Corporate social media: trends in the use of emerging social media in corporate America

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Corporate social media: trends in the use of emerging social media in corporate America

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Content CORPORATE SOCIAL MEDIA: TRENDS IN THE USE OF EMERGING SOCIAL MEDIA IN CORPORATE AMERICA by Faryar Borhani A Thesis Presented to the FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS (STRATEGIC PUBLIC RELATIONS) May 2012 Copyright 2012 Faryar Borhani ii Dedication To my Mom and Dad, thank you for your undying support throughout this long and arduous journey. Because of your guidance, encouragement and unparalleled advice, I have never forgotten how hard work not only gets you one step closer to your most cherished accomplishments, but pushes personal boundaries you never thought existed. As my lifelong role models and most respected critics, this is for you. iii Table of Contents Dedication ii List of Figures iv Abstract vi Introduction 1 Chapter One: The Birth of Social Media in the Corporate Landscape 5 Chapter Two: Corporate vs. Public Use of Social Media 9 Chapter Three: Role of Social Media in Corporate Marketing 13 Chapter Four: Role of Social Media in Corporate Recruiting 19 Chapter Five: Role of Social Media in Customer Service 23 Chapter Six: Role of Social Media in Corporate Product Development 29 Chapter Seven: Role of Social Media in Product Public Relations 32 Chapter Eight: Role of Social Media in Corporate Advertising 36 Chapter Nine: The Birth of Corporate Social Media Policies 42 Chapter Ten: Role of Social Media in Corporate Crisis Communications 48 Conclusion 52 Bibliography 57 iv List of Figures Figure 1: Graphical view of the growth of corporate social media 3 adoption from 2010 to 2011 Figure 2: A graphical view of the percentages of companies 7 using specific social media platforms Figure 3: American Express’ “Big Break for Small Business” 14 Facebook promotion Figure 4: Sample tweets of the outcry following Motrin’s 17 “We Feel Your Pain” videos Figure 5: The most frequented social media sites by prospective employers 20 Figure 6: The use of Facebook for consumer services 25 by Fortune 50 companies Figure 7: The use of Twitter for consumer services by Fortune 50 companies 26 Figure 8: Examples of KLM’s responses via Twitter during the 27 volcanic crisis in 2010 Figure 9: An example of Nike+GPS’ Facebook integration 31 Figure 10: Virgin America’s #NerdBird 34 Figure 11: Virgin America announces the naming of #NerdBird via Twitter 35 Figure 12: A visual look at Old Spice’s social media success, compared to 38 other prominent viral campaigns Figure 13: Attitudes of US Twitter users toward promoted tweets, 40 August 2011 Figure 14: Cleveland Cavaliers’ Charlie Villanueva sparked controversy 45 in 2009 when he tweeted from the locker room during halftime Figure 15: Screenshot of @ChryslerAutos controversial tweet 47 Figure 16: KFC Malaysia creates “KFC Responds” on its 49 Facebook brand page v Figure 17: The American Red Cross’ follow up tweet in explanation 51 of the rogue message Figure 18: GetGlue boasts an increase of 800 percent in engagement and 53 check-ins in 2011 vi Abstract As social media not only becomes a vital asset in the corporate space in the United States, but an extension of most internal and external functions of an organization, this paper’s goal will be to understand the emerging trends and best practices of social media as they relate to corporate uses. Has social media in fact changed the landscape of corporate America into an integrated extension of consumer and employee behavior, trend monitoring and business development? It is undeniable that social and digital media has played a vital part in bringing consumers closer to the brands they follow, and vice versa, but to what extent are these opportunities being taken advantage of by brands, and to what level of sustained innovation? 1 Introduction As the world’s societies figuratively inch closer into a state of unparalleled and uncharted convergence, individuals are able to reach clients, prospective business partners, employees, friends and family members with the touch of a button at speeds never experienced before. While many new technologies, respective government policies, politics, and ideologies are credited with this increasing convergence, arguably one of the most influencing catalysts is the creation of social media. With less than a decade having passed since the creation of the social media landscape’s two most popular channels, Facebook and Twitter, the short lifespan of these technologies illustrates the extent to which it social media have taken civilized societies by storm. Today more than 1 billion users own a Facebook and/or Twitter account, representing nearly 15 percent of the world’s population; a fact that not only proves the prowess of the new method of communication, but also its reach, breadth and global appeal (Mershon). As such a large portion of today’s connected population engage on social media, this too enables individuals to engage in a new level of connectivity with not only friends and families, but also with brands and organizations that offered rare direct paths of communication to stakeholders. With a newly paved road to companies, stakeholders