Seven Ways To Fix A Social Media Mistake

Editor's Note: The following is a guest Marketing Mulligans post written by Dan Himmon, the principal at Hive Strategies, an Oregon-based social media consulting firm which works exclusively with hospitals and healthcare systems to engage patients on different levels. This piece originally appeared on the Hive Strategies blog, and later reprinted on Ragan.com. In today's day and age, social media mistakes are exceedingly common, both among small and mid-sized businesses and major, high-profile brands. So when a critical error in judgment or execution arises, what are the best ways to fix it, swiftly and efficiently? Himmon, who can be followed on Twitter at @hivedan, offers some excellent suggestion for mitigating social media gaffes of all varieties.

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In the fast-paced world of social media, it's bound to happen. You send a personal tweet from your company's Twitter account instead of your own. Or you post something on Facebook that you later realize was short-sighted or easy to misinterpret. Or there's always that unfortunate typo.

How do you fix a social media mistake?

Obviously, the best solution is not to make a mistake in the first place. But the fact is that, in spite of our best efforts, mistakes are going to happen. By planning ahead for the inevitable, you'll be able to act responsibly and move ahead.

A recent Mashable article by Zachary Sideman gives some excellent pointers. I've adapted some of his ideas and added a few of my own to provide some solid tips when you're faced with a social media mistake.

1. Respond As Quickly As Possible

In social media, particularly on Twitter, an hour or two is an eternity. Even if you're able to remove the content from your own Facebook page, it's still out there. If you realize you've made a mistake, respond as soon as possible.

2. Monitor The Response

By following your Twitter feed or Facebook posts, you'll see if people are reacting negatively and how seriously they are reacting. Take a few minutes to see how people are responding before framing your response.

3. Be Honest

Clearly, Anthony Weiner's claim that his Twitter account had been hacked was a sham, and it didn't take long for everyone to figure that out. Be honest. "I made a mistake when…" People always appreciate the truth and, as a bonus, it builds trust.

4. Apologize Appropriately

Some mistakes are much more serious than others, and as a result, some mistakes require a much more serious response than others. The problem is, when the mistake is ours, it always feels terrible. Take a moment to bounce the mistake off someone you trust for perspective, and then frame your apology with the right level of seriousness.

5. Repair The Mistake

If your mistake impacts someone else, take the right steps to repair the error, and then let your followers and fans know what you've done.

6. Move On

Once you've acknowledged the error, apologized, and repaired any damage, it's time to let it go and move ahead. In 99.9 percent of the cases, people will accept this and forget about it. It doesn't do any good to beat yourself up.

7. A Bonus Tip

A Twitter mistake is most likely to happen when you combine your personal and professional Twitter accounts on the same application. Consider separating them. For instance, you might want to manage your personal Twitter account on Hootsuite and your professional (hospital) account on TweetDeck. That way you're forced to navigate from one application to the other when you change feeds. It's an extra step, but one that could save you a lot of embarrassment.

The lesson in a nutshell:  Mistakes will happen. Fix them quickly and get over them.

© Copyright 2011 Ragan Communications, Inc. | Hive Strategies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Six Tips For Getting Your Product In A Movie Or On A TV Series

Editor's Note: The following is a guest Marketing Mulligans post written by Katie Morell, a Chicago-based writer and editor who frequently contributes to OPEN Forum, where this piece originally appeared. Ever wondered how different products and services ACTUALLY end up in theatrical films, and on cable and network television series? It's a difficult process called product placement, and it's big business. However, if you're a small business owner, you can still engage in this marketing practice, but you'll need to follow these tips.

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During a recent trip to New York City, I dragged my husband across town for one reason: to visit Magnolia Bakery. Why, you ask? Well, as a Sex and the City fan, my mouth had watered years ago watching Carrie and Miranda chow down on Magnolia’s cupcakes, and ever since, I vowed to try one myself.

So on a warm night in late May, we stood in line, chatted up a few tourists visiting with the same inspiration, bought our cupcakes, and feasted. I was in heaven. After all, I was eating the same pastry as the stars of my favorite show.

