When social media goes awry, a traditional approach might help.

Everyone was horrified by the senseless act of violence and terror that shook Boston during this year’s annual marathon.

The following day, people throughout America and beyond stood as one mourning the loss of three innocent people, and encouraged first responders and the security forces as they pledged to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

People and businesses took to social media to show their support, Facebook was awash with the Boston Red Sox logo and #Boston trended on Twitter for days following the attack.

People will let you know they want to dislike your post.

Companies posted their condolences and sent their thoughts and prayers to Bostonians. One health food company made an epic mistake by suggesting their customers show solidarity with Boston, by trying a heart healthy New England breakfast to get through the sad day. That mistake will make it into the textbooks and educate those curious how not to use social media during a crisis.

When employing a social media strategist or company, make sure that they understand or have a back ground in Public Relations. Social media experts often overlook PR practitioners thinking their approach and practices are too old school. However, social media experts should work closely with traditional PR practitioners to create a comprehensive audience centered approach for crisis management.

A PR practitioner possesses a keen sense of awareness about an organization’s target audience and is capable of not only maintaining but also improving its public relationships. Practitioners enhance engagement by creating effective dialogues with a company’s customers or clients. Public Relations experts understand, react, and oftentimes anticipate customer’s needs, requirements and concerns.

Social media are components of a detailed PR strategy. It is the PR practitioners’ methodology, expertise and skill set that elevate an organization’s use of social media platforms. Great social media practitioners will employ proper PR skill sets, the self-styled social media guru/expert/ninja/butterfly is simply shouting in the wilderness, hoping someone is listening.

There are countless examples of cringe worthy social media mistakes, due to a gap in opening hours, stores encouraged its customers to stay safe at home and shop online during Hurricane Sandy; or a popular fast food restaurant encouraging its customers to elaborate why they love it which resulted in customers publicly reliving horror stories of gastroenteritis and poor service.

The good news: Any good PR practitioner would identify from the outset the aforementioned were bad ideas and the pitfalls of those messages. The bad news: too many companies don’t recognize the positive synergy that results from PR and social media experts working together, creating powerful campaigns.

LATAM Social Media

Social, south of the border?

Si, and despite what you might think, social networking is huge in Latin America (LATAM). Often the perception is that LATAM lags behind North America with respect to technology, but actually Latin Americans top world rankings in social media usage. On average, people in LATAM spend just under 8 hours per month on social networks –  the world’s highest average and more than double the time in the much more populous Asia-Pacific region.

Latin American women are the heaviest users & surprisingly, older people in Latin America are big social media users. Latin America social media has a 93% penetration rate among users 55 and older. This is just behind North America, which has a 94.7% penetration rate with this age group.

To illustrate how GreenRoom Social can help your brand achieve success in Latin America, we produced a short video for your viewing pleasure:

English: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9553BSpeExU&feature=youtu.be

Spanish: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0kJP7J2LvQ

Banks & Social Media

social media and banksFor banks, social media can be a phenomenal tool to build advocacy with the community it serves. Though leadership coupled with examples of community involvement demonstrate a bank’s commitment to helping its customers.

New laws proposed by U.S. bank regulators shouldn’t deter banks from utilizing social media, but only ensure that all banks are using it in a way that conveys information accurately to consumers.

http://on.ft.com/10qRBTJ

Legitimacy of Facebook’s “Graph Search”

A recent ReadWrite post questions the legitimacy of Facebook’s “Graph Search” feature http://readwrite.com/2013/01/22/facebooks-10-biggest-flops, likening it to previously launched features which didn’t fare as well.

Makes me think of a well-known Albert Einstein quote “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”

Hire The Best For Your Dealership!

Dealers have embraced social media to sell more cars and generate more business in the service drive but most lag in using social media to hire the best employees. The very same things that drive customers to your site and “close” the deal can be used to bring in higher quality applicants for your open positions.

1) The average career page on dealer website is buried and if an applicant does manage to find it the content is less than compelling. Update that page with a video of real employees explaining why they love working at your dealership. List the benefits of working for your company. Have a unique page for each new job opening (and remember not to repost the same job over and over but instead update and improve content each time you repost). Don’t forget to use your company name and location in the page title. If you just use “Senior Service Tech” as the page title you are competing with and losing to with the job boards. Don’t forget a Meta tag. Nothing new here but usually forgotten when it comes to the “career page”.

2) Employee referrals are a great source of quality applicants and good employees- so do you encourage your employees to post job opening at your dealership on their Facebook page? If you don’t (and offer a referral bonus) then you are missing out. Encourage employees to tweet job opening too. If you don’t have a separate career Facebook page, get one.

