10...er...9 Social Media Blunders that Can Destroy Your Brand

An interesting post by Wendy Piersall over at Sparkplugging discusses 10 Social Media Blunders that Can Destroy Your Brand. While I think it's a good post, I disagree with the second-to-last point (#9?): 

Show up as a company spokesperson, brand representative, sales executive, or anything else other than simply showing up as a real human being

...If you are going to show up in the Web 2.0 community for business reasons, show up as a person first. People don’t want to connect with brands, companies, or products. People want to connect with people.

 Yes, people do want to connect with people. However, I disagree that people don't want to interact with brands or companies. I think people are fine following brands and companies through means of social media if they know that's who they're following. It's all about expectations.

There are Four Levels of Social Media Involvement as far as businesses are concerned (I'm thinking mainly Twitter here, but I think the principles apply across the board):

1. The Deceiver - Mentioned in #3 of Ms. Piersall's post, these are companies that know social media can be beneficial, but go about it in an entirely errant way by being deceptive about it. For example, hiring people to go out there and secretly promote the company. Bad CMO! These companies don't grasp the point transparency, how crucial it is, and how when you screw it up it comes back to bite you. Hard.

2. The PR Printer - Their idea of using a blog, Twitter, digg, etc. is to pump out press releases. They are under the delusion that people want to hear their corporate speak. They are wrong. And while they may have a warm fuzzy feeling because they think they're "using" social media, nobody is listening to them.

3. The Rep - This person is assigned to take on social media responsibilities. Perhaps it's a PR team, brand rep...whatever. They know that content is king, produce good content and are open about who it's coming from. Inherently this person isn't as interesting as if he or she was the CEO, but their presence is still beneficial to followers/customers.

4. The Guru - This company has it down pat. They have someone in a position of real authority in their organization engaging personally in social media. This person provides relevant content on a regular basis and presents him or herself in a natural, likable manner. It's not just their company that understands social media, but the person producing the content really gets it.

Ideally, you want your company or organization to be at Level 4, but many companies at Level 3 have people who are interested enough about their company/brand that they are happy to communicate with a brand rep or PR person. This is because I'm interested in, and want to connect with, the brand and/or company, not necessarily the person.

An example of this is the team that writes Google's Gmail Blog. I don't pay attention to who writes it, nor do I care. I love Gmail and I want to know what's going on with its development, new features, etc.. 

That being said, no one should be ghost writing for the CEO, no matter how good the content is. And a company would be foolish to, say, try to buy diggs. However, if I know the blog I'm reading is:

1. From the PR team at X company
2. They tell me it's from the PR team - not trying to be deceptive
3. Producing quality content (Level 3)

... then great! While they aren't at a Level 4, they aren't damaging their brand either. In fact, I'd argue that they're building it.

As I said before, it's all about expectations.

MotrinMoms? I don't get it.

The blogosphere is all up in arms over the above TV spot for Motrin and it's currently the #1 thing being discussed on Twitter. Now referred to as "MotrinGate" by some, Motrin has officially removed the video from their site and posted an apology note right smack-dab on their homepage (which apparently works best when viewed with Netscape?).

Want to see some of the scathing reviews floating around Twitter? This person has made a NINE MINUTE montage of the criticism (obviously, there's a lot of it).

From an advertising perspective/social media case study, here are a few additional comments:

MCP85: Motrin - classic example of how social media can kill you in a hurry when you screw up!

ChristySeason: #motrinmoms is an excellent case study to help sell the importance of monitoring your brand via social media

 

EllanNews: How’s that for instantaneous feedback on your marketing efforts? Take a deep breath and feel your power, people!

jodifur: the motrin debacle got picked up in the washington post http://tinyurl.com/68cl4o #motrinmom

However, one company's pain is another company's opportunity: baby carrier brand Ellaroo is offering 10% off their carriers if you enter the coupon code "motrin".

As I read through the Tweets and blogs about the subject, people are very clear as to the fact that they're upset, but not as to why they're upset. As a calloused, insensitive man I don't understand the reason for the mommy-rage. Would you be so kind as to enlighten me by leaving a comment?

Online journals vs. blogs

"I've never really found the time to blog, so to sepak. For me blogging isn't about sitting down on a regular basis and dreaming up something to say. It's more about indignation, frustration, pride and beliefs." - Bob Lutz, General Motors

The above quote came from The Corporate Blogging Book by Debbie Weil, a book I'm reading it as part of an assignment for work. So far, I like it much more than the book I had to read last quarter, Testing Advertising Methods by John Caples. That one made me want to shoot myself in the face. But I digress.

I like what Mr. Lutz (great last name) had to say about blogging, and I believe to a certain extent it defines what makes a good blog. Are you reciting the events of the day or week? Or are you writing about things you have a passion about? Sure, online journals are fine and have their place and serve as a way for people to keep up-to-date on what you're up to.  But I think a distinction could be made between online journals and blogs, with blogs being outlets for "indignation, frustration, pride and beliefs".