Think about this for a minute; In today’s rushed society, very few of us have time to watch commercials in their entirety—instead reaching for the fast forward button on our DVR — so advertisers have to get creative, and product placement is a great way to score face time with customers in a credible way.

How much did the Sex and City placement help Magnolia Bakery?

“Had that placement not happened, we would still just be a little bakery in the West Village; because that show was so iconic, we became a cultural icon ourselves,” says Steve Abrams, owner.

Since the appearance, which aired more than 10 years ago, shows such as Jimmy Fallon, Weeds and Saturday Night Live have also featured the bakery. According to Abrams, every spot developed organically.

“They all came to us — it really is a fluke, but now we are a part of culture in New York City and the world,” he says, adding that the bakery has locations in Los Angeles and Dubai, and is currently setting up a worldwide franchising model.

Understanding The Business

Small business owners can land great spots by developing their own strategic marketing plan (see tips below), or by hiring a product placement company to lobby studios on their behalf. Most companies that do this are located in Los Angeles — a few include C3B Hollywood, Hollywood Branded, and The Marketing Arm.

These companies are popular with big brands—such as FedEx, when the company landed a starring role in Castaway, Pepsi in Back to the Future, or Reese’s Pieces in E.T. Brands pay large sums of money to product placement companies and studios for such prime slots and there is a lot of competition.

Luckily for small business owners, little brands have an easier time slipping into on-air placements (and doing it for free), says Jennifer Berson, president of Jeneration PR, a Sherman Oaks, California-based public relations firm focused on fashion, beauty and lifestyle.

“Small products are less likely to compete with paid advertisers—for example, a show that has Pepsi as an advertiser will not place a bottle of Coke in a scene,” she says. Here are a few things to keep in mind when creating a product placement campaign:

1. Focus On Your Iconic Offering

Berson suggests looking at your inventory and zeroing in on a product that is uniquely yours (Magnolia’s cupcakes, for example). “Make sure it is something that sets you apart — your most popular thing,” she says.

2. Focus On Geography

This is a two-parter. First, if your product fits into the exact location of a TV or movie, you may have a chance of a placement. Second, if something is being taped in your area, offer your brick-and-mortar location as a possible taping site.

“Try to make the location consultant’s job easier by offering your location to shoot for free—it will help their budget and adds tremendous exposure and value to your store,” Berson says.

3. Contact The Right People

Finding the TV/movie product decision makers is easier than you may think. First, Berson recommends logging on to The Internet Movie Database, signing up for the Pro membership and searching for in-production movies and television shows that fit your product category or geographic location.

Identify the production company in charge and pick up the phone. If you have a hair care brand, for example, call the hair department.

“Tell them you are a huge fan of the show, you have a great hair solution that could be a good fit for the cast, and would love to send them your range of products for free; before you know it, you could be the hair brand of choice for Desperate Housewives,” she says.

Alternatively, call and ask for the prop master or wardrobe department, says Berson. Just offer your product for free and “they will happily take it; just make sure to offer two pieces for cases in which they have to re-film scenes,” she adds.

4. Promote Aggressively

After your product airs, promote the heck out of the placement. Using the hair-care example, secure a quote from the stylist of the show and use it in your sales and marketing materials, Berson suggests.

She also recommends sending out press releases to local press, posting photos on your website and alerting in-store customers to the placement.

5. Watch Your Capacity

Imagine this scenario: Rachael Ray promotes your product on her show and within 12 hours, you have 500,000 orders—about 450,000 more than you’ve ever had. If you have a plan on how to handle those orders, great. If you don’t, you have a big problem.

“If you get on something big, people will be looking for you and you need to know how to handle it,” Berson says.

6. Don’t Be Scared

Hollywood types aren’t as scary as they seem. You never know—a phone call could land your product in Leonardo DiCaprio’s next Oscar-nominated movie.

“Don’t be afraid; if you had enough gumption to start your own business, you have what it takes to pitch these people," Berson says. "Just remember that you are making their job easier and if they hang up on you, just try someone else.”

© Copyright 2011 American Express Company. All Rights Reserved.

