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How Social Media Makes It Impossible For Companies to Avoid Having Their Fails Known

January 13, 2010 By Seth Goldstein 4 Comments

In this day in age with social media all the rage, it is really hard for companies to avoid having their failures public. At CES, the Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas last week, a BBC reporter was interviewing a spokesman from Sonim Technologies, who are claiming to have developed an “unbreakable” cell phone — the Sonim XP1. After being challenged to try and break the phone, the reporter managed to do just that… break the “unbreakable” phone.

Oops, that wasn’t supposed to happen

Though it seems like they both had a good laugh about it. That video is a potential PR disaster for the company. Before social media, and the Internet for that matter, a company could do its best to try and get the reporter to not report the incident. But now with streaming video, Youtube and other video-sharing sites, this video is now out and going viral.

Social Media Can Both Break You and Save You

So, what can the company do? Many people might say it’s a lost cause and the company should go back to the drawing board. Going back to the drawing board is definitely a good idea, but doing only that won’t stop their reputation from turning to mud.

What the company needs to do is use social media and the very platforms that helped spread the negative video to save their reputation.

First, the company should do is acknowledge the incident. Trying to hide the fact that this happened will only make the situation worse

Second, they should do is address how they plan on fixing it. They should do this via a video and a blog post. They should then disperse it across the social networks to make sure people see it.

Third, the company should actually fix it.

Fourth, to promote the “new and improved” version they should have the same challenge as they did at CES 2010. They should invite the same BBC reporter back and have him try and break the new fixed model. If he’s able to break it again, the company should find a different product to build.

What are your thoughts on this Fail? Post your thoughts in the comments below.

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: breaking, ces, fails, pr, products, public relations, Social Media, unbreakable breakable cell phone, unbreakable cell phone

Link Post for January 7th

January 7, 2010 By Seth Goldstein 1 Comment

This is the A2SM Link Post for January 7th:

Social Media Collective Wisdom | Who’s Blogging What (Special Edition) Jan 7, 2010 – Some expert thinking on five social media questions as we enter the first decade
Facebook Just Got Its Own VitaminWater Flavor: “Connect”. Seriously. – Here’s a first. VitaminWater has just announced that its newest flavor will be called “Connect”, complete with a Facebook logo and a full paragraph description loaded with references to untagging, friend requests, and photo stalking. It’s black cherry-lime flavored, with caffeine and “eight key nutrients”. And it’s coming to stores nationwide in March.
Ask Me, Ask Me: Tumblr Adds a New Query Feature – Good news for anyone who loves interacting with a particular Tumblr: The blogging platform has added an Ask feature that allows you to directly ask a blogger questions.
Ford SYNC Will Soon Stream Pandora Radio – 2010 is shaping up to be the year Ford SYNC forever alters how we experience digital content in our vehicles. Today, the automotive company is breaking even more ground with the news that the next evolution of SYNC will support third-party mobile applications. Get ready to stream Pandora and tweet hands-free in your Ford.
Have a Nexus One? Good, Now Tear it Down – Geeks can usually be divided into two categories: those who are perfectly happy with merely using their gadgets, and the more radical type, who simply have to tear them down to see what’s inside

Filed Under: A2SM Link Post Tagged With: advertising, android, ask, Facebook, ford, marketing, nexus-one, pandora, ping.fm, pr, product, seo, social, socialmedia, social_media, sync, tumblr, Twitter, web2.0

Link Post for December 28th

December 28, 2009 By Seth Goldstein 1 Comment

This is the A2SM Link Post for December 28th:

