Category: Marketing

Sophisticated Guides for Sophisticated Consumers

by Lina Arseneault, posted in Management, Marketing, Mobile

The Next-Generation Retail Associate will be the cornerstone of personalized and unique shopping experiences.  They will be the ones wielding the mobile point of sale (POS) and information devices; and will be the face of the brand with the consumer.

“ They will be engaging individuals who are capable of building strong emotional connections with consumers, and they will be supported by technologies that will help them to achieve this.” – Doug Stephens @RetailProphet and author of The Retail Revival

This evolving new breed of associates will barely resemble those we have become used to (put up with) over the last two or three decades.  They will be computer and mobile savvy and have superior interpersonal skills. And the more languages they speak to accommodate the customer, the better.  Let’s take a glimpse into their technology-enabled world in the not-too-distant future …

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1)     Mobile-Device Enabled

The mobile device will be the most important tool for working in this new environment.

“Retailers surveyed for the 2013 RIS News Store Systems Study, released in August 2013, identified ‘mobile for associates’ as their top store system priority, chosen by 61% of respondents.” – Retail Info Systems (RIS)

2)     Access to In-Store Wi-Fi

If mobile devices are the embodiment of this new era of retail, in-store Wi-Fi is the behind-the-scenes magic that will make it possible. It will arm associates with:

  • Source: Operating Seamlessly: Integrating Operations to Deliver the Non-Stop Customer Experience, 2013 via @AccentureRetail
    Source: Operating Seamlessly: Integrating Operations to Deliver the Non-Stop Customer Experience, 2013 via @AccentureRetail

    Store and company-wide inventory

  • In-depth product specifications
  • Product reviews
  • Customer name, demographics, purchase history
  • Customer loyalty program information
  • Employee collaboration and social tools

3)     Workforce Management Solutions

These systems offer many sophisticated tools for managers and associates to plan, record and optimize their tasks, including:

  • Scheduling information
  • Recording time worked
  • Shift bidding (where associates can swap shifts with others according to guidelines)
  • Exchanging information with HR

4)     Superior Customer Service Capability

Armed with easy access to information about the customer standing right in front of them — and what the store can offer to them — the associate will be empowered to deliver excellent and personalized customer service:

  • Greet customer via mobile phone upon entering the store
  • Guide customers on how to leverage loyalty program perks
  • Answer customer in-depth questions about products and selection
  • Offer customers information on useful add-on or additional products
  • Check stock without leaving the customer
  • Order on-line for them and arrange delivery, if not in stock (“endless aisle” concept)
  • Complete transaction via mobile POS so customer doesn’t need to wait in line
Source RIS: Preparing Associates for a New Paradigm in Customer Service
Source RIS: Preparing Associates for a New Paradigm in Customer Service

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The challenge for brick-and-mortar retailers will be to find these people.

perlsThis will require rethinking the value of the associate to the organization. Better compensation and training will be needed to mold these associates into ambassadors for their brand.

“ Retailers seeking to prepare their associates for a new paradigm will need to start thinking of that workforce as skilled users of technology, and train them in managing and meeting customer expectations that continue to climb.” – Retail Information Systems

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Additional Information:

@LinaArseneault Retail Blog Roll:

SVTweetUP: Social Selling or Selling Social?

by Lina Arseneault, posted in Communications, innovation, Leadership, Marketing, silicon valley, Social, social media, Twitter

 

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of mentoring an ambitious and innovative marketer named LaSandra Brill.  It wasn’t long before she blossomed into a leading edge authority on social media. LaSandra is the change agent visionary behind one of the top five product launches in Cisco’s history. At Cisco, she leads a team responsible for implementing a mix of innovative digital, mobile and social media techniques.

Photo credit

You can find LaSandra rocking social media on:

Following are a few LaSandra and Cisco social snipets:

Cisco Unveils Social Media Listening Center – Oct 23 2012

Silicon Valley Tweet Up

One of LaSanadra’s Facebook updates caught my eye.  I’d always wanted to attend an in person TweetUp (a meet up (virtual and/or in person) of people that ‘tweet’ about a specific topic using Twitter) but never got around to doing it.

HOW TO: Organize a Successful Tweetup by Stuart Foater

The one featured in LaSandra’s Facebook update was especially appealing because of its location, the topic (Social Selling or Selling Social?) and the panelists: Ted Sapounitz, Jennifer Leggio, Michael Brito, and LaSandra Brill – la crème de la crème of some of Silicon Valley’s best and brightest social media minds.