23 Things Great Brands Do With Social Media

Editor's Note: The following is a guest Marketing Mulligans post written by Lisa Barone, co-founder and chief branding officer at Outspoken Media, Inc., an Internet marketing company that specializes in providing clients with online reputation management, social media, and other digital media services. This piece first appeared in Small Business Trends. Each and every social media campaign is different (obviously), but there are certain commonalities among high-profile brands that contribute to their success with programs of this nature. This piece explores those dynamics in detail, and outlines some best practices for you how you can adopt some of these elements for your company's social media marketing program. You can follow Ms. Barone on Twitter at @lisabarone.
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No one wants to invest time in something only to be mediocre at it. We want to be great. But before you can be great you have to understand what being great looks like. What are you trying to achieve and what are you aiming for? What do people who are great at X look like? Because before you can be better than them, you at least have to be equal. And that takes some understanding on your part.

Do you want to be great at social media? Well, below are 23 things that great businesses do in social media. Maybe you can help me and add to my list in the comments.

Ready?

Great social media brands…

1. Bring sexy back to word of mouth marketing.
2. Dedicate time to answering questions from customers, potential customers and people first learning about the brand.
3. Constantly poll their community for opinions, feedback, and criticism.
4. Make it a habit to highlight other brands that are doing cool things, even if they’re doing it outside of their particular industry.
5. Start conversations that others are scared to have.
6. Give their employees a unique voice and the permission to connect to others.
7. Regularly save the day.
8. Push back the curtain to give their audience a better understanding of how things work, why they work that way, and what the company believes.
9. Bleed company culture.
10. Use tools to monitor their social media activity and makes adjustments when things aren’t working.
11. Don’t take social media too seriously, but are too smart to view it as a joke.
12. Understand the importance donuts and share them regularly.
13. Don’t forget to tie offline events into what they’re doing online so there’s cohesion between strategies.
14. Track their brand name in social media and knows when to respond, how to respond and how to engage brand advocates.
15. Give us “the why” to go along with their social media calls to action.
16. Plan for social media as to not leave channels voiceless for long periods of time just because they’re busy.
17. Never, ever automate human interaction.
18. Understand social media doesn’t belong to just the marketing department, but the company as a whole.
19. Enter the waters with a social media plan to help guide their interaction and make sure they’re getting something for their investment.
20. Use their social media plan to avoid falling victim to Shiny Object Syndrome.
21. Understand that social media is the medium, not the message.
22. Pass on insights gleaned from social media throughout the entire organization so that the right people are hearing the right conversations.
23. Have clear social media guidelines so that employees know how to engage on behalf of the brand and connect with customers.

What else? What makes a brand stand for you you?

© Copyright 2003-2011, Small Business Trends, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

How To Make Yourself Accessible To Journalists

Editor's Note:  The following is a guest Marketing Mulligans post by Mickie Kennedy, founder and president of eReleases, a cost-effective electronic press release distribution service, and a widely-regarded and well-respected PR professional who maintains the company's popular PR Fuel blog. In the PR field, we talk a great deal about proven media relations tactics that work, and in particular, the best ways to connect with reporters who are likely to write about your company and its offerings. But what about the other way around? Instead of chasing journalists down, what does it take to make yourself fully accessible to these influencers when they're approaching you for stories? Read on to find out...

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News reporters deal with PR pros all day long, every day. Whether they’re hounding them for information, demanding they put their fabulous and epic press release in the latest edition of the newspaper, or just sending the 500th follow up email wondering why the reporter hasn’t responded yet. If you’re one of the many bothering a reporter every day, the likelihood of he or she answering you is very slim. However, if you get on their good side, they may in fact be calling YOU.

1. Research
Do you know who you’re calling? Not just their name or position; who are they? What have they written about in the past? Have they done any opinion columns? What were they about? Were they perhaps passionate against the very business you’re in?

Take the publication itself into consideration as well. How long have they been in business? Have they covered your story idea before? If so, is it possible to approach it from a new angle? Who is the editor in chief? How long was he or she a reporter before making it that far up the ranks? Are they who you should call instead?