such as consumers, employees and investors are given a tool of accountability, but also a resource to on-the-go updates, breaking news and even benefits. When companies used to post customer service or business hours on their brick and mortar locations, or on respective company websites, social media offers an all- 2 inclusive, 24/7 pass to reach representatives; a great value to stakeholders, and a potentially trying model for organizations. Just as brands becoming increasingly dependant on their followers to gauge ongoing perceptions and sentiments toward products, organization and structure changes, as well as policies, consumers share mutually exclusive dependencies on the brand’s updates. While individuals are held to a variety of societal, cultural and governmental standards around the world for how to portray his or her identity on social media channels, brands are held to a far more critical level of adherence: public opinion. As much as social media offers an avenue for multi-dimensional connections between entities, it also creates a limitless and ever-attainable forum for which stakeholders can publicly share opinions and sentiments. In the United States specifically, 58 percent of Facebook users have liked a brand, 42 percent have mentioned a brand in a status update, and 41 percent have shared a link, video or story regarding a brand — showing a self-appointed responsibility for stakeholders to share, promote or criticize a brand, instantaneously. As for Twitter, 39 percent of Americans have tweeted about a brand, and 29 percent follow a brand — proving a growing trend among the globally supported social media channel (Vaughan). 3 Figure 1. Graphical view of the growth of corporate social media adoption from 2010 to 2011 This paper will discuss and analyze the utilization of social media beyond the everyday confines of interpersonal relations, as it pertains to organizations within their planned functions (management, marketing, public relations, recruitment and reputation management), as well as unplanned crises. This paper will offer readers a distinct set of best practices to utilize during unforeseen situations of reputation management, while providing a detailed sense of what the future of social media will offer. Research Methodology By closely examining key case studies from a variety of corporate industries across the nation, as well as a close examination of academic journals on the evolving topic of social and digital media, this paper will address emerging trends and best practices within the social media realm. In addition, primary research includes an in- 4 depth and analytical look at how the nation’s top-50 corporations, according to the 2011 Fortune 500 list, are utilizing social media, specifically Facebook and Twitter, to engage with their consumers on a personal and proactive level. With these methods in place, it is the goal of this paper to accurately outline the uses, best practices, and future developments of the social media vehicle within corporate America. 5 Chapter One: The Birth of Social Media in the Corporate Landscape In the short duration of its existence, social media has grown primarily as a grassroots phenomenon. Offering the public a new channel from which to disseminate updates, breaking news and even idle banter, the new digital landscape offers endless possibilities for the news passed around each day. And as the individual use of social media seemed obvious from its most juvenile state, the birth of corporate use of social media was not so instantaneous. It can be argued that when Monster.com began connecting employers with prospective employees in 1999, the first form of online social networking between stakeholders and corporations began to take root. While these pioneer models of social integration between companies and external constituents began to build credibility and conversations on the World Wide Web, a new form of social interaction was getting set to revolutionize the 21st Century with a faster and more direct format: Facebook. In September 2006, nearly two years after Mark Zuckerberg took his dream onto the Internet, the public beyond university students and alumni were given the opportunity to engage in the most elaborate form of online interaction to date (Arrington). With this new avenue, brands were now able to consolidate all of their customers, clients and partners into one central location online, while offering two-way communication in a new interactive format. In a University of Salford Manchester study on the effects of social media and global corporations, the authors address the fact that the users of all developing technologies are both consumers and employees, and with this in mind the 6 drive to voice opinions and develop business strategies is shared (Griffiths, Heinze, Light, Kiveal, Sethi). Speed, authenticity and accuracy continue to be factors that each corporation saw as an advantage to Facebook, but also began to realize through miscues and missteps that these factors could also be disadvantages as well. Coupled with the almost simultaneous introductions of YouTube in 2005 and Twitter in 2006, companies and brands were now provided with a direct pipeline to not only gauging customer feedback and sentiment within a matter of minutes, but also a platform on which both the organization