Silicon Valley Tweetup combines networking with philanthropy by raising money for family-oriented charities. Run by @britopian (Michael Brito), @gabrielcarrejo (Gabriel Carrejo) and @mediaphyter (Jennifer Leggio).

Michael Brito is a senior vice president of Social Business Planning at Edelman Digital.  He is also an Adjunct Professor at San Jose State University teaching social business to undergraduate students.

Jennifer Leggio describes herself as a raconteur, comedienne, hockey lover (no wonder I like her!) and “Security Twits herder emeritus”. She is VP of Corporate Communications for Sourcefire. Forbes.com tech contributor.

As of last week, Ted Sapountzis is head of Marketing and Product Management at NextPrinciples– he was formerly VP Social Marketing at SAP.

Sponsored by onemedical, the event was held was held at the Palo Alto Women’s Club. The format for the event was one part networking, two parts highly entertaining expert panel and one part free going twitter chat.

Needless to say, I felt far more comfortable at this event.

Inperson introvert and online extrovert? | You’re not alone!

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Gabriel Carrejo moderated the evening with engaging questions that uncovered the following themes:

  • Content is the currency of the social web

  • Make your content social friendly

  • It’s okay to experiment: fail fast, learn and move on

    • LaSandra Brill touches on Cisco’s SecondLife and Jennifer Leggio makes us laugh with her spelling mistake video anecdote.
  • Jennifer Leggio’s Keys to Social Media Success: repetition and consistency (For effect, she said it several times throughout the evening!)
(from left to right) Ted Sapounitz, Jennifer Leggio, Michael Brito, and LaSandra Brill | panelists for SVTweetUp “Social Selling or Selling Social?” – October 2012

Photo credit | More SVTweetUp photos

Everything you wanted to know about Twitter Chats via @markwschaefer

What makes for a great Tweet Up?

  • Topic
  • Format
  • Moderator
  • Panelists
  • Participants

What are some of your favorite Tweet Ups and why?

Related post:  High-Tech Wizardry and Entrepreneurial Witchcraft: What Makes Silicon Valley The World Capital of Innovation?

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Business Networking: What Archetype Are You?

by Lina Arseneault, posted in Communications, Marketing, silicon valley, Social, social media, Teams

One of my personal professional goals is to attend at least twelve business networking events throughout the year. Many people prefer face-to-face networking over online based networking – I am not one of them. I’m far more comfortable with virtual schmoozing or rubbing of digital elbows. Is it a wonder that social media makes my heart sing!

In chapter two of Tipping Point, Malcom Gladwell describes three types of special people:

  • connectors (glue),

  • mavens (content) and

  • salespeople (persuasion).

I’m not shy and I’m a great public speaker (in fact, I love public speaking).  I’m simply not one of those natural in person cocktail “connectors”… but bring digital into the mix and the situation is quite different.   Isn’t it time to consider that some people might not be the same archetype in person as they are in an online setting?   One thing is for sure, I am not a salesperson type in either setting, never have, never will be! I’d describe myself as a maven (data and content are my thing) and hybrid-connector (in-person introvert / online extravert).

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Of my twelve networking events goal, I’m aiming for a distribution of about eight in-person (outside my comfort zone) and the balance as online or hybrid events.

And so, early in October, I accepted an exclusive invitation from SAP in concert with Diversity Week at the company. The Palo Alto based event featured a presentation by Barbara Annis, world-renowned gender specialist.  Following Barbara’s “Great Minds Think Unalike” lecture, there would be a Get to Know Us networking party with key executives.

Four things intrigued me about the SAP invitation:

1.      The title of the event: A Celebration of Female Talent

2.      There would be a lecture to celebrate diversity and inclusion in the workplace (I wouldn’t have to schmooze during that time!)

3.      Executives would be on hand at the networking party, and

4.      Most importantly, I am a huge fan of Michael Brenner.

Michael is the author of B2B Marketing Insider, the co-founder of Business 2 Community and also serves as Sr. Director of Integrated Marketing and Content Strategy for SAP where he is the founding editor for the SAP Business Innovation blog. Isn’t it interesting how my perception of Michael is both as SAP brand ambassador and industry expert? Corporations that embrace the social era will want to have many Michael’s – the more the better.

