense to Charlene Li, but I think we are already there. People rely on social media heavily every day whether it’s to find out what they’re friends are doing, to get news around the world, or any number of other possibilities. Personally, I know that I don’t go a day without checking at least one of my social media platforms. It’s become part of my life, but I’m not sure it will always be that way.

I remember being in middle school and high school and the big thing was MySpace. MySpace began to disappear when Facebook started, and although MySpace just relaunched, it’s still not very popular. The other big thing I used around that age was AOL Instant Messenger (AIM). You’d say goodbye to your friends as the school day ended and then head home just so you can talk to them again. I can’t remember when AIM fizzled out, but none of my friends go on AIM anymore. Instead we use Facebook, Twitter, and text messaging to stay connected.

I’m not the only one that has witnessed this change. Geoff Livingston said, “I feel pretty safe in saying we’re looking at an AOL-esque decline for Facebook.” Facebook has been a huge part of the rise of social media. It even had a movie made about it. Lately, the stock for Facebook has been declining and it’s competing with more and more social media platforms.

I don’t see social media fading out anytime soon, but as technology continues to grow and people learn new ways to use media forms, social media will fade away to the next fad.

The Social Media Customer Service of AT&T

Posted on by mlavens in PR&CC: 1070

Social media has opened many doors for companies. One way social media can be used is for customer service. One company does a great job with social media customer service: AT&T. According to Simply Zesty, AT&T has 1.6 millions fans on Facebook. They receive hundreds of questions everyday and the company uses it for customer service and to create positive experience for users.

AT&T does a few things very well. First off, they use their page for discussions. Wall posts and discussion boards can be a great space for customer service to take place, but companies often forget to use them.  When customers post on Facebook, an AT&T customer service rep will respond to them.  Their Facebook page gives people another outlet to contact AT&T instead of calling the customer service line. Personally, I’m an AT&T customer and I know that it can be a pain to call them, so this gives me another outlet to use.

Another thing that makes AT&T’s digital customer service a great tool is they educate their employees in weekly digital leadership workshops. This is to make sure there is a collaboration between all departments and that employees communicating the same messages offline or online.  This is important, especially within an organization as large as AT&T.  Customers need to have consistent messages from the company so they know it’s credible and communicates the correct information.

Although AT&T does a great job with social media customer service, there are still a few thing they can do to improve it. Social media is all about being instant, so fast response times are important.  First of all, the could increase their response time to questions or complaints.  I logged on to their Facebook page and I had to scroll down to posts from two hours ago to find responses.  Other organizations reply faster. The Delta Airlines twitter page responds much quicker than AT&T.

Second, they can employ more people to handle their social media customer service. Right now they only have 20, so more would be beneficial and could increase response time like mentioned above.

Finally, they could be available 24/7.  On AT&T’s twitter page, they state hours of operation. The Facebook page doesn’t show hours of operation, but I would guess they are the same. Customers want information at all hours of the day, so only being available for some is a downside.

How Social Media Can Help Your Company’s PR

Posted on by mlavens in PR&CC: 1070

With the rise of the internet and digital age, social media has taken over.  People are always sending tweets, checking their Facebook feed, or reading blogs for news.  With this technology and the different social media sites, information is at our finger tips.  So how does this affect the PR?

It can be argued that social media can make things more difficult for PR professionals because people can say whatever they want.  A company or PR professionals cannot control what others say about them on their Facebook, Twitter, or other social media platform.  According to an article on Jontus Media, social media has made it easier for customers to complain.  Without the face-to-face interaction, people are more comfortable writing reviews.  Too many bad reviews, and the company’s reputation could be ruined.

Event though social media can negatively impact a company based on reviews, it is still possible for social media to help a company.  The best thing for a company to do is to take a proactive approach by monitoring and responding to reviews.  By showing they care and by taking the information their customers give them, they can make a plan to ensure the company is seen in a positively.

Building or rebuilding a reputation is not the only thing social media can be used for.  Social media can be very beneficial for a company’s PR because of three reasons:

  1. Increased News Coverage:
    Social media is a great way for companies to show the public what they are doing.  News that would originally be given to tradition media sources via press releases can now be posted on a company’s Facebook or Twitter.  It also means the news can spread faster.  If someone finds a post from a company interesting, they can retweet it or send it to their friends.
  2. Consumer Interactions:
    Before the digital age, if a consumer had a question or complaint about a service or product, they’d need to call a company line and wait to speak to a representative.  Social media has changed that.  It is not possible to tweet a question to a company to have the issue resolved.  I myself have done this before.  Nike offers a service called Nike+ to track workouts.  One day my sensor didn’t record my run, and I didn’t know how to fix that, so I sent them a message on their Facebook page and within minutes I had a response and a fixed product.  It’s immediacy with responses that makes social media an important part of consumer relations.
  3. Cheap or Free Advertising:
    Social media platforms provide a place for companies to showcase their products or services.  It is also a great way to advertise in a less expensive way. One post on a company’s Facebook can spread like wildfire to people’s newsfeeds.  Or a company’s product posted on Pinterest can be repinned thousands of times.  It is hard to pay for advertising that reaches so many people the way social media does.