and its stakeholders can serve as fans and watchdogs. The sentiment of speed working toward the advantage of corporations during Web 2.0 is addressed in a 2011 white paper in the Journal of Information & Knowledge Management, which discusses, “The direct and readily available consumer-to-consumer communication, made accessible through social networking, provides a repository of information from one's referent group, as well as an organization’s customer-facing facade” (Hartzel). Within the last six years corporations have began to see the true power of social media vehicles in the areas of consumer monitoring, recruitment, marketing, public relations, and internal and external communications, customer service, and much more. Through consistent and ongoing outreach to its fans, a company has the opportunity to build a valuable platform of stakeholders and captive audience members. This database of brand loyalists and supporters not only add credibility to a brand, but also offer communications practitioners within the organization a direct and speedy method of communication during a crisis that dictates instantaneous updates and engagement with 7 the brand’s core audience. In a 2011 journal from the Academy of Marketing Studies, Amy Parsons of King’s College describes social media as another method for corporations to engage consumers in a much more personable method; in a way that isn’t “pushed” but rather advocated (Parsons). In the short span of six years, the following brands have been able to garner a lasting impression among their brand loyalists, while simultaneously offering incentives to keep fans engaged: Figure 2. A graphical view of the percentages of companies using specific social media platforms (Bullas) And while Monster.com may have paved the way for LinkedIn, and MySpace for Facebook, the one common denominator in today’s business market is that social media 8 continues to shape many of today’s internal and external corporate functions and decisions. Although adopting this burgeoning form of digital media has presented many schools of thought from the outset, social media has proved to make monumental impacts on corporations of all sizes, in positive and negative ways. 9 Chapter Two: Corporate vs. Public Use of Social Media As social media heads into the latter end of its first decade of existence, it has proven to be a tremendously positive method of communication for individuals, brands, public figures and organizations, celebrities and non-profit groups. Conversely, the same attributes of this tool that make it positive — ease, mobility, speed, mass exposure, communication en masse and timeliness — also can leave a negative impact if used inappropriately. In today’s social media landscape, it has become commonplace for Facebook brand pages, Twitter handles, YouTube channels and blogs to take on their own tone and style, and the attention corporations must pay to these attributes has arguably become much more imperative to monitor under the scrutinizing eye of millions of stakeholders. A 2010 MIS Quarterly journal couples the sentiment of social media’s critical role in coexisting with current consumer behaviors, “When firms fail to fully engage their customers, they also fail to fully exploit the capabilities of social media platforms. To gain business value, organizations need to incorporate community building as part of the implementation of social media” (Culnan, McHugh, Zubillaga). Initially created for consumers, blogs, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have made major strides over the last seven years. Today, Facebook boasts more than 800 million users, a staggering figure that would make it the third most populous country in the world, if it were a nation, only behind China and India, while Twitter is home to more than 300 million users (Henrikson). With these statistics in mind, it is evident that social media has not only become a hobby for many individuals across the world, but it has 10 become a vibrant culture that feeds off news, events and groundbreaking revelations passed around the globe in the matter of seconds. In an era where traditional media struggles to find its identity, millions of people are turning to each other through social media to receive the most current updates, without an interceding filter. In 2011, both Facebook and Twitter saw increases of more than 80 and 25 percent, respectively, in registered users; another set of information that validates the continued interest among the public in this form of communication. And while the sheer number of followers has increased, a SIGCOMM journal finds that only 30 percent of Facebook users actually engage with one another, and explores the idea of active fans (actual members discussing issues on the platform) dictating the popularity of a specific social media channel (Viswanath, Mislove, Cha, Gummadi). Social media has proven itself to be a much more effective tool than merely two- way communication with friends, it has also given a new breeding ground for activists to raise awareness for special issues and policies. A dynamic environment suited for hot- button debates, social media has provided a voice for individuals to rally behind favored political candidates, unearth secrets of fraudulent organizations and rally followers and friends to events across the globe, both in-person and online (TweetUps). A blog post by social media intelligence firm, MediaBadger, outlined the intricacies of the delicate connection between activists and corporations on social media: Activists are keenly aware of the challenges that corporations and their associations face with communications. They also know a corporation must contend with multiple stakeholders and present a balanced approach. 