Am I overanalyzing this? What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments.

Vote early

Tomorrow is the last day to vote early, so plan on a long lunch and get to the polls. You can find your polling location and see exactly what's going to be on your ballot (with links to the candidates and issues) at LeaveYourPrint.com. It's nice to be able to ignore all the billboards and lawn signs and only see the stuff that's relevant to you. Check it out.

The 5k Marathon

Last Saturday I ran a 5k marathon. See above picture of me crossing the finish line. For those of you who aren't familiar with 5k marathons, it's a 5k for people who haven't trained at all, so it feels like they've just run a marathon.

Considering I used to adamantly hate running, I'm pretty happy with the fact that I did it voluntarily. I'm also pleased that I 1. finished and 2. ran the entire distance.

Yeah. That's about it.

Photo courtesy of here.

Proof that inflation is out of control, or I need to find a new job

The other day I'm driving home and there was a little girl on the side of the road standing behind a card table with a sign hanging off the front which read, "Lemonade Kool-Aid 25 cents". Smiling, I remembered back to summers when I was a kid and tried the same venture, so I pulled over, rolled down my window and said, "One cup please."

The cute little girl smiled at me showing off a full set of braces. As she poured my glass I fished around for a quarter. As I looked up, she was holding out what looked like an incredibly small cup. I was a bit taken aback. It was tiny. It was one of the little Dixie cups kids keep near the sink to use while brushing their teeth. It was this size (see below), but not this cool because it didn't even have a TIE fighter on it.

I handed her the quarter and thanked her. Then I looked in the cup. It was only half full. The little girl skipped happily back to her table waiting for her next vicitm/customer.

I took my 1/16 gulp of sugary water and pondered my transaction.

After doing a little research, I found that the cup size she used was 3 oz. Filling it only half full meant she sold me 1.5 oz of Kool-Aid for 25 cents. If I'm doing the math right, that means the retail/street value of a pitcher of Kool-Aid is a little over $11, or $5.50 per liter.

Since we Americans don't do the whole metric thing, let me put it in more general terms:

THIS LITTLE GIRL WAS SELLING KOOL-AID AT MORE THAN $20 PER GALLON.

Her overhead: nothing - she probably stole everything from her mom.

And she doesn't pay taxes.

I think I'm in the wrong business.




Stand image courtesy of here.
Cup image couresy of here.

Hmmm... I think I want to get a degree

I found this beaut' on KSL's homepage. If I understand correctly, it reads:

"Education! What separates us from a dead fly."

Now, I generally eschew taking advertising too literally but I'm not sure how else to interpret this one. And why is the fly hovering? Thoughts?

The Presidential Motorcade

The other day El Presedente was in town. On day two of his visit I was dutifully riding the train to work. (I've been much better about riding the train lately - I haven't driven to work in a couple weeks.) As we approached the Courthouse stop Mr. Train Driver said we were going to have to wait a few minutes because of the presidential motorcade. Great. I Twittered that I'd be stuck waiting for the motorcade.

Sure enough, we waited a few minutes at Courthouse before Mr. Train Driver said we could proceed to Gallivan, but we'd have to wait there. When we got to Gallivan I considered jumping ship and walking the rest of the way, but decided against it reasoning that maybe the wait at Gallivan would be short too.

I opened up The Lappy and using Salt Lake's beautiful free Wifi jumped on the Internet. Looking at Twitter, I saw that someone had replied to my original tweet about being stuck, and said he needed to be downtown in 45 minutes and asked what parts to avoid. From that point on I Twittered where I saw traffic problems from my phone. Really, it's pretty cool that nowadays we can communicate this way. But I digress.

The train started moving again and we got as far as Temple Square and Mr. Train Driver said we weren't going any further, he was heading back to Sandy and everyone needed to get off.

As I walked toward work I came to 300 West, near KSL, and there was a cop in the street preventing anyone from passing. The motorcade was neigh.

Here are some pics I snapped with ye ol' iPhone. The camera on the iPhone is kinda crappy. Sorry.

About a dozen motorcycle cops came first. The whole motorcade was bookin' it - probably doing between 40-50 mph.



The President was in one of these limos. It was interesting to see that they weren't traveling in the same lane. Security measure I presume.


There go the limos. There were also probably about a half dozen Suburbans overall, some with crazy-looking comms equipment on their roofs.

Note the rolled-down rear windows in the Suburban in the above picture. The back tailgate window was also open and had what I believe was a sharpshooter (sniper) looking out the back. It was then and there that I was glad I had decided against mooning the motorcade.

After more cops there was an ambulance bringing up the rear with its lights on, just in case.