Join The 1% And Become A Content Creator by Michael Brenner

Your Employee Is an Online Celebrity. Now What Do You Do? – via @WSJ

Same Words, Different Language: How Men and Women Misunderstand each other at Work and What to do About It

Barbara was very engaging around making the case for gender intelligence.  She presented findings and case studies that illustrate how gender differences are complementary and help create competitive advantage.  Much of her material is based on her second book “Same Words, Different Language: How Men and Women Misunderstand each other at Work and What to do About It”.

Barbara’s lecture was certainly thought provoking and provided a great platform to open networking conversations (I was thankful for that).  The networking event was exceptional and I’m glad I attended.  Truth be known, after the fact, I’m always very pleased with in person events I attend … I just have to push myself to go.

Little did I know that I would have more exposure to SAP the following night at SVTweetUp, a hybrid in-person and online event.  More on that in a follow-on post.

What’s your archetype profile? Does it differ between online and in-person? Add your comments below.

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Additional Information

Clive Thompson on the Power of Introversion

Wired Magazine | April 2012

“Guy Kawasaki, by all appearances, seems like an outgoing guy. A former Apple “evangelist,” he’s an omnipresent voice online, blogging his ideas about entrepreneurship and tweeting 40 times a day to his half-million followers.

But a few years ago he posted a surprising 140-character revelation. “You may find this hard to believe,” Kawasaki wrote, “but I am an introvert. I have a ‘role’ to play, but fundamentally I am a loner.” His followers were gobsmacked.”

Continue reading at Clive Thompson on the Power of Introversion.

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CaféLina Receives Certification in Inbound Marketing

by Lina Arseneault, posted in blogging, closed-loop analysis, Communications, inbound marekting certified professional, inbound marketing, inbound marketing university, lead conversion, lead nurturing, Marketing, search engine optimization, Social, social media

For some time, I’ve wanted to complete Inbound Marketing University’s Inbound Marketing training curriculum. Inbound Marketing University awards the Inbound Marketing Certification as part of its comprehensive Internet marketing training program (http://inboundmarketing.com).

“If you have more money than brains, use outbound marketing. If you have more brains than money, use inbound marketing.” 

Guy Kawasaki

To complete the Inbound Marketing Certification, I completed 16 in-depth classes covering each facet of inbound marketing and passed a comprehensive online certification exam. The comprehensive exam contains 50 multiple choice and true & false questions. The examiner must receive a 75% or above to achieve the certification.

The courses are taught by a knowledgeable faculty of professors, including New York Times’ best-selling author Chris Brogan, Google’s Analytics Evangelist Avinash Kaushik, Internet celebrity Gary Vaynerchuk, best-selling author and international speaker David Meerman Scott, and more.

 Get Found | Convert | Analyze

Much of content is skewed to the < Get Found > portion of the inbound marketing continuum which is comprised of  < Get Found | Convert | Analyze >. < Get Found > is broken down into three areas: [ create, optimize and promote ]. For future revisions of the curriculum, my hope is that IMU will further expand on the < Analyze > portion.

My favorite classes were taught by David Meerman Scott (Viral Marketing and World Wide Raves), Lee Odden (SEO Crash Course to Get Found) and Avinash Kaushik (Advanced Marketing Analyics).

This certification acknowledges my proficiency in inbound marketing principles and best practices. These principles include: blogging, search engine optimization, social media, lead conversion, lead nurturing and closed-loop analysis.

I join an elite group of Inbound Marketing Certified Professionals. Over 2,000 individuals have successfully passed the IMU program since its inception in 2009. Students from all over the world have participated; countries include India, Australia, Denmark, Brazil, and more. The training and certification is completely free. Inbound Marketing University program is administered by HubSpot.

If you’re looking to sharpen your content marketing skills, consider Inbound Marketing University (IMU)

If leading edge marketing is your thing, build in a bit of time in your calendar over the course of the next few months and the next thing you know, you’ll obtain one of the industry’s hottest certification, and IMU is a free!

Are Inbound Marketing and Outbound Marketing Mutually Exclusive?

via Kuno Creative

Additional Information:

About InboundMarketing.com

InboundMarketing.com is an online community and certification program for marketers. The site’s content teaches a new style of marketing that emphasizes business uses of social media, content creation and search engine optimization for marketing. InboundMarketing.com is hosted and moderated by HubSpot, Inc.

