Monthly Archives: July 2009

A little less conversation, a lot more discussion

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Is there any ideal more vaunted in the blogosphere than this notion of The Conversation? Creating one, participating in one, shaping one… Gah! Stop! My malarkey meter is buzzing. Is “conversation” even useful?

Conversation is definitely happening on blogs. If I think about the many blogs I read regularly, most of them feature conversation, but not discussion. Don’t think there’s a difference? Let’s bring in old Noah Webster:

con⋅ver⋅sa⋅tion

-noun; the informal interchange of thoughts, information, etc., by spoken words; oral communication between persons; talk; colloquy. The ability to talk socially with others.

dis⋅cus⋅sion

-noun; an act or instance of discussing; consideration or examination by argument, comment, etc., esp. to explore solutions; informal debate.

Semantics, maybe, but what’s present in the definition of discussion that’s lacking in that of conversation is the element of argument and debate.

Most of the blog comments I read are along the lines of “great post!” or “LOVE your thoughts here, so true!” It’s more rampant with the big-name bloggers some readers are trying to cozy up to. David Spinks’ post from last month hit on the idea of people being overly complimentary just to conform to a community.

Few social media or marketing blogs I read seem to really be able to drum up discussion — actual debate in search of solutions — and not just conversation. (Beth Harte’s blog is pretty good at it.) I’m not sure if it’s because the blog authors themselves are too “safe” with topics and don’t offer posts that inspire debate, or if the commenters are afraid of offending the blogger or other commenters. To our credit, most of us “social media types” comment with a real name and URL attached, which makes us more accountable for our thoughts and words. But does it matter if you stand by what you say if you’re really not saying anything?

Before you go all “she who casts the first stone” on me, I’ll readily admit that I am not often one to dig in with debate or discussion on a blog post. If I disagree with a post, I’m just as likely to not comment at all versus commenting critically. I’ve never been an argumentative person or a debater. Some of it is not wanting to “offend” the blogger or community. Some of it is self-doubt as to whether my opposing view is “right” or not. I’m relatively new to this portion of the interwebs and I don’t always feel like I’ve gained the knowledge or credibility to be able to articulate my position and criticize the ideas of people who’ve been doing this for much longer than I have. I need to do better at articulating and sharing my opinions, even if they’re different. I need to discuss, not just converse.

People want to be liked. An easy way to achieve this is to never say anything contrarian. But that’s also not how people come to understand different points of view and create solutions together. I’d even argue that most bloggers would prefer comments that challenge their views and make them think differently than a chorus of “me, too!” voices. Brain wrinkles are good, folks.

So let’s all shoot for a little less conversation and a little more discussion, eh?

The secret to avoiding a YouTube crisis – revealed!

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It’s not a matter of if. It’s when. With user-generated content easier and more common than ever, it’s only a matter of time before someone in your organization does something that rubs someone (or a lot of people) the wrong way and soon millions of people are watching the travesty on YouTube.

Latest entry: United Breaks Guitars

This video, out only since Monday, already has half-a-million views, 3,200+ comments and has been picked up by several mainstream news outlets, and many bloggers are going to town on it, too. United is apparently talking to the video’s creator and trying to make things right, but I think the catchy ” ‘Cuz United breaks guitars” refrain is going to be quick to the lips of lots of passengers from now on.

There have been countless posts on how to handle reputation crises like these, so I won’t rehash some of those principles in depth (respond quickly, take it seriously, respond using the same medium by which you were attacked, etc.).

But here’s my number one observation on how to prepare your organization ahead of time for when something like this happens. Ready for it? It’s simple:

Don’t suck so much in the first place!

Typically these attacks come from people with a real bone to pick. The United Breaks Guitars guy tried for more than nine months to get his guitar fixed and was stonewalled all the way. If his claim had been honored, or if an astute United customer service rep had gone out of their way to help him, despite what “policy” and “procedure” said, there’s a much lower chance he would have made this video.