2. Conversation
Before you ever send your first press release, strike up a conversation with the reporters in your area. Call or email (preferred) them and ask what news stories they’re looking for. Do NOT pitch them anything at this time unless they specifically ask. Hopefully, they’ll have a solid idea on stories that are hot at the moment, so you can be sure to submit anything that fits in that model.

This includes information that’s not related to your company! You really want to make yourself valuable to a reporter, make sure you scratch their backs a little. Reporters are often stressed out individuals, so when somebody comes along and helps them cut back to only half a pack that particular day, they will remember it.


3. Return Phone Calls
Eventually, when a good conversation and relationship is established, your reporter contacts may in fact start blowing up your phone instead of vice versa. Remember your manners and make sure to follow up with them, no matter if you have information or not!

Keep in mind the crazy deadlines your new friends are working around. When waiting an hour makes the difference between a story making the paper and total disaster, waiting a day to call them back is just ridiculous. After a few times of them attempting to reach you for a story or source quote and you taking your sweet time responding, the phone calls will stop, and soon you’ll find yourself among the unread masses again, wondering what happened.


4. Be Polite
One last thing – remember those aforementioned deadlines when and if you decide to ever do a follow up call or email. Even though you and the reporter now have great repartee when you talk on the phone doesn’t mean they want you ringing them up every time you get home from work.

A little common courtesy will go a long way; instead of immediately jumping into a conversation when they answer, simply ask, “Is this a good time?” More than likely they’ll be happy to hear from you anyway, but in case they’re currently chasing after the mayor for an interview, it gives them an easy way to tell you they’ll call you back without a lot of stammering.

Copyright © 1998-2011 eReleases® (MEK Enterprises LLC) All Rights Reserved.

How To Develop Successful QR Code Marketing Campaigns

Editor's Note:  The following is a guest Marketing Mulligans post by Laura Marriott, chief executive officer (CEO) and acting board chairperson of NeoMedia Technologies, a global leader in mobile barcode scanning solutions. This piece originally appeared in Mashable. Named one of the industry’s Mobile Women to Watch 2010 by Mobile Marketer, a Top-50 U.S. Executive by Mobile Entertainment, and a Top 10 Women in Wireless by FierceMarkets, Marriott is highly regarded for her global voice and expertise in mobile marketing. In this contributed article, she describes how quick response (QR) codes can best be utilize for a dedicated marketing campaign, either on a standalone basis, or as part of a broader mobile marketing effort.

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Mobile barcodes are turning up everywhere – buses, magazines, television, bar coasters. According to recent research from comScore, 14 million U.S. mobile phone users scanned QR or barcodes in June alone, mostly via newspapers, magazines and product packaging, both at home and in-store. My company’s own data reveals that barcodes that offer access to a discount or coupon or that allow the consumer to learn more about a product or service are the most popular.

Given that mobile barcodes are finally cracking the mainstream, they have enormous potential to present brands with brilliant results. Here are five mobile barcode best practices to help ensure a successful campaign.

1. Be Everywhere

Mobile barcodes should be incorporated into all digital and traditional media so the consumer has 360-degree exposure to the mobile marketing campaign. This will also ensure that consumer experience, dialogue and interactivity are at the heart of the campaign and not simply an afterthought.

2. Drive Value and Make it Easy

Giveaways, discounts, free tickets and exclusive access will compel consumers to interact with and scan your code. If your code simply offers the customer a chance to view a TV advertisement or link to a website, it’s best to try again. Scanning a barcode should provide the consumer with a brand experience that is exclusive, dynamic and interactive.

Take into account where a mobile barcode is located on the ad. Consumers must be able to find it easily and scan it quickly. For outdoor ads, place the code at eye or arm-level. In a print ad, the barcode should not fall over a fold as this will hamper scanning. Be sure to leave some white space around the mobile barcode, and use a minimum of 1 x 1-inch print specification. For TV or cinema, the code should to remain onscreen long enough for the viewer to launch the scanning application and scan the code.