Learn the latest tips and tricks to online marketing by downloading the latest edition of HubSpot’s most popular ebook!

About HubSpot

HubSpot, Inc. provides Internet marketing software that helps businesses get found online, generate more inbound leads and convert a higher percentage of those leads into paying customers. HubSpot’s software platform includes tools that allow professional marketers and business owners to manage search engine optimization, blogging and social media, as well as landing pages, lead intelligence and marketing analytics. Based in Cambridge, MA, HubSpot can be found at http://www.hubspot.com. HubSpot’s free marketing tools can be found at http://marketing.grader.com/.

Turbo Charge Your Career Development Plan With IMU

by Lina Arseneault, posted in innovation, Leadership, Management, Marketing, Teams

Is it that time of year? Is your heart racing at the thought of having your performance evaluation and career development discussion?

Anemic Career Development Plan?

Whatever you call them; employee reviews evaluate our performance on the job. They often determine raises, promotions, and sometimes whether we get to keep our jobs. It’s no surprise that these “report cards” often make us feel uneasy.  Have you become a “human-doing” and neglected to invest in your development plan?

In any learning organization, continuous improvement means growth through learning events and experiences.  It can be applied to individuals and teams.  Cost and time need not be barriers to your continuous learning investment.

If you’re looking to sharpen your content marketing skills, consider Inbound Marketing University (IMU)

IMU is a free (yes, free! management will love you for it) educational program powered by HubSpot, a software company that helps marketers and small businesses grow their business online through inbound marketing.

IMU Online Training and Certification Course for Internet Marketing Professionals

Because IMU courses are self-paced, you can watch the videos whenever your schedule allows and you can download all the materials including videos, handouts and case studies. The sessions are moderated by the who’s who of content marketing. In total, there are 18 modules covering a wide range of topics from blogging basics to SEO tactics, inbound lead nurturing as well as social media for big business; to name only a few. The training curriculum concludes with a certification exam, where one can become an “Inbound Marketing Certified Professional” (providing you score 75% or higher on the online certification exam).

GF101 as in “get-found-101”

The first course covers how to blog effectively for business.  It goes over the basics of blog layout and content. Ann Handley (MarketingProfs’ Chief Content Officer) and Mark Collier (Social Media Consultant) moderate this lead off session. The dynamic digital duo offers advice on how to draw in an audience and maintain quality engagement through feedback and interactions.

“Anything in life worth having is worth working for.” Andrew Carnegie

You’ll have to roll up your virtual sleeves to obtain the IMU certification.  Each module includes a homework assignment that helps you put into practice the learning of each session.  Specifically for GF101, you need to write about three best practices that you will adopt into your blogging strategy.

Fortunately for me, I’ve been blogging for a while. CaféLina is my virtual café where you’ll find tips, ideas, best practices, references and discussions on all things marketing, communications, digital, mobile and social. I’m always looking to improve the CaféLina reader experience (it’s a labor of love!)

Specifically, I want to get better in the following areas:

  1. Analytics: better understand the nuances in the data and plan out my editorial calendar accordingly
  2. Engagement: greater comment interaction on each post
  3. BlogRoll: develop an area where readers can easily find and reference resources they value (people, blogs, information)

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No more Excuses!

If leading edge marketing is your thing, build in a bit of time in your calendar over the course of the next few months and the next thing you know, you’ll obtain one of the industry’s hottest certification.  You’ll even be looking forward to your next performance evaluation and career development discussion

It’s up to us as individuals to make a commitment to our own development.

Considering the explosive evolution of technology and business processes, it’s not difficult to understand why leading organizations strongly encourage employee self-driven quest for knowledge.  These organizations understand that a culture of continuous learning is directly linked to competitiveness and business success. However, a company’s training department is seldom able to provide everything that employees need to be great at their jobs and prepare for the jobs of the future.  It’s up to us as individuals to make a commitment to our own development.

What’s in your development plan? (leave a comment below)

Additional Information:

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Potpourri Food for Thought: Don’t Hide Under a Rock

by Lina Arseneault, posted in Communications, Facebook, Marketing, Social, Twitter

2 Social Media Fix It Tips

Did you Tweet something, then change your mind? Don’t worry! It’s easy to delete one of your Twitter updates. Keep in mind that you can only delete Tweets that you have made, you can’t delete other users’ Tweets from your timeline and you can’t delete someone else’s RT of your post.