HOW TO: Implement a Social Media Business Strategy – Just having a policy isn’t good enough — you need a plan to put it in place. Here are five areas to discuss when implementing a social media strategy.
Google’s AdMob Acquisition Meets Opposition from Consumer Groups – Is Google simply buying its way into the mobile advertising market via its $750 million acquisition of AdMob? That’s what two consumer groups allege in a letter sent to the FTC today, as the organization continues to review the deal.
What Social Media Can Do For Your Business | Social Media Explorer – There are still a number of business people, executives, owners and more, that have doubts about social media as a business driver. Part of that skepticism has to do with the fact the medium is quite new and participating in it requires a different approach from traditional marketing efforts. Part of it has to do with the fact that social media thinkers and advocates have never been very good at illustrating a definitive tie to business success through their medium of choice.
Social Media Today | Social media needs fewer rockstars, and more rockstar ideas –
Social Media Today | Long Tail Fans…Television’s Survival Might Rely on Hyper-Local Coverage Online – MediaPost recently reported that Akamai Technologies CEO Paul Sagan warns that television is about to experience the major impact that print and music have already felt. Akamai Technologies facilitates more than one-fifth of the world's Web traffic so they have a good view on the subject. What will cause this transformation? The article states that, “the ability to match high-def TV picture quality with Internet interactivity is creating a sea change for online video that will begin rippling through the television industry in 2010. Only TV station owners that leap to the new arena, playing the strength of their hyper-local connections, will survive.” Otherwise they will feel the same big impact form the Web that music and print have felt.
Social Media Today | Twitter Economics – With a $1 billion valuation, Twitter is becoming, according to Co-Founder Evan Williams, an information network, a practically priceless exchange for connections, information, and the resulting activity that ensues.
Social Media Today | Seven Reasons You Should Care About Disclosure on Twitter –
Social Media Today | The More Than RSS Market – Richard McManus of RWW notes the continuing decline of RSS Readers, suggesting the market is largely dominated by Google and in disarray. Five years ago there was a perception that this was a hot category. An underlying standard was freeing up new atomized content and conversations that could be pulled and curated. Bloglines was acquired, and new clients were popping up weekly.
Social Media Today | Twitter Economics – With a $1 billion valuation, Twitter is becoming, according to Co-Founder Evan Williams, an information network, a practically priceless exchange for connections, information, and the resulting activity that ensues.
What Small Business Needs to Do to Get Ready for Mobile Marketing Now | Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing – Mobile marketing has taken far longer to evolve than people imagined, but I believe we are on the doorstep of an evolution in marketing that will rival social media in terms of impact.

Filed Under: A2SM Link Post Tagged With: 2009, admob, Blogging, business, data, disclosure, economy, entrepreneurship, future, Google, howto, hyper-local, iphone, longtail, marketing, mashable, media, metrics, mobile, Networking, pr, rockstars, roi, rss, small, social, Social Media, socialmedia, strategy, television, tools, Twitter

Book Review: I Need a Killer Press Release… Now What???

October 16, 2009 By Justin Freid 1 Comment

If you are looking for a guide to take you step by step through the process of putting out a press release, I Need a Killer Press Release… Now What??? Is a must read. This publication by Janet Meiners Thaeler introduces the common business person into how to create and release a proper press release online.

The beginning of the E-Book explains the difference between an online press release and a standard press release. The first few chapters do a great job in explaining why the two differ and why it is important to treat each differently.

In chapter three the author goes into detail about distribution channels. I found this section of the E-book very helpful listing top news distribution sites, tips on working with Reuter’s and Associated Press and lists the best sites to send an online press release to.

In the following chapter Janet even goes into being somewhat of a muse for those of you wishing to write a press release. I do not want to give too much away but her ideas for newsworthy press releases have already got my brain turning on how I can assist my company and myself through an online press release.

But by far the most insightful, and the area I was hoping Janet would address, was Chapter 6: Search Engine Optimizing a Press Release. The author recommends doing keyword research, making sure your content is keyword rich and optimizing the URL for your press release. Janet presents this information in a way that even those not familiar with SEO can understand and implement.

In the later chapters the author addresses distribution on social media, specifically using Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and social bookmarking sites such as Digg and Delicious. By utilizing sites like these it spreads the word about your release, your company and ultimately can lead to more inbound links to your website, which can help you rank better in search results for terms related to the press release.

Personally having not released many online press releases I found I Need a Killer Press Release… Now What??? to be very helpful. The tips for SEOing your press release and using social media to spread the word can help even the most senior PR person. In a time when almost everyone gets their news online understanding how an online press release works is essential, and this E-book explains that perfectly.

Justin Freid is an internet marketer who specializes in social media marketing and search engine optimization. Currently pursuing an MBA in marketing from Philadelphia University, Justin is amazed how social media puts so much power in the user and enables someone to create a personal brand and build a strong network. You can find Justin’s thoughts on the world of social media and SEO on his blog, JustinFreid.com and follow him on Twitter under the handle @Justin_Freid

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: E-Book review, Facebook, pr, press release, Twitter

Book Review: I Need a Killer Press Release… Now What???

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How Social Media Makes It Impossible For Companies to Avoid Having Their Fails Known

Link Post for January 7th

Link Post for December 28th

Book Review: I Need a Killer Press Release… Now What???

How to write effectively for Social Media

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