3. Keep it Simple

Branded or custom QR codes are certainly getting some buzz, but it’s also important to create a code everyone can recognize. Producing your code in simple black and white checkered format will increase the number of phones and code readers that can scan it. Also, ensure you use global, open standards (i.e. Datamatrix) to maximize universal customer reach and impact.

4. Build Customer Affinity

Remember that the consumer who has just scanned your code is on the move. She will be viewing the brand content on a mobile screen and, therefore, expects instant results. Make sure the barcode links through to a mobile-enabled site rather a PC-designed site. Remember that “dead links” (codes that go nowhere or deliver the wrong information) are the equivalent of a slammed door — the consumer will not try again.

Matthias Galica, the CEO of ShareSquare, provides tips for marketers and brands using QR codes, and specifically emphasizes testing a barcode for functionality across a variety of devices and scanner applications before launching. It’s important, especially because the consumers that scan codes are likely tech-savvy and vocal — the kind of consumers you want on your side.

5. Account for Objectives and Analytics

Boost sales, increase customer engagement, build brand loyalty, educate your audience. Whatever the campaign objective, be sure to define its goals before integrating a mobile barcode. Consider monitoring the campaign via a barcode management platform. Your business will be able to leverage the provider’s expertise, better assess your campaign effectiveness and evaluate its real-time success through analytics. 

Following these practices will help analyze mobile ad spending and increase the success and return on investment (ROI) of your future barcode campaigns.


© 2005-2011 Mashable, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Yet Another Example Why Proofreading Is Of Critical Importance: Part III

In a humorous, but astonishing, case of pure coincidence, two high-profile retailers, Old Navy and JCPenney, both committed major faux pas this week with misguided T-shirt offerings...and just in time for back-to-school shopping, the volume of spending for which is predicted to be down this year.

Exhibit A:  Old Navy. As reported in this piece on Ragan.com, the Gap-owned retailer printed sports T-shirts with "Lets go" across the front. Obviously, the phrase is missing an apostrophe, and it should have read, "Let's go," as a contraction for "Let us go." No big deal, right?

Well, in most cases, probably not, except that Old Navy distributed thousands of shirts to college campuses across the country, with each shirt customized according to the colors, logos, and mascots of the individual college. For example, this short to the left is sold at the University of Michigan.

So what message does this send to the students? That correct grammar and punctuation are unimportant? Old Navy earns a fail on this one, particularly since the product had to be approved (and presumably, proofread as well) by multiple layers of management before shipping and hitting store shelves.

Exhibit B:  JCPenney. Our friends at Adweek caught wind yesterday of a social media firestorm created by the retailer when it decided to sell, and then later pull from its shelves, a $9.99 long-sleeved T-shirt that reads, "I'm too pretty to do homework so my brother has to do it for me." The promotional copy accompanying the item on the website only made things worse:  "Who has time for homework when there's a new Justin Bieber album out? She'll love this tee that's just as cute and sassy as she is."

The messages? That girls being intelligent just isn't cool; looks are the most important quality one can possess; and never the twain shall meet. Even though the shirt was intended to be fun and playful, teenagers these days, especially young ladies, are bombarded with inappropriate messages from multiple sources...and that just doesn't cut it with parents and educators.

Now, to be fair, JCPenney immediately responded to an online petition from Change.org requesting the immediate removal of the shirt by pulling the offering from its inventory. The company also individually responded to many negative comments on its Facebook page, although the responses were simply cut and pasted from one person to the next. Finally, JCPenney issued the following statement:

J.C. Penney is committed to being America’s destination for great style and great value for the whole family. We agree that the “Too pretty” t-shirt does not deliver an appropriate message, and we have immediately discontinued its sale. Our merchandise is intended to appeal to a broad customer base, not to offend them. We would like to apologize to our customers and are taking action to ensure that we continue to uphold the integrity of our merchandise that they have come to expect.

While we applaud JCPenney, from a crisis communications perspective, for its quick action to diffuse the controversy, let's face it:  the company shouldn't have been in this position to begin with.

P.S. Check out this story late yesterday from PRNewser on the "stupid shirt" debacle caused by JCPenney.