1) How to delete one of your Tweets:

Watch a YouTube video demonstration

  1. Log in to twitter.com.

  2. Visit your Profile page.

  3. Locate the Tweet you want to delete.

  4. Hover your mouse over the message and click Delete.

2) Facebook lets you edit your comments by Nancy Blair via USA Today

Apologizing opens up the doors to communication, which allows you to reconnect and move on more easily.  Remember that despite your best efforts, mistakes happen at some point.  Be sure to have a plan to respond to both positive and negative events. Know when and how to apologize.

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Check out OOPS … Marekting Hall of Shame to learn more about social media blunders and how to recover

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Send suggestions for future Potpourri Food for Thought features.

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Social Media Crisis: An Ounce Of Prevention Is Worth A Pound Of Cure

by Lina Arseneault, posted in Communications, INFOGRAPHIC, Internet, Marketing, Mobile, Social, Twitter

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Information graphics or infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge and they are extremely popular of late.

To round out my Social Media Blunder series, I am featuring an infographic by Patricia Redsicker of www.wordviewediting.com.   How to Avoid A Social Media Crisis [Infographic] characterizes Jeremiah Owyang’s work on social business hierarchy of needs.

Altimeter Blog:  “Research Report: Be Prepared by Climbing the Social Business Hierarchy of Needs“ by Jeremiah Owyang  | Download  the complete report.  August 31, 2011

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure

Now more than ever, it’s important for companies to listen to their customers on social media yet according to an infographic from Get Satisfaction and Column Five, 50 percent of companies say it’s not a core function of their business.  With the rise of power to the consumer via social media, companies will need to invest in listening.

“United Breaks Guitars” is a protest song by CanadianmusicianDave Carroll and his band, Sons of Maxwell. It chronicles a real-life experience of how his guitar was broken during a trip on United Airlines in 2008, and the subsequent reaction from the airline.  Over 12 million people have watched the YouTube video.

LA Fitness endures social media nightmare | via The Drum

Listening: Recognition Through Active Monitoring

  • Whether you take this on yourself or entrust it to a reputation management firm, it’s essential for you to know when trouble is brewing.
  • Listen all the time, not only on weekdays.

More on “listening” via @LaSandraBrill, Senior Manager Social Media at Cisco : [SlideShare] Cisco and the Social Web: Listening and Responding to Your Customers and Prospects

The Science of Listening in Social Media and Blogs via Kuno Creative

InformationWeek: Sentiment Analysis: How Companies Now Listen To The Web and 7 Ways Sentiment Is Hard To Decipher Online

More on Infographics

Social media is reinventing how business is done – via USATODAY.com

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Become the Frog Prince of Social Media in 5 Easy Steps

by Lina Arseneault, posted in Marketing, Social, Twitter

Social Media Blooper + Apology = Unexpected Outcome

According to the Urban Dictionary, slizzard is a slang term for intoxicated or one who has consumed alcohol and is either tipsy or fully intoxicated and showing signs of alcohol abuse and maybe alcohol poisoning.

This story begins with someone at the Red Cross accidentally tweeting about “getting slizzard” …

Step 1) Accidental Tweet

Ryan found two or more bottle packs of Dogfish Head’s Midas Touch beer …. When we drink we do it right #gettingslizzerd

Midas Touch is an herbed / spiced beer from Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Milton, DE.

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Related Posts: 

OOPS : Best of Social Media Blunders and Recovering from a Social Media Gaffe

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Step 2) Tweet Accounted For

Rogue tweet frm @RedCross due to my inability to use Hootsuite… I wasn’t actually #gettingslizzard but just excited! #nowembarassing

Step 3) The Red Cross acknowledges its mistake and removes the tweet.  Notice the tasteful injection of humor.

We’ve deleted the rogue tweet but rest assured the Red Cross is sober and we’ve confiscated the keys.