3) Create a social media policy and have all employees sign it. Employees can be your best brand ambassadors and recruiting sources- but they need guidelines on what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. Given that 90% of hiring managers and recruiters say they use social media and 68% say they have not hired a person due to information they found on the internet it’s critical you have a policy. Most employees:

  • Don’t know that they owe you duty of loyalty when they’re off the clock.
  • Understand the nature of social media.
  • Realize that the Federal Trade Commission has a requirement regarding disclosure.

Social media is not just a tool for selling cars. It’s just as powerful in workforce management.

 

4 Social Media Legal Issues Dealers Can’t Afford to Ignore

This is an article originally writen by Jim Radogna. We thought it was an interesting read!

It was bound to happen. The tremendous growth of digital marketing and social media was an invitation for government regulation. For instance, the Federal Trade Commission recently updated its truth-in-advertising guidelines, which were last revised in 1980, to address the commercialism of the Web. Federal and state regulators are taking the position that social media is not a loophole for deceptive marketing practices and are actively enforcing and cracking down on social media deception. Proper social media ethics are now a matter of law, not just personal preference.

 

Faking Reviews

 

The FTC’s updated Endorsement and Advertising Guidelines require companies to ensure that their posts are completely accurate and not misleading, and planting or allowing fake reviews is a violation. The Guidelines are extremely broad and can apply to anyone writing reviews on rating sites, web sites or promoting products through social media sites, including blogs.

 

There are several companies out there that offer seemingly quick and easy ways to improve your ratings on review sites. Be careful! A Dealership in Texas suffered devastating reputation damage because of the review-posting practices of a company they hired. A customer discovered that suspicious “reviewers” were writing 5-star reviews about all kinds of businesses and dealerships across the nation on the same day. This debacle was uncovered in October of 2010, yet news stories continue to show up on the dealer’s page one search results.

 

While the above case may be an example of a dealer who unfortunately hired the wrong vendor, an area of real concern is the activity of a company’s own employees. The FTC recently charged a California marketing company with deceptive advertising after it found that the company’s employees were posing as ordinary consumers posting positive reviews online.

 

Dealers may face liability if employees use social media to comment on their employer’s services or products without disclosing the employment relationship. The FTC requires the disclosure of all “material connections” between a reviewer and the company that is being reviewed. These connections can be any relationship between a reviewer and the company that could affect the credibility a consumer gives to that reviewer’s statements, such as an employment or business relationship. So if employees, friends, family or vendors post reviews to prop up a dealership’s online reputation, they must clearly disclose any relationship they have with the company. In addition, all reviews must be an honest opinion based on a real experience. Reviewers must never endorse a product or service that they have not used personally or create any other form of false endorsement. It’s all about transparency and full disclosure.

 

Besides the obvious potential damage to a dealer’s reputation, failure to follow these regulations can result in substantial penalties. In recent actions, the New York Attorney General fined a cosmetic surgery company $300,000 for ordering its employees to write fake reviews of its face-lift procedure and the FTC ordered a company marketing instructional DVDs to pay $250,000 for fake reviews posted by the company’s affiliate marketers. The FTC has indicated that companies are fully responsible and liable for all inappropriate actions of their employees, their vendors, and any advocates they recruit. Reviewers may also be held personally liable for statements made in the course of their endorsements.

 

Paying For Reviews

 

The practice of offering a free oil change or gas card to a customer in exchange for a good survey has long been frowned upon by manufacturers. Because there are no factory gatekeepers when it comes to online ratings, it may seem tempting to offer customers an incentive to post a positive review.  The good news is that you can if you want to; the not-so-good news is that the regulations require that any reviewer provided with any form of compensation such as free services, rewards, incentives, promotional items, gifts, samples, or review items, must fully disclose the source and nature of any compensation received.

 

So, if you pay for reviews and the reviewers fail to disclose their compensation, you may face liability. This is an area where it’s easy to get caught and besides the legal danger, your reputation will likely take a big hit.

 

Advertising on Social Media Sites

 

The wisdom of trying to “sell” on social media sites by posting inventory, prices, or payments is an ongoing debate, but the fact remains that many dealers are engaged in this activity in some form. While I have no opinion on the relative merits of whether to “sell or not to sell” on social media, it’s important to note the potential implications of these types of activities.

 

Despite the fact that social media tends to be a low-keyed, casual type of communication, advertising regulations don’t go away. In fact, The Federal Trade Commission recently announced that it was updating its document Dot Com Disclosures: Information About Online Advertising. The primary focus of the document, which was first issued in 2000, is to inform advertisers that consumer protection laws and the requirement to provide clear and conspicuous disclosures applies to the online world in addition to the offline world.