I admit it was pretty cool to see everything. I wonder if the President even thinks about all the measures and precautions that are taken for him, or if he's used to it now and it's just part of the job.

Panasonic Toughbook banner ad

Nothing says "tough", "rugged" and "original" like sheep.

Liveblogging my TRAX ride

This is my experience riding the train home last night. I wrote most of it as the events were happening, so it's a little choppy. Enjoy.

You gotta be kidding me. I don't leave work until almost 7:00 on a Friday. To make things worse, most people are walking to the Jazz game. Without knowing it, they're rubbing it in my face: "Ha! You're just getting off work? We've already been home, had dinner and come back and are now going to an NBA playoff game. Sucker."

I board the train. Some woman/girl/chick is yelling into her Bluetooth headset. I believe she's talking to her mother. "If I had, like, fifty bucks, I would have had Amber run down here." Something about frozen coffee. I'm not the only one who's annoyed. People keep glaring back at her. Of course, she could move to the back of the train where there aren't any other passengers. No. That would be considerate.

"When was the last time I was out late? Besides that night with Jodie, I haven't been out late since Charles was in my life."

I could list a few reasons why Charles may have left.

As I consider whether or not I should inform her (in an equally loud voice) that I'm blogging her conversation, the unbelievable happens: Two middle-aged women wearing "Hillary Clinton" stickers and carrying a Hillary Clinton yard sign get on the train. They begin talking to the man next to me:

"Are you a republican?"

Oh no. #$&% no. They're going to start a political conversation about Hillary. I check under my seat for a revolver, lead pipe, candlestick - something from Clue that I can use to end my misery. Maybe I can use the rope and hang myself on the bar with the little hand lassos. Nothing. The brilliant Hillary supporters don't sit down before the train starts moving and get thrown back a couple of steps. I take some smug satisfaction in this.

One of them sits down across from me. I wonder if I should engage her in conversation. I'm extremely curious as to whether or not she really thinks Hillary still has a shot, which is to say I'm wondering if she's delusional.

Charles' Ex is now off the phone.

Wait. She's back on the phone. She's going to get off at 4500 South. Great. That's after my stop.

Now MY phone rings. It's my sister in-law. I answer, and in a voice louder than I should have used, "I'M ON THE TRAIN. SEND ME A TEXT MESSAGE." I hang up.

The Talker gets up and walks past me! I think she may be getting off! No such luck. She stays standing directly behind my seat. "Let's stay on the phone until we find each other." Yeah, that's a brilliant idea. I exchange a knowing look with the Hillary Clinton supporter. Unspoken words were exchanged: this girl is a moron.

Yes, I had a bit of a moment with Ms. Hillary Clinton supporter.

I continue writing this. "Oh yeah! I absolutely love riding TRAX." Ms. Clinton supporter and I look at each other again and this time we start laughing. Out loud. I look around the train. Some people are looking back at me. Are they amused? Are they wondering what I'm laughing at? I think they're in on the joke as one guy has actually taken OFF his headphones to pay attention to the situation.

My stop snuck up on me. Unprepared, I quickly close the laptop and gather my things. As I stand to leave with my armful of stuff, under her breath Ms. Clinton Supporter says, "Lucky you." I grin at her. It turns out Charles' Ex was exiting the train as well, so there was nothing left to say. As I exited the train I thought perhaps I should have told Ms. Clinton Supporter to check TheOtherDrummer.com for a full recap of tonight's events, but considering how die-hard a (soon to be disappointed) supporter she was, I don't think she would have appreciated my aforementioned comments.

What started out as a potentially depressing train ride turned out to be quite entertaining and humorous...and the entertainment and humor came from the most unlikely places.

Yesterday I said "bastard" in a client presentation

I did. Seriously. We were presenting collateral ideas to a client that happens to be an educational institution. I was trying to say "bachelor's and master's degrees" and instead I stumbled over the first two words and said "bastard degree".

My brain went kind of cloudy. I don't think I've ever said "bastard" before in my life and now I'd just said it in front of a client. What to do?? I could clearly hear the voice of my father in-law in my head: take it a step further. But how? Bastard isn't a normal part of my vocabulary. It didn't even "slip out". I just mumbled the perfect combination of words to result in me cussing. I honestly don't remember exactly what I said, but it was something to the effect of, "Did I just say 'bastard'"? Everyone agreed that I did and I went on reading the copy.

Later in the meeting there was another opportunity for me to slip "bastard" into the conversation while poking a bit of fun at myself, which I did.

I've now said used "bastard" seven times in this post. I think that oughtta do it for the next 28 years or so.

Photo courtesy of here.

See? I told you I was alive.

OK. So here's the story: work. Actually, I'm not sure why the *&%# I haven't been writing as much lately. Work has definitely been more insane than usual. And by "usual" I mean "than it was last October." Yes, work has been taking its toll and my brain has been mush. And Brain Mush is not conducive to writing.