What’s more, if United was generally known for having great, attentive customer service, even if the guy had made the video there possibly would have been a group of customers who’ve had positive experiences with United who could have come out and defended the company. Instead, check out the YouTube comments. Everyone just kept piling on with their own “United sucks” stories.

What if someone had made a video like this about Zappos? Maybe Zappos lost a guy’s order or something. First, I doubt he would have been stonewalled when he called, so it probably would never get to the level of him feeling like he needed to make a music video about bad service. But if he had, Zappos would have already had a rabid community of fans in place who had received great customer service in the past and who might have been willing to defend the company.

With United, so many passengers likely had a similar negative story that it was easy for them to relate to the video and pass it along, helping it to go viral so quickly. Videos that don’t resonate with people don’t go viral. Try not to frequently give your customers reasons to create this kind of content. Even if most never will, many will read, share and comment on the content that does get created (check out Forrester’s Social Technographics Profiles for more).

Unfortunately, not a lot of “this company is so awesome and great” videos go viral (but when they do, be ready to capitalize and use it to help tell your organization’s story, the way Mayo Clinic did). But you can keep some of the negative ones at bay by not giving people a reason to make them in the first place and creating enough brand defenders that even when those videos do get made, they’ll get very little traction.

Yes, you have to manage a reputation crisis when it comes up, but shouldn’t part of preparedness include preventing those crises from ever happening in the first place?

Are you a Michael Jordan PR Pro?

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One of my favorite radio shows (does that make me sound like a Luddite or what?) is NPR’s Marketplace. Tonight’s episode featured a brief interview with Dan Ariely, author of the popular behavioral economics book Predictably Irrational. Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal discussed the notion of “clutch players” in the NBA with Ariely – the idea that there are key athletes on a team who have an innate ability to perform better in stressful situations.

I’d definitely encourage you to read/listen to the piece, but the gist is that Ariely found that clutch players do exist and tend to perform better in clutch situations – but it’s not for the reasons we might think.

Essentially, clutch players do score more points in the last five minutes of the game, but as an overall percentage of of scoring they’re no better in a clutch situation than in the rest of the game. They score more in clutch situations because they try more. It’s a perception thing – other people on the team think of the clutch players as their go-to guys, pass them the ball more, and thus give them more opportunities to score. And what’s more, we tend to remember the positive clutch performances better than the negative one (no one talks about the buzzer shot that Jordan missed in the game the night before he made his famous basket to win the NBA Championship, right?).

Communications Clutch Players

Are you a clutch player for your company or client? Do they view the PR or communications department as a go-to resource in difficult situations? If they do, you’ll essentially end up with more chances to “score points” and reinforce that notion. Think of the different clutch situations when communications counsel might be called upon:

  • Develop internal messaging and talking points to help employees understand a tough business decision like layoffs or a divestiture
  • Answer to the media during a crisis situation such as a product recall or facility emergency
  • Create innovative campaign to build buzz around a new brand on a limited budget and timeline
  • Coach an executive to prepare for a media interview with a difficult reporter or blogger

Clutch players score more points at the end of a game because they have more opportunities and they try more. Don’t be afraid to try a few risky plays now and then. Sure, some ideas may flop. But you need to show that you’re willing to take those shots and make a few of them so that your client or company will continue to pass you the ball. You’ll likely end up with a couple of game-winners. Fortunately, those are the plays that everyone remembers.

Social Media Smackdown: Cannondale vs. Trek

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It’s the time of year when cycling-nerds worldwide turn their eyes to France, anxiously awaiting daily stage results, jersey changes and, uh, doping allegations. I watch the Tour purely for Phil Liggett’s commentary – and to remind myself to get my butt in gear and start riding more. It’s no secret that many TdF cyclists are active on Twitter (Lance even announced the birth of his son via a tweet), but far fewer bicycle manufacturers, especially high-end ones, seem to be employing social media tools as domestiques in their quest to influence the peloton and spur genuine engagement among brand fans.

