Fact or Tweet?

by Heather Keroes 

At least one online publication has learned a lesson the hard way … just because it’s on Twitter, doesn’t mean it’s true.  Last week, actor George Clooney hosted a star-studded dinner/fundraiser with President Obama at his “quaint” Studio City home (an affluent residential neighborhood in Los Angeles).  The dinner was certainly an elaborate and news-worthy affair, with Jack Black, Salma Hayek, Barbara Streisand and many other celebrities on the attendance list.  Ben Hoffman, a comedian (who was not in attendance at the event), decided to “live tweet” as if he was there amongst the elite dinner crowd.  What many realized to be farce, however, was lost in translation as at least one publication, Silicon Valley Insider sister publication Business Insider, fell for the gag and reported Hoffman’s tweets as fact (in particular a racy joke was supposedly said by Obama about John Travolta’s recent lawsuit woes).  The writer even tweeted about it.

In an effort to make a correction (and save face), the publication has since changed the story’s headline to “Check Out These Hysterical ‘Live Tweets’ From Tonight’s Obama-Clooney Fundraiser.” The moral of this story (and a reminder for us all): Twitter is not a regulated news service … although the following would have made for one really hilarious dinner party.

The Customer is Always Wrong …

by Heather Keroes

 

That’s the impression I had recently when looking into ordering my contact lenses online.  Usually I order contact lenses directly from my optometrist at Target Optical, but with the hopes of saving a few dollars this time around, I decided to research online options – and there are many.  Surprisingly, most of the online suppliers quoted my contacts at more or less the same rate as Target, with the exception of one company.  However, while I am not fearful of online ordering (I am a frequent online shopper), I always do my homework to see how other consumers have rated their experiences.

I had an easy time finding reviews for the company I researched, and while on average it was ranked favorably, I noticed a common and disturbing thread amongst the negative reviews.  The company was responding publicly to some of its negative comments, not necessarily a bad thing, but in their replies the customer was always in the wrong.  The company even went so far as to claim that one of the reviews was a hoax by another disgruntled customer using a false screen name.

While I daresay there are cases in which a customer may be making an unwarranted or unfair claim, any customer complaint should be addressed in a polite, professional manner, providing next steps for sideline follow-up and resolution.  Through overtly defensive tactics going against the most basic rule of customer service – “the customer is always right” – this company lost my business before it had it.  I guess I’m going back to Target.

Black Wednesday

by Heather Keroes

The Twitterverse is filled with question marks this morning.  Some are serious ponderings …

Others, not so serious …

The rush of tweeted questions featuring the tag #altwiki is the answer from several “traditional” media sources to Wednesday’s SOPA-protesting Wikipedia blackout.  The Washington Post, NPR and the Guardian have teamed up to offer (as Washington Post blogger David Beard puts it) “an experimental, one-day Band-Aid.”  While none of these news outlets have taken an official stance on the SOPA bill, they have several journalists and researchers on call to answer questions … questions that you may otherwise look up on Wikipedia.  Just tweet a question to #altwiki and you may get an answer.

I think it is a clever (and just a bit humorous) response to Wikipedia’s protest of SOPA.  As I mentioned, none of these news outlets have taken an official stance on the bill, but in any case, they’ve added themselves to the conversation and reminded some of us that information can come from the news too (there are still people out there, called journalists, who do research for a living).  And sometimes, you may find the answer you’re looking for, even if that answer is unexpected.  Here’s The Washington Post’s response to that ever-tricky woodchuck question:

Life and Death on Facebook

by Heather Keroes

It was only a matter of time. The other day I switched my Facebook profile over to the new Timeline layout. Timeline is just what it claims to be – and lays out my life, according to Facebook, year by year. I daresay the profile better represents me in the sense that it looks more like me, with a large photo of my fabulous self at the top of the page (narcissists rejoice!). The Heather brand is alive and well on Facebook, but what about actual brands? What could this mean for them?

Profile changes on Facebook usually lead the way to brand page changes on Facebook. It’s not the first time Facebook has shaken things up (remember when Facebook tabs were actually tabs at the top of your page?). I believe that the look of the new layout is a good thing for brands and would allow them to display their visual message more prominently. The look of my profile, for example, is now much more “in your face” (or my face, pun intended).