Although people believe social media can be negative for companies, the positives it brings outweighs the negative.

The Rise of Digital

Posted on by mlavens in PR&CC: 1070

The internet is still pretty young, yet it seems like it has been around forever.  That’s because of the rise of digital communications and social media happened so quickly.

Digital communication is in our daily lives.  Cell phones aren’t just for talking anymore.  With texting, apps, skype and so much more, cell phones are basically the world in the palm of our hands.  The new rise of digital communication has caused humans to worry less about face to face interaction.  Instead, I can pick up my iPhone and send a quick text to my roommate letting her know that I picked up dinner.  Or I can send a funny reply to a tweet from my best friend living in Nashville.  Ten years ago, that wasn’t possible.

At that point, I had my first cell phone.  The best part about it…I could call my friends without having to use the house phone.  Now, people don’t even have landlines.  Instead they use cell phones, tablets, computers, and so much more to communication.

So what has this done to our society?  It’s turned us into a media sharing society.  It’s much easier to get information in this new digital age.  People are getting their news from Facebook or Twitter and sharing stories or products on blogs or Pinterest.  Just last night I was on Twitter and saw a tweet from The New York Times about Apple creating an internet radio source to compete with Pandora.

This was the first I had heard of anything like that.  I clicked on the link and read the article.  Following that, I retweeted it myself and within minutes, I had followers retweet it or reply to it.  And my guess would be, most of these followers, saw the post on Twitter before seeing it in the New York Times or other newspapers.

The rise of the digital era has changed the way people live in the past few years, and with the continued creation of social media websites and phone applications, the digital era will continue to change and so will our style of communication.

Racing Returns to the Motor City

Posted on by mlavens in Press Release

Detroit Grand Prix 2012 LogoBELLE ISLE, MI – After four years racing has returned to Detroit with the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix.  The Grand Prix features a 2.1 mile track with 14 exciting turns, and plenty of grand stands for fans to cheer on their favorite drivers.  There is even the Meijer Fun Zone for families and kids to enjoy between races.

Today was Social Media Saturday sponsored by Channel 7 – WXYZ, Detroit.  I was lucky enough to be able to attend the event.  You can see my tweets and Facebook posts from throughout the day on each of my pages, but here is a recap:

The day started out with a trip behind the scenes of the Grand Prix, so I was able to see where all the cars were with all the teams hard at work on them.  I’ve never been to a race before, so being this close to the cars are the drivers was awesome!  While back there, Channel 7 arranged for Jim Jordan, a member of the Dempsey Racing team to talk with us.  And when I say Dempsey Racing, I mean Patrick Dempsey, as in Dr. McDreamy.

For those of you that don’t know, Patrick Dempsey is not only an actor, but he is also a race car driver and was in Detroit to race in the Grand Prix.  Dempsey actually got his start in racing from doing voiceovers in Mazda commercials.  He had always had a passion for racing, and Mazda gave him his start.  I learned a lot about Dempsey Racing as well as Patrick Dempsey himself from Jim Jordan.  You can get updates from Jordan and all the other members of the Dempsey Racing team by following them on Twitter, @GoDempseyRacing.

Dane MoxlowMeeting with Jordan was not the only meet and greet during the day.  I got to meet race car driver and Michigan native, Dane Moxlow.  I got to hear about his take on the Belle Isle Grand Prix course and how he uses social media to stay connected with fans.  He especially likes Twitter because it’s a way for fans to get real-time updates during race weekends.  Be sure to follow him on twitter, @DMoxlow.

One final stop before heading to the grand stands to watch the races was the Team Chevy tent.  There was an autograph session going on, snacks, and beautiful Chevy cars to check out.  After getting my autographs, I headed to the stands to watch the races!

I did not stay for the entire Grand Prix, but the races I did get to see were pretty exciting.  This was like nothing I had experienced before.  It’s great that the city of Detroit was able to bring the Grand Prix back this year, and I’m extremely grateful that I got to experience it.  And with the help of Channel 7, I got to experience it in style!

The Grand Prix continues tomorrow where you can attend the IZOD IndyCar Series race, the Pirelli World Challenge Series race #2, and the Firestone Indy Lights race.  Tickets are limited, but available, so be sure to grab them before they’re gone.  And even though Social Media Saturday is over, you can still tell everyone about the event.  Don’t forget to us the hashtag #detroitgp when tweeting your updates!

Note: This is not a publication associated with Channel 7 – WXYZ or the Chevrolet Grand Prix.  This was written as an opinion piece by a private writer.