OK, enough with the lame cycling analogies. Let’s get to it. This installation of Social Media Smackdown pits Cannondale against Trek, two of the world’s largest bicycle manufacturers.

(Note: I’m a loyal Jamis girl, so I really don’t have a dog in this fight.)

cdlvstrek

Round One: Twitter

Both brands have a Twitter presence: @RideCannondale and @TrekBikes. Each has roughly the same number of followers, but some vast differences emerge.

Trek: Following 1,032; Follwers 1,122; Tweets 158
The @TrekBikes account does a good job, despite just having started on Twitter, interacting with people and offering up useful information. A majority of its tweets are @ replies and range from helping with bike repairs, directing folks to their customer service e-mail address, sharing information on how their bikes are designed and offering encouragement to riders. The account also shares links to cycling stories on various races and events. My only real criticism is that the Twitter bio doesn’t identify who’s actually doing the tweeting for the account. It would be great to have a name to put behind the tweets. An excellent job. It also turns out that Trek has some additional accounts for its different audiences (@Trekmtb for mountain bike fans and @trek_ben for roadies).

Canondale: Following 3; Followers 1,095; Tweets 79
Another newer account on Twitter, with only 79 tweets so far, @RideCannondale doesn’t seem to understand the engagement component to Twitter. They’re only following three people! None of the tweets are @ replies. I will give them credit though – it doesn’t appear that their tweets are automated feeds from a blog. At least it seems like there’s a real person behind the account and not a bot. Many of the tweets share information about professional cycling races (Cannondale sponsors Team Liquigas) and share links to product announcements or videos. It’s not overly sales-y, though. It has the potential to be a great presence for Cannondale on the Web – but they really need to start following back and engaging with fans to get real conversation going.

Point: Trek gains the maillot jaune here for a great combination of conversation and information sharing. Cannondale needs to engage more with followers.

Round Two: Facebookcannondalefan

Trek’s Facebook fan page has 3, 325 fans, but it doesn’t appear to actually be managed by Trek! There’s a Trek group that appears to be the “official” Trek presence on Facebook. The group has 2,445 members, 187 wall posts, and four discussion threads (all with minimal activity). The group has close to 300 photos posted and most are pictures of single bicycles with no people in them.

If you check out the Trek fan page, there doesn’t appear to be any input or participation from the brand. The page is pretty weak. No wall posts from Trek Bikes (or whoever manages the page) and no content posted. Trek’s missing an opportunity here. Even if they didn’t create the fan page, they could take Coca-Cola’s lead and offer to participate or help manage the page. As it is right now, Trek’s Facebook presence is fractured among groups and the fan page.

Cannondale’s fan page on Facebook has merely two posts since 2008 andthere’s very little content posted by the page owner. More than 7,700 Facebook users have become fans of Cannondale, so even if the brand didn’t create or doesn’t manage the page, they’re missing out on an opportunity to reach interested consumers. Fans have uploaded more than 500 photos of Cannondale bikes to the page.

BUT WAIT! When I went to Cannondale’s Web site, the Facebook icon at the bottom of the page took me to a completely different fan page! This one is slickly designed with spaces for videos, promotions and events. There’s not much content on there yet and only 406 fans, but Cannondale is sharing information on the wall, posting links and sharing race results. The trouble is, this page didn’t even show up on the first page of Facebook search results for the term “Cannondale”. Having a great fan page that no one can find won’t help much. A simple fix would be to post a message on the wall of the other fan page on Facebook (you know, the one that’s accrued 7,000+ fans?!) and direct them to the new page.

Point: I hesitate to give a point to either one here. Neither brand is really maximizing its use of Facebook. Cannondale has started building out a nice page, but how are they going to migrate fans to the “correct” Facebook page? Trek has a nice little group growing, but Facebook groups don’t provide the flexibility or reach that a fan page does. It’s a draw.