Step 4) @dogfishbeer takes notice and urges its followers to donate to the Red Cross

RT @Michael_Hayek: #craftbeer @dogfishbeer fans, donate 2 @redcross 2day. Tweet with #gettingslizzerd. Donate here

Red Cross + Dogfish = Unexpected Social Surprise

Step 5) Surprise Happy Ending:  several people tweet about donating money

All’s Well That Ends Well

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Don’t Just Keep Your Head Above Water, Take Tweeting Lessons

by Lina Arseneault, posted in Communications, Internet, Leadership, Marketing, Social, Twitter

Don’t Just Keep Your Head Above Water, Take Tweeting Lessons

Social media is a powerful way for politicians to distribute information and also engage with constituents in real time. With that comes the risks of magnified and costly missteps.

After sporting his personal Twitter handle for less than 3 weeks, a Québec politician recently found himself in troubled waters.

François Legault tweeted that:

“girls attach less importance to salary than do boys”.

Loose Tweets Sink Ships

Reaction to the controversial tweet was swift and included qualifiers such as “dinosaur”, “sexist” and “clumsy politician”.

Guy A Lepage, talk show host, actor, comedian, and producer (with Oprah-like influence) jokingly tweeted that

“Monsieur Legault’s Twitter account has been hacked!!!! (in any case, that’s my hope for him)”.

In turn, Monsieur Legault fired back at his critics:

Caption: “What’s sexist about saying that women attach less importance to salary than men when making a career choice?”

Beware of the Siren Song of Self-Justification

The resistance to apologizing does all sorts of bad things professionally.  The longer issues are left unaddressed, the deeper the resentment and the harder it is to move forward.

Monsieur Legault didn’t back down to any of his critics and a review of his timeline shows a multitude of defensive clarifications. No apology or “Politwoops ” retraction for him.

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The original version of Politwoops was developed by the Open State Foundation of The Netherlands to follow the country’s members of parliament and town council representatives. Several international versions of the site exist.

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Une tempête dans un ver d’eau – storm in a tea cup

Prevent Tweet Storms

Simply introducing people to a new platform and then leaving them to their own devices is a recipe for disaster.

With the prospect of a provincial election on the horizon, Monsieur Legault and other Québec politicians, and their respective parties, should hone their social media skills … and possibly opt for some coaching to make the most of their foray in social media waters.

Every organization needs to have some way of monitoring social media either by humans or by automated tools so that they can be alerted to a crisis situation and be ready to respond.   Keep an eye on social media and be prepared to respond if something needs immediate attention.

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OOPS:  More on social media blunders and how to recover from them

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Social Media Incident in Wild Rose Country

The wild rose is the official flower of the province of Alberta.

In a recent too-close-to-call election campaign, Alberta’s Progressive Conservative (PC) party saw how quickly things can go off the social rails.  A PC staffer took to her personal Twitter account in response to a promise from the Wildrose Party to introduce new programs and services aimed at young families.

From her personal Twitter account, Amanda Wilkie directed a tweet at Danielle Smith, leader of the Wildrose party:

“If @ElectDanielle likes young and growing families so much, why doesn’t she have children of her own?”

Immediate Outrage

Danielle Smith had undergone several unsuccessful fertility treatments in an effort to have children.   PC leader Alison Redford ended up apologizing to Smith.  Within hours, Wilkie removed  the tweet and deleted her account. She was promptly fired.

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Drowning?

Beware of virtuous and destructive cycles.  Don’t let social spiral out of control.  Invest in social media coaching for you and your brand.  Don’t just keep your head above water, take tweeting lessons.

Simply Providing Social Tools = Failure

              • A “provide and pray” approach has about a 90% failure rate
              • Radical benefits result from delivering social solutions
              • A social media solution is the right tools targeted at a defined purpose

Source:  “Taking a Strategic Approach to Social Media”, Gartner Research Webinar by Carol Rozwell and Nick Gall

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Additional Insights

United-States:  An Election on Facebook: Old Media Enters New World via NPR [video, audio, transcript]

Do “likes” on Facebook translate to votes? Howard Kurtz and Lauren Ashburn of Daily-Download.com examine that issue with Ray Suarez and also explore why traditional news outlets are partnering with social media sites this election year.

Instant Friends – Just Add Water

Don’t be fooled by false friends … it has been suggested that the Romney campaign is buying followers to catch up to President Obama’s giant social footprint?