I’m curious as to how apps would work their way into a timeline-centric layout for brands and how the year-by-year timeline itself would factor in. Will we be able to witness the life (and maybe even the death) of a brand online? Of course, all of my ponderings about this are pure speculation. Facebook is working on upgrading brand pages, but no dates or details have been shared as of yet. Once again, it’s only a matter of time …

Hello from the Beach

by Heather Keroes

 

A family visiting the South Walton beach neighborhood of Seagrove in September

Sure, winter starts next week, most of the U.S. is feeling the chill and snow is expected in parts of New England, but let’s talk about sun and sand.  Technically just one season ago, in the midst of summer, we helped our client South Walton (a destination on Northwest Florida’s Gulf Coast) launch a program to thank travelers for returning to “their beach” more than a year after the BP oil spill.

South Walton’s 15 beaches were and still are as beautiful as ever, and we wanted to help the destination’s ever-important loyalists show off their fabulous beach vacations, while showing South Walton’s great appreciation for having them back.

It all started with us submitting a job post to Walton County community and college websites for “brand ambassadors,” and as blogger Laurel Abbe does a lovely job explaining in this post on SoWal.com, she was one of four lucky locals who found “the perfect job on the perfect beach.”  Be sure to check out her story of a very fun and unique summer job.

Dubbed the beach appreciation team, the brand ambassadors (or beach ambassadors, as Laurel puts it) took to the beaches, taking pictures of visitors for the South Walton Facebook page, handing out cool South Walton-branded swag such as beach balls and T-shirts, chatting with families about their visits and telling visitors about a contest through which they could win a trip back to their favorite South Walton beach neighborhood.  The beach appreciation team visited all 15 beaches multiple times over a two-month period, “thanking” more than 1,200 people.

After reading Laurel’s blog post, I was inspired to share this story on our blog as an example of how a destination’s best representatives can be right in their own backyard … the people who may not be on vacation, but live and breathe the community’s spirit, love their hometown and are proud of it.  We were honored to work with such enthusiastic South Walton residents.

Oh, and in case you’re curious, it’s currently sunny in South Walton, with high temperatures expected in the low 70s.

A Balanced Thank You

by Heather Keroes

Does this look appetizing to you?

While on my way to work this morning, one of the guards from my apartment community approached my vehicle, signaling for me to stop. Curious, but not too thrilled about any impediments on my already hurried journey to the office, I rolled down my window. The guard handed me a torn paper bag and kindly said that my community is happy to have me as a resident and wanted to show their appreciation by treating me to breakfast.

Looking down at the bag made me oddly reminiscent of grade school, but this early morning variant of the “bag lunch” was disappointing. A green banana, juice box, and crumbly, slightly melted granola bar do not make for a balanced breakfast. Also stuffed in the bag was a card asking me to rate my community’s maintenance service and support. Even if the maintenance guys did a fabulous job, this “thank you” breakfast was not encouraging me to take the time to go online and say so.

And so, our lesson of the day … thanking your loyal customers is always a good idea, but the delivery of your appreciation is just as important. This summer we worked with our client South Walton to develop a beach appreciation team, who combed the area beaches, thanking visitors. They didn’t hand out not-yet-ripened bananas. Rather, we focused on handing out fun prizes and promotional items like branded beach balls and Frisbees – items kids actually want to play with when at the beach.

My apartment community’s concept was good, but the execution was lacking. Good thing I already ate before leaving for work today.

What We Already Know

by Heather Keroes
“We’re understaffed.” “I don’t have time for press trips anymore.” “We only pick up wire stories.” “I’m on deadline for three sections of the paper.” Yeah, we’ve heard it all before. Today’s journalists are overworked as newsrooms grow smaller and digitize their content. PRWeek and Porter Novelli have just published a media content survey and here are some of their key findings, much of which confirms what we already know:

- 71 percent of traditional media have a heavier workload this year

- 56 percent of traditional media are expected to contribute to a social media page

- Social media has increased readership, viewership or listeners for 59 percent of media

- Most journalists judge the success of their work by increases in web traffic

Also of note, gone are the days of “the scoop.” The survey reports that only 42 percent of traditional media and 25 percent of online media believe it’s extremely important to report first on a topic. So much for “you heard it here first” competitiveness. Content equaling the most web clicks is king.

South Florida Schools Gets “Scoholed”

by Heather Keroes

Our proofreader is going to love reading this blog post.  News stations in South Florida are reporting that a Lauderhill elementary school has failed its spelling test, misspelling “school” as “scohol” on a painted road sign.  According to a Miami New Times blogger, this is nothing new.   Apparently, South Florida schools have been called “scohols” or even “shcools” a few times over the last few years.  You can see the latest misspelling here.

WPLG-TV reports that the mistake was made a few days ago and “no comment has been issued from the county.”  While it’s definitely not encouraging to see centers of learning misspelling their signs, you’d think that the county would have issued a statement as soon as the news hit … even if it’s just to say that it was a mistake and the road sign would be repainted as soon as possible.  On slow news days, stories such as this can spread quickly, sometimes making their way to national news.  The story is already highlighted on the Orlando Sentinel’s homepage, which is many counties removed from the “scohol” in question.  This is a good reminder of how we need to act quickly to support our clients, no matter the size or significance of a crisis.

Would You Go There? – Dangerous Destinations

by Heather Keroes

Our partner Kim Taylor’s recent blog post about Japan’s big effort to bring back travelers got me thinking about how tourism agencies and councils deal when labeled as a seriously dangerous or suffering destination.  Some of the purported dangers are real and valid, while others are perceived.  There are people who consider Mexico to be dangerous for travelers, but that hasn’t stopped the country’s tourism agency from beckoning travelers to lay out along the sands of the Riviera Maya.  Tourism numbers have gone down, but Mexico’s tourism officials acknowledge the challenge by trying to spread the message that the drug war’s violence isn’t directed at foreigners in tourist districts.

News headlines this week spoke of potential sanctions against Iran, a country that the U.S. Department of State warns against visiting.  Iran also made news recently for its long detention of several American hikers.  Most Americans may not consider Iran a vacation destination, but the country boasts beautiful mountains, deserts and ancient, historical sites.  Iran plans to have 20 million tourists annually by 2015 (the country attracted only 2.3 million tourists in 2009) and has a tourism agency, but its website doesn’t address the internationally reported issues.  I can’t help but wonder how it will meet its 2015 tourism goals.

Mexico and Kenya are also on the U.S. warning list – and they differ from Iran in that both attract their fair share of travelers.  Will these warnings stop you from exploring Aztec Temples and partying in Cancun, or taking a safari through an African reserve to spy upon rich wildlife?

What should a country do to make you feel safe?  Such situations can’t be solved by a tourism board alone, but these travel-focused agencies should play a big role in spreading “the message” – whether it is to correct inaccuracies or share how problems are being addressed.  At the end of the day, these destinations need to fall back on the PR function of crisis communications, including these three basic steps:

1. Listen – This is such a simple but important tactic.  You can’t address a problem without fully understanding what is being said.  When a crisis strikes, immediately start monitoring related news stories and online conversations.
2. Engage – If you don’t speak up, then you don’t have a voice and your point-of-view is lost.  The media and consumers will speculate and their words will spread even more rapidly through social media.
3. Position – There is no one more qualified than a tourism agency to speak about its own destination , as they are natural news sources that carry credibility.  In addition to sharing your message with media, further position yourselves as the experts and make your voice stand out from the online chatter.  Blogs and social media channels are easy, inexpensive and quick ways to share information and support candid communication … and if you have an official website, be sure to keep it updated.  You can’t hide from a crisis by pretending it doesn’t exist.

 

Cat Alert

by Heather Keroes

 

Have you viewed American Airlines’ Wall on Facebook lately?  Between weather alerts and Hurricane Irene updates you’ll find some very important posts about a cat … Jack the Cat.

Jack the Cat was traveling last week with his owner, Karen, and one other cat, Barry, from New York to California.  Before Karen was able to board the plane, however, she received a call no pet owner wants to receive – her cat Jack was somehow missing from the checked kennel (which had already cleared security).

According to Karen, she was assured by an American Airlines employee that she would receive a call if her cat was found and she was also asked to contact the airlines’ Central Baggage Service.  Three days later, and after leaving a number of messages, Karen had yet to hear from anyone.  And so, she did what many a distressed consumer will do – she set up a Facebook page to ask the Facebook community to put pressure on American Airlines and the JFK airport.  And that they have – her Facebook page is 10,000+ fans strong and its members have been quite vocal with American Airlines.  And the airline has certainly taken notice, posting not only on Jack the Cat’s Facebook page, but also adding updates about their search for Jack to their own Facebook page.

In a very poignant post on prblognews.com earlier this week, blogger Mark Rose makes an odd, but true, point – “No matter what atrocities are happening in the world – mass murder, genocide, disease, famine – a sad pet story will bring people to their knees.”

If American Airlines’ consumer service responded quicker to Karen, they may have been able to avoid this issue that has gained national attention.  However, their reaction to and management of the situation on Facebook has been strong.  Will Jack the Cat be found?  No one knows.  But now everyone on Facebook knows that Karen will be personally escorted through JFK this weekend to try to find him.