Round Three: Web site

Each site begins with a landing page that asks you to select your country, so I’m basing this evaluation off the US version of each site. I was specifically looking for how “social” the sites were. Yes, I expect that each site is trying to provide product specs and information, but I wanted to see how interactive each site was, how easy it is for consumers to link to and share information, and how the brands are integrating social media tools like blogs to attract and engage with potential or current bicycle owners.

Trek’s site doesn’t link to any social profiles from its home page. The page is dominated by a link to watch a video, which takes you to a page with several videos about the Livestrong team. The videos are documentary-style and follow the team as they train, test equipment and ride in races. All have links to share or embed and there’s a prominent link to Trek’s YouTube channel. The “Trek Life” portion of the site includes four blogs (road, mountain, fitness/rec and women). The road bike blog hasn’t been updated since March, but the others are fairly current and even have a handful of comments on many of the posts. It would be  nice to have obvious RSS feed icons for all of the blogs. It also would be great if this portion of the site (or even the home page) had icons and links to other social media outposts.

Cannondale’s site is slick and visually pleasing, but not very social at first glance. There’s a tiny Twitter and Facebook icon at the bottom of the home page, but it was “below the fold” on my screen so I actually didn’t even notice it for a while. Most of the pages detail product lines (either bicycles, apparel or gear). It turns out there’s actually a fair amount of social interactivity on the site – but you have to dig a bit for it. The “Cannondale Planet” section of the Web site includes links to RSS feeds of videos, photos, and the “Ask Brad” blog. However, this section isn’t the easiest to navigate and a lot of the content isn’t that easy to share. The “News” tab takes you to some pretty cool sites that profile Cannondale’s various cycling teams, like Liquigas. This is where the site shines. It features videos from professional cyclists preparing for races, links and widgets to various cyclists’ Twitter streams, and links to news items and wallpaper images. I just wish that this cool content was more prominently featured and easier to find and share.

Point: Trek wins here for its use of blogs and video, but could take a lesson from Cannondale in making links to social outposts available on the home page. Cannondale has a lot of interesting content, but it’s not easily findable or shareable.

3302949809_95574f9444Round Four: Other social sites (Flickr, YouTube, etc.)

Trek’s YouTube channel includes 17 videos and these range from the Livestrong clips to product tours to TV commercials. The channel has 216 subscribers and some of the videos have 40,000+ views! The Trek Bikes group pool on Flickr has more than 264 members and close to 1,000 images, but I have no idea if Trek created and/or manages this group. There’s also a Trek Bikes profile on Flickr that includes a handful of promotional photos of bikes and gear, but it doesn’t seem as though Trek is doing too much with this photostream.

Cannondale did not appear to have a Flickr profile (but the name and many permutations of it are taken). There is a Cannondale group pool on Flickr with 200 members and nearly 900 photos uploaded. Again, hard to tell if Cannondale created this pool or if it was done by fans. On YouTube, Cannondale comes to life. Their channel is designed to match their Web site’s colors and theme. It features 70 videos that are sorted into playlists based on topic. The channel has 143 subscribers and has received more than 5,000 views. Brad, of the AskBrad blog, was uploading new videos as recently as this morning.

Point: Both are doing a good job utilizing video in their social media strategies, and both could take advantage of photo and leverage Flickr more. Even though Trek’s YouTube channel has gotten more views (having Lance helps), I’m going with Cannondale here. I love how they’ve designed their channel in the Team Liquigas colors and have Brad maintaining it for consistency with their Web site.

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The Final Verdict: In a sprint to the finish, Trek is the winner. Cycling is a sport with a fanatical level of engagement, so it makes sense that social media is a great fit for these fans to tap into their consumer bases. Both need to refine their Facebook strategies a little more, and Cannondale would benefit from being more engaged as a brand on Twitter. But it’s a good showing, especially when many bicycle manufacturers aren’t participating at all.

Allez!

Previous Smackdown: Columbus, Ohio vs. Columbia, S.C.
Previous Smackdown: Mountain Hardwear vs. The North Face
Previous Smackdown: Magic Hat vs. Bell’s Beer

Images via Flickr users trekbikes and Celso_Flores