This Is The Face Of Mitt Romney’s Fake Twitter Followers by Elizabeth Flock via US News

Social Media Smoke and Mirrors: Buying and Selling Fake Followers (Politicians Do It, Too) via @MarketingProfs includes [infographic]

The Dynamic Duo

@MichelleObama: Saturday, people all across the country will be registering voters and reaching out to their neighbors. Join in: http://t.co/w8Cyz5NS –mo

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TV Talk Show Host Caught in Double Whammy Twitter Gaffe

by Lina Arseneault, posted in Communications, francais, Internet, Management, Marketing, Social, Twitter

Margaret Thatcher Is Not Dead …

TV Talk Show Host Caught in Double Whammy Twitter Gaffe

One of the key benefits of social media is that your messages can reach more people faster. But this also means that your mistakes can too.

A social gaffe can lead to an awkward situation and can be quite embarrassing especially if it’s as a result of your own actions.  Make sure you have your story straight – go social without the facts and you’ll have egg on your face.

Mario Dumont is a television personality and former Québec politician.  He was a member of the National Assembly of Québec from 1994 to 2009. He now hosts a daily news and talk show.  In May 2012, Mario Dumont wrongly twitted that Margaret Thatcher was dead, by tweeting the following message:

 R.I.P. Margaret Thatcher, a woman of vision and decisiveness. A rarity,

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Related Posts: 

OOPS : Best of Social Media Blunders and Recovering from a Social Media Gaffe

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The road to hell is often paved with good intentions

The same medium that made your mistake widely visible can help broadcast your apology.  Be up-front about the mistake you made and apologize.

Despite having the best of intentions, Monsieur Dumont faltered on many fronts:

  • He was deceived by a spoof Twitter account attributed to former French first lady Carla Bruni.  The fake-Bruni falsely announced the death of “Margareth Thatcher”, notice the misspelled first name with a “th” at the end of Margaret.

Key take-aways: beware of rumors, famous fakes and misspellings

  • He caused outrage since people took offence to him calling Margaret Thatcher a “rare” woman of vision and decisiveness.  This was interpreted as an unintended slight to women.

Key take-away: carefully word your tweets; it’s amazing how much trouble you can get into with as little as 140 characters

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7 Tips on How to Apologize in the Business World by Tom Searcy

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Apologies Galore

  • Monsieur Dumont retracted himself and issued an apology in which he explains being duped by the fake Bruni Twitter account.
“The news about Mrs. Thatcher — not a reliable source. News came from a fake Carla Bruni account. Sorry.”
  • LesNews, a French speaking Twitter feed that reports breaking news via social media also found itself apologizing for the gaffe.  They had reported based on Monsieur Dumont’s initial Thatcher tweet.

The resistance to apologizing does all sorts of bad things professionally.  The longer issues are left unaddressed, the deeper the resentment and the harder it is to move forward.

Unintended Benefits

  • In a follow up tweet, Monsieur Dumont said he was surprised by news reports about his mistake – and by the number of new Twitter followers he now has.

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You can run, but you can’t hide

Politwoops: deleted tweets from politicians

We all tweet things we don’t mean to share, but now – thanks to Politwoops – politicians have no way to hide them. The service allows you to discover tweets that politicians shared and then promptly deleted.

The original version of Politwoops was developed by the Open State Foundation of The Netherlands to follow the country’s members of parliament and town council representatives. The US version is operated by the Sunlight Foundation.

Several other international versions of the site exist though not operated by Sunlight.

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Don’t be an Autrich

… although sometimes you might want to.

Did you Tweet something, then change your mind? Don’t worry! It’s easy to delete one of your Twitter updates. Keep in mind that you can only delete tweets that you have made, you can’t delete other users’ tweets from your timeline and you can’t delete someone else’s retweet (RT) of your post.

How to delete one of your Tweets:

  1. Log in to twitter.com.
  2. Visit your Profile page.
  3. Locate the Tweet you want to delete.
  4. Hover your mouse over the message and click Delete.

Watch a YouTube video demonstration.

Facebook lets you edit your comments by Nancy Blair via USA Today

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Know when and how to apologize

Remember that despite your best efforts, mistakes happen at some point.  Be sure to have a plan to respond to both positive and negative events.  Apologizing opens up the doors to communication, which allows you to reconnect and move on more easily.  Apologizing doesn’t have to be difficult, and can come from a place of strength. Learn the art of apologizing effectively and you may find a significant reduction in the negative effects of highly charged situations.

When everyone can see what you’re doing, you need to act with transparency, honesty and credibility.  In doing so, you’ll avoid having eggs thrown at you.

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