11 And then there is the challenge of corporations still adapting to the swift changes and challenges of operating in a global community where the cost of broadcasting a message is almost zero and available to anyone who can get access to the Internet. The advent of mobile devices with immediate upload of video and photo images has added to the complexity of the situation and it will only become more challenging. Online reputation management tools will become ever more important, as will digital research firms who can dig deeper, go farther back in time and provide more professional insights. On the other end of the social media spectrum lie corporations and organizations that use the multi-platform communication model as a means to reach consumers and other businesses, engage with stakeholders, recruit prospective employees, market new products, garner sentiment on external decisions, post quarterly performance figures and much more. Just as social media seemingly presents no limits for individuals to express themselves openly, corporations now have an opportunity to connect with stakeholders — consumers, employees, governments, regulators, unions, partners and clients — in a much more personable and direct fashion. In 2011, companies in the U.S. reported that 53 percent of them used various forms of social media to research job candidates; 13 percent had used social networking to prove a fabrication on a resume; and 13 percent claimed to use social media specifically to monitor employees for inappropriate posts (Henrikson). 12 Still, while individuals have almost no stylistic standards or legal policies to adhere to on social media but his or her own, corporations must follow very stringent boundaries when posting content, communicating with followers or answering to questions from consumers, for the threat of legal action or public ridicule in the social media sphere. Just as corporations analyze pertinent feedback from their constituents on social media, public users look to corporation pages for credible and up-to-date updates, thus these standards help companies build a certain level of reputation capital for when a crisis does arise. As Grahame Dowling and Warren Weeks describe in Measuring Media Corporate Reputations, modern-day companies place a heavier value on managing digital reputation to properly access their respective futures (Dowling, Weeks). The following chapters will help shape and outline the ongoing uses of social media by corporations, as well as best practices within corporate divisions, such as recruiting, consumer services, marketing, product development and public relations. While originally developed for consumers, businesses have adopted social media platforms as not only an extension of their respective communication efforts, but business and advocate development. 13 Chapter Three: Role of Social Media in Corporate Marketing As social media continues to play a heavy role in many functions of the corporate world, perhaps one that relies on it most is the area of marketing. A function dedicated to understanding the ongoing sentiments of consumers, marketing in the social media landscape becomes a very powerful tool for product developers, analysts and executives who have an excellent sample size on Facebook and Twitter to draw direct feedback from. Through social media, corporate marketers are able to create new partnerships with other businesses in a seamless fashion, and by offering stakeholders a chance to put a fingerprint on everything the company releases. In a 2010 MIT Sloan Management Review study, Donna Hoffman and Mark Fodor place an added emphasis on understanding customer investments to garner a true marketing strategy for corporations on social media (Hoffman, Fodor). And while social media has proven to be a widely adopted method of determining and executing marketing strategies, with 90 percent of marketers actively participating on Facebook and 53 percent on Twitter, the immediate blend of digital media into traditional strategies hasn’t been a smooth transition, as 81 percent of marketers in 2011 found online marketing moderately challenging (Cohen). In early 2008, American Express launched a Facebook page for its small business platform, Open Forum. Through this page, American Express hoped to create one tactical and central hub for all its small business customers to engage with one another under the guidance of the brand, to assist with any questions. Through this model, American Express allowed Facebook fans to engage with one another regarding successful business models, top vendors used and many more helpful insights. 