Honestly, Call of Duty 4 has been my "decompression" activity lately. Yes, sniping terrorists not only is good for world peace but it's much more mindless than writing. Also, writing isn't a spectator sport - to really dig into something I need to shut out everything else and focus. However, my wife will watch me play COD4 and be a second set of eyes which has me promoted to rank of First Lieutenant II. I now have a sweet new assault rife with a red dot scope. Thank you honey!

I'm also getting old and fat, which means getting to the gym is much more important which means getting up early which means getting to bed early which means less blogging. Curse my love handles!! Curse them!

OK. Lunch break is over. Back to the grindstone.

Keming

Courtesy of here.

12 hour days with no end in sight

Lots going on you know. Long hours at the office this week - big pitch coming up in addition to being insanely busy to begin with. Didn't get home until about 10:00 last night and tonight's not looking any better. But while I always prefer to spend time with my family, there's definitely a satisfaction that comes from working long and hard on something. It feels good.

That being said, The Other Drummer has been neglected. Poor blog. There's no time to write about my first experience voting (doesn't seem quite as anonymous as I'd expected...but then again, the poll worker never asked to see my ID so who's to say it was really me who voted that way?) and last night's Super Tuesday primaries (I'm baffled that anyone is taking Hillary Clinton seriously).

I will, however, be making updates to my Twitter feed (it's much faster than writing a whole post) so check that out here or in the sidebar of this here blog under "What I'm Up To".

Meanwhile, here are some of my favorite posts: the place where I record the funny stuff we all say, the completely fictitious story about the first and second Thanksgivings, my fan mail, and my idea for a Broadway musical involving Don Cheadle.

Wish me luck, and see you on the other side.

Paperwork image courtesy of this site from across the Pond.

My five favorite Super Bowl Ads

In no particular order (although I liked the ETrade "Clown" the best):











Agree? Disagree? Check out all the ads at Hulu.com and let me know what you think.

High-speed camera shot of a lighter

For all you other people out there having a slow day at work:

If you could make a million dollars a year doing anything, what would it be?

The only stipulation is that it has to be considered a real job. For example, my ideal job would be to get paid $10 each time I kiss my wife. However, that's not a real job.

Which is a shame because I'd be filthy rich.

My ideal job would be to get paid to blog/write - mainly about tech news and products. Sort of as a quasi-journalist/columnist.


What would you do? Leave word in the comments.


Picture courtesy of this fishy site.

A possible change in careers

So I think I want to become a bouncer. I really think I could pull it off. I have the "x-factor" - that intimidating demeanor that makes people inherently fear me. And while my arms aren't quite as big as that guy's, a few trips to the gym, some "special sauce" and I'd totally take care of that.

Bouncers don't have to take drug tests do they? I don't think they do. Does anybody know for sure?

I'd stand outside popular venues like churches (see above photo). If I didn't like the way someone smelled, or the cut of their jib, I'd pick them up by their trousers and toss them to the gutter.

At non-religious locations I'd only let people in who slipped me $20 bills.

And all I have to do is wear all black, sun glasses and look menacing. I'd probably crack my knuckles a lot and flex my pecks. If someone appeared to be bothersome I might even growl.

To really polish off the the look I'd have to shave my head. Ever since my dream about playing poker with Martha Stewart I've been tossing the idea around anyway, so it wouldn't be that big a deal.

Speaking of, I put a poll about shaving my head in the upper-right corner: vote, and leave your print on my head.

In addition to being physically domineering, I have some ideas that I think could really reinvent the bouncing industry.

For example, instead of just being mean to people who try to sneak in, why don't we (and by "we" I mean bouncers everywhere) hand out small stuffed animals to people who are patiently waiting in line. A little positive reinforcement never hurt anyone.

Also, since we (and by "we", I mean bouncers everywhere) have a captive audience with everyone waiting in line why not sell advertising? Every five minutes I'd read a 10 second blurb about a product or service, kind of like you hear before a traffic report on the radio:

"When you feel like crap tomorrow morning after a night of partying, remember to take Tylenol. Extra Strength Tylenol, on sale now at Walgreens."

It's like printing money my friends. Like printing money.

Well?? What do you think of my idea of switching careers from advertising to bouncer...ing?


Cute stuffed animal pic courtesy of Katie's Kreations. For security reasons I can't tell you where I got the picture of my new colleagues, the bouncers.

I think I'd feel overqualified

The Physical Demands requirements for a job listing:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is regularly required to sit. The employee is frequently required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to reach with hands and arms.

To sum up:

1. The demands of the job are what it's going to take for someone to be able to do the job. Thank you for that apt description of what a "demand" is.

2. You must sit and, on occasion, reach. Maybe talk a little too.

The sad thing is that this job paid almost 40% more than what I'm making now.

Just an observation

A different kind of people ride the train during the day than during rush hour.