 

So, in a nutshell, if inventory is posted or prices/payments are quoted on social media it’s likely that the posts will be deemed to be advertisements and will be subject to state and federal disclosure and truth in advertising regulations. Lack of space is no excuse either. Even if you’re advertising on Twitter and limited to 140 characters, you must include a clear link to any necessary disclosures. A good rule of thumb is to have any information that could possibly be construed as advertising reviewed by upper management or a qualified professional before it is posted.

 

Social Media Policy

 

Social media applications such as blogs, social networking, and video sharing have soared in popularity so it’s important that dealers control the information that’s coming out of their business. Policies and procedures should be put in place to spell out how employees are expected to conduct themselves within social media.  A social media policy can help take the guesswork out of what is appropriate for employees to post about a company to their social networks.

 

There are a number of potential legal issues with employees’ use of social media that should be addressed such as the danger of possible privacy, harassment, discrimination or defamation claims. Beyond legal risks, employees can harm a company’s reputation by disseminating controversial or inappropriate comments regarding the employer. However, employer restrictions on the use of social media can be tricky. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently issued a complaint against an Illinois dealership, alleging that the dealership unlawfully terminated an employee for making critical comments about the dealership on Facebook. While some unprofessional and inappropriate conduct may not be protected, the intersection of social media and the NLRA is an evolving area of the law.

 

The best way to protect your dealership from legal trouble is by establishing formal social media policies for your staff. Companies often get in the most trouble when they fail to train their employees about appropriate social media use and disclosure. To prevent this from happening, it’s a good idea to create a written social media policy and training program for your company and carefully monitor social media use.

Reputation Management Is Not Rocket Science

There are a number of good reasons for operating an ethical and legally compliant dealership, not the least of which is staying out of a courtroom.  Perhaps the most important – and most often overlooked – reason is increased customer satisfaction.  There are times when an employee may feel that he or she came out the winner by bending the rules a little, but what about the dealership’s reputation?  What about the customers who were mislead?  It seems like there might be some losers in the game.

Customers often make decisions during a vehicle sale transaction that they come to regret after the “ether has worn off”.  Perhaps they read the contract more carefully after they got home or showed it to a relative, friend, neighbor, etc.  The customer may notice some imperfections on the vehicle in the light of day and have it inspected by a mechanic or body shop or run a vehicle history report.  If there is a concern, some customers will let the dealer know while others will just chalk it up to (bad) experience.

Now, if the dealer is lucky enough to get a chance to rectify the customer’s concern, how will the complaint be handled?  Will it be “Sorry, all sales are final” or “You signed the contract”?

What about the customer that doesn’t bother to report the concern?  You can be sure they’re telling somebody about the transaction.  Or perhaps they’re telling thousands of people via social media?

Here are some examples of after-sale situations that can cause potential customer satisfaction nightmares:

  • The customer sees your advertisement for a price lower than was charged for the vehicle.
  • The customer discovers additional charges on the contract for items that he or she thought were included in the price of the vehicle.
  • The customer discovers that F&I products were sold at much-higher-than-market prices.
  • The customer discovers additional charges on the contract for items that he or she never agreed to purchase.
  • The customer gets a call from the lender who asks for verification that the vehicle has a sunroof – and it doesn’t.
  • The customer discovers that the price of the vehicle was raised to cover negative equity on the trade-in when after being told that the dealer agreed to purchase the trade-in for the full loan balance.
  • The customer gets a call from the lender asking for verification of an income amount which is much higher than what was written on the credit application.
  • The customer discovers that the vehicle purchased had undisclosed prior damage.
  • The customer runs a vehicle history report and discovers that the vehicle purchased was an undisclosed previous rental, a prior demo, flood damaged, etc.
  • The customer brings the vehicle in for repairs and discovers that the warranty or service contract coverage or term was misrepresented.

Sure, you made the deal. But is it really worth putting the reputation that you have worked years to build at risk? Take compliance and ethical behavior seriously.  A commitment to honesty and fair dealing will protect your company, your employees, your customers and, most importantly, your good name.

Virality: The Value of Pinterest for Car Dealers

 

As Pinterest continues to rise in exposure and prominence in social media, many dealers have been asking me how to make it work for them. There are certain techniques that we, fortunately or unfortunately, save for clients, but here’s one that you can use today to help improve the virality and SEO of your website.

It starts with being interesting. Nobody on Pinterest (and social media in general) wants to see the special you have on your 2011 program cars. They want to see something “cool” on social media. Pinterest can make the fun part of managing your dealer website actually have value for your online marketing efforts.

Here’s the technique:

  1. Using your website content management system, create a page that looks something like this: 1969 Pontiac GTO Judge.
  2. Be sure to include unique content – a paragraph or two is fine.
  3. Don’t forget your image credits! It’s important that you link to the sources of the images. It’s the right thing to do.
  4. Include links at the bottom that go to your website or other websites that you’re trying to optimize.
  5. “Pin It” on Pinterest. Assuming you have a following (or want to build up a following) you’ll want to have something awesome to show them such as the GTO.
  6. Share the Pin on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, etc.

The goal here is to help your website be part of a viral spread. It isn’t the direct traffic that you receive from the Pin or the social media sites you place it on. It’s the authority you receive in the eyes of the search engines from all of the links that are generated.

Pinterest links are no-followed. Don’t let that hamper you. Social signals are a part of rankings, but more importantly your goal isn’t to rank for that vehicle necessarily. Your goal is to build that page as an authoritative source. By doing so, the links at the bottom of the page will help you rank for the important keywords you want to improve.

It may be complicated, but give it a shot. Depending on which CMS you’re using, this could be a weekly process that takes about 15 minutes.

How to Use Social Media to Promote Your Day Spa

Promoting your day spa online now involves more than just setting up a website and updating your blog regularly. Social networking tools including Twitter and Facebook can help you achieve a stronger online presence and communicate directly with spa guests and prospective clients. You can generate immediate interest in spa specials, build a community of loyal customers, and announce special events and offers within a few clicks.

There are several ways day spa owners can leverage social media tools to market their spa online. Here are some tips for using social media to promote your day spa:

1. Join Twitter. Twitter is becoming one of the most efficient online marketing tools for small businesses, and is a great way to develop a following for your day spa. Twitter gives you a chance to promote links and make announcements without sounding ‘spammy’ – as long as you use it correctly. Set up a Twitter profile and start finding current and prospective clients to follow so that your day spa can become easily accessible online.

2. Set up and maintain an active Facebook profile. Facebook has grown by leaps and bounds since its inception, but it’s more than just a platform for showcasing your online profile. The highly interactive element of Facebook allows you to interact directly with your current and prospective clients in much the same way as Twitter. You can even link your Twitter profile to your Facebook account to keep them both up to date in one step.

3. Leave comments on blogs. Interacting with your target market via blog comments is a great way to reach out to the local community and keep up with what your clients are interested in. Use the Google Blog search tool to find out who is blogging about spa treatments in your area, beauty tips and other spa-related information. This is your chance to join the online chatter and establish your presence. If your day spa has its own blog, great! If not, make sure you use your website URL as the link when you post a comment.

4. Promote your own blog posts. Use tools such as StumbleUpon and Digg.com to promote your latest blog posts. These social tools will help to send your links out into the blogosphere, making it easier for people to pick up the links and link to your content. This strategy is just another way to increase your online exposure and bring more traffic to your website.

5. Write guest blog posts for other industry professionals. Write articles or provide tips on spa treatments and trends to local bloggers as a guest contributor for an online spa directory. This is a simple way to build your brand and generate some interest in your day spa.

When you’re marketing your day spa online, you need to focus on creating a strong, professional online presence. Social media tools really are all about people, so it’s important to use tools such as Twitter and Facebook without spamming your followers and fans. Provide value for your fans and followers so that they continue to frequent your spa and become genuinely interested in the items you post.

Patients turn to social media for information on plastic surgery

A new study reveals that more and more people are going online for advice and information before deciding whether or not to go under the knife. The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) reports that, in 2011, 42 percent of patients received most of their information about plastic surgery from social media. That’s an increase from 29 percent in 2010.

In addition, the percentage of patients who obtained information on plastic surgery from friends dipped to 48 percent, down from 63 percent in 2010.
“We are encouraged by the possibilities that Facebook, Twitter and other social channels offer for prospective patients, but urge all patients to exercise caution in researching facial plastic procedures to ensure information is from a reliable source,” said the President of the AAFPRS.
The AAFPRS survey also found that the majority of surgeons surveyed reported 70 percent of their patients request procedures by describing the area of concern rather than requesting a specific product or procedure by name.

In addition, the popularity of “celebrity procedures,” in which a patient requests a surgery to help them look more similar to a celebrity, has decreased.
Patients are encouraged to do their homework when it comes to choosing a qualified doctor and not depend solely on the professional’s online presence. It is recommended that patients choose a surgeon that is properly trained, licensed and board-certified in order to ensure the best results possible in a safe manner.