14 Figure 3. American Express’ “Big Break for Small Business” Facebook promotion During its first month of launch, the American Express OPEN Forum page received more than 1 million fans and unique visitors (Fredricksen), and began servicing existing and prospective costumers with a resource of tips and advice. This past year, American Express leveraged its large following on Facebook to launch a marketing campaign, fittingly dubbed “Big Break for Small Business,” in which 10 small businesses were nominated to win a $25,000 credit on their American Express statement, voted on by Facebook fans. In addition to awarding one lucky small business with the $25,000, American Express continuously engaged fans on the page by partnering with Facebook to allow existing customers the chance to use American Express points for Facebook advertisements (Mershon). To also bring the conversation back to American Express’ OPEN Forum website — where the company hoped to lure prospective costumers and upgrade existing ones — the company provided numerous articles, research figures and 15 case studies for small business entrepreneurs looking to make a voice for their brand on social media. According to a 2011 entry from Strategy & Leadership Journal, American Express created a social media platform for idea generation, and instituted a consistent social media presence that mirrored its internal structure (Baird). In an interview with www.emarketer.com, American Express Director of Content Strategy and Development, Jason Rudman, described the program as not only a hub for discussion, but hopefully an innovator in social media in the near future (Fredricksen). “What I’m hearing is, I think I need to use social media, but where do I start? What should I do with my Facebook fan page? How do I start a Twitter handle?” said Rudman. “(At American Express OPEN Forum) we have Pulse, a tool for finding and following small businesses on Twitter that aggregates insights by industry. We will be looking to come up with the next version of Pulse, which will verticalize tweets by industry.” What possibly American Express has also managed to do with this promotion is empower its stakeholders in a more direct way than ever before. In 2008 study from the Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice, Stefan Fountain explores this very idea. “The experience (of social media integration) so far, based to a large degree on anecdotal evidence, is that Web 2.0 has a substantial effect on consumer behavior and has contributed to an unprecedented customer empowerment. The consequences are far 16 reaching, affecting not only the area of technology development but also the domains of business strategy and marketing” (Fountain). And while social media can prove to be a helpful extension of the strategic and overarching marketing plans a corporation has set for itself, the new digital frontier may not be as ready to accept these plans or miscalculated marketing campaigns. In November 2008, pain relief brand Motrin launched a series of 30-second YouTube commercials posted to the company’s Facebook and Twitter channels celebrating the inaugural “International Baby Wearing Week,” where moms were to be applauded for carrying their babies around on their backs and shoulders. Instead of celebrating moms, Motrin took the high road of describing “baby wearing” as a fashion, and that it understood the pain moms feel when partaking in this activity. In the video, Motrin stated, “Wearing your baby seems to be in fashion. I mean, in theory it’s a great idea … Supposedly, it’s a real bonding experience.” Moms across the country immediately attacked Motrin through Twitter and Facebook, scolding the brand for making maternal instincts seem as if they were a fashion statement, and for its inappropriate tone in addressing the worldwide appreciation day. Within hours of the original post, “Motrin” was a trending topic worldwide on Twitter, with thousands of individuals partaking in the online, and extremely visible, discussion. 17 Figure 4. Sample tweets of the outcry following Motrin’s “We Feel Your Pain” videos Still with no response within 48 hours of the outcry, bloggers and activists across all social media platforms were asking for a boycott of the product — a push that saw the creation of a nine-minute video on YouTube aggregating thousands of comments and tweets in opposition of the brand. Finally, three days after the videos were posted, Kathy Widmer, Vice President of Marketing for Motrin’s parent company, McNeil Consumer Healthcare, released a statement on Motrin’s website apologizing for the company’s indiscretion and poor taste. In addition, the statement was direct messaged to all Twitter users who publicly commented on the brand, and emailed to Facebook users who had done the same (Belkin). Just as Dr. Tina McCorkindale describes in here 2010 entry in the Public Relations Journal, social media has proven to be a vehicle for all positive and negative messages for an organization. Whether orchestrated or not, it is an understatement to 18 believe that the Internet, Web 2.0 and the social and digital media revolution have had no bearing on corporate functions related to consumer behavior or backlash (McCorkindale). 19 Chapter Four: Role of Social Media in Corporate Recruiting Just as social media plays an integral part in assisting with the comprehensive engagement with consumers, the multi-platform media revolution also has its hand in the many facets that make up the recruiting arm of major corporations. By connecting employers with prospective job applicants, allowing human resources personnel to carefully gauge the merit of a prospective employee and his or her self-reported accomplishments, creating a channel for individuals to learn about new openings within organizations, and much more, social media has proven itself as a useful tool in corporate recruitment. In a 2007 study published in Personnel Psychology, 998 undergraduate students were observed to see how pre-hire messaging from companies would affect perceptions of the company and position prior to hiring. The study showed that an overwhelming majority of those observed were influenced positively by these messages from companies prior to pre-hire (Allen, Van Scotter, Otondo). While Facebook and Twitter consume most of the social media conversations, popular business networking site, LinkedIn, has made a name for itself within the digital media realm. With more than 80 million users, spanning across 170 industries and 200 countries (Black), LinkedIn has not only the assets, but also the breadth, to make a deep impact for both parties involved in the recruitment process (employer and employee). In essence, LinkedIn reaffirms one of social media’s greatest attributes: it is a powerful search engine of human beings and their personal characteristics. In 2011, 80 percent of companies in the U.S. used social media as a recruitment tool, 95 percent of which using LinkedIn as the primary mode (Qualman). 20 In many cases, LinkedIn doesn’t only assist in the function of looking for a new job, it also aides in bettering an individual or group’s practice. Through research conducted by Israel’s Tel-Aviv University, researchers found that LinkedIn was not only a vehicle to mold perceptions of open positions, but current ones as well. “Socio- professional websites such as LinkedIn use various mechanisms such as network of colleagues, groups and discussions to assist their users in maintaining their professional network and keeping up with relevant discussions. Software professionals post hundreds of thousands of comments each week in these group discussions regarding technological and methodological aspects of their work” (Barzilay, Hazzam, Yehudai). Figure 5. The most frequented social media sites by prospective employers In November 2010, the Dutch branch of global accounting firm Deloitte had been experiencing a substantial decrease in job applications, and a stagnant rate of traffic to the company’s career website. With a 10 percent unemployment rate in the Netherlands, Deloitte decided to take a strategic approach to its recruitment campaign and begin to 21 implement social media as a recruitment tool (Brouat). Tasked with reinvigorating the image of the brand’s application process, Manager of Online Employer Marketing Lennart Sloof set out to implement a new social media model that would reach a new target of 1,000 applications by 2011. With this new tool, Deloitte positioned itself to find a new stream of top-quality talent; a pool that may have not been accessed without the help of social media, according to a Journal of Property Management study on the effects of social media recruitment from 2010 (Hunt). With a set of objectives clearly laid out, Sloof looked to LinkedIn and Facebook to work in conjunction with the company’s newly revamped career website. Through these channels, Deloitte offered three distinct landing pages for students, young professionals and seasoned professionals. Through creating these verticals, Sloof and his team offered resources through social media that specifically catered to each of these sets of prospective applicants. In addition, the recruitment staff created their own profile pages linked to the various social media channels to add a personable and casual pathway for two-way communication. To ensure consistency, the Deloitte recruitment team included an icon on every page of the career website linking prospective applicants to the LinkedIn and Facebook pages to reach recruiters directly. In addition to catering to prospective applicants, Deloitte understood that its current workforce was also a valuable resource in finding new talent outside the company through referrals. To tap into this uncharted resource, Sloof’s team constructed contests through Facebook to engage employees and keep them informed about openings for colleagues, and through a newly created microsite including blogs on various topics they 22 could contribute to. With these new vehicles, Deloitte garnered more than 15,000 views on social media from current employees in the span of five weeks (Brouat). In meeting its goal, Deloitte’s recruitment team conceived and executed a successful social media campaign that saw an increase of more than 177 percent in website traffic, and the successful hiring of 1,000 new employees with the least amount of investment in outside recruiting agencies since 2008. While the responsibility of finding creative employees has traditionally been that of the recruitment department, it’s arguable that much of the responsibility also lies with the employee and his or her ability to proactively market his or herself. The traditional resume has come a long way since its staunch limits of one-page mediocrity. Today, many young and seasoned professionals find themselves creatively positioning achievements, skills and past job positions onto a couple pieces of paper, but social media is allowing major strides to be made in this area of recruiting as well (Hernandez). 23 Chapter Five: Role of Social Media in Customer Service Just as digital communications and social networking are used to build a brand’s reputation, assess its stance in the competitive marketplace, garner feedback on products, and engage and build a prominent fan base, corporations are continuously using the speed and direct communication pipeline that social media offers to address areas of customer service. Still, with such a readily available form of answering inquiries from customers, social media researchers Donna Fluss and Maureen Rogers warn in their 2010 CRM Magazine study that “most of today's contact centers do not actively participate (in social media). Even as social media and social networking grow in importance as additional means of communicating with customers, organizations need to be careful not to overreact or to exaggerate the importance of communications that flow from these media” (Fluss, Rogers). Airlines, banks, restaurants, cable providers, beauty brands, fashion lines and retail stores are a few of the various sectors that have utilized social media effectively in 2011 to address customer service issues in a whole new, and interactive, way (LaMothe). As marketing, public relations and communications departments fulfill their respective responsibilities of building a brand and loyal following through the various channels of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube, the customer service department is charged with closely following, organizing and answering all requests, complaints and questions from these followers, often times in the hundreds of thousands. While social media has become a growing trend among customer service departments in the U.S., a 2011 study of 331 companies with more than $10 million in revenue annually yielded only 23 24 percent of companies currently using Facebook for customer relations, and only 12 percent via Twitter (Morris). However, while under a quarter of companies engage with consumers via social media, 50 percent of consumers were found to use digital media to contact companies; a discrepancy that many companies identify as an opportunity to set themselves apart from competition, as in the case of KLM Airlines. Through a systematic analysis of the nation’s top-50 corporations, according to the 2011 Fortune 500 list (“Fortune 500 2011: Fortune 1000 Companies 1-100”), this study examined the uses of social media by companies to interact with their respective consumer base. The study looked at a company’s willingness to directly respond to a consumer’s inquiry on the Facebook or Twitter page (direct interaction), its ability to address consumers as a body through general, consistent updates (blanket consumer interaction), its ability to proactively engage consumers without an initial inquiry (proactive direct interaction), and finally whether the company had any interaction at all (no interaction). The study analyzed each of the Fortune 50 companies and their respective Facebook and Twitter pages, with the same criteria for consumer engagement over a one-week period. With its casual environment, and instantaneous nature of interaction, Twitter proved to be the main vehicle of direct consumer engagement among the nation’s top-50 companies with over 50 percent of them doing so, as opposed to 22 percent via Facebook. In addition, the study found that both social media vehicles were equally favored for blanket consumer engagement, with nearly 60 percent of companies utilizing Facebook and Twitter for such purposes. While all of the nation’s top-50 organizations 25 were in possession of a Facebook page, the study found that 12 percent of the companies opted to not own or administer a Twitter handle. Figure 6. The use of Facebook for consumer services by Fortune 50 companies 26 Figure 7. The use of Twitter for consumer services by Fortune 50 companies In early 2010, Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted causing one of the largest volcanic plumes in modern history. The volcanic plume, which could be seen from outer space, was so expansive that it covered much of Europe and resulted in the cancellation of thousands of flights to and from the continent (Bhargava). KLM, Holland’s leading international airline, responded swiftly to the natural disaster specifically through social media by creating a rebooking I-frame on the brand’s Facebook page. Taking a page from public relations 101, KLM responded to first waive of cancellations within 24 hours, creating the page and coordinating responsibilities among all internal communications and marketing teams to answer promptly to all disgruntled passengers. Through this strategy, KLM responded to Tweets and Facebook 27 posts instantaneously from the airline’s control center 24 hours a day throughout the natural crisis. Based on empirical research found in a 2011 study by the International Journal of Electronic Customer Relationship Management, companies are certainly becoming more customer-centric, and this is apparent in the case of KLM. Social media has molded and evolved “fundamental aspects” of social customer relationship management and has enhanced customer service beyond any previous standards (Chen, Ling). Figure 8. Examples of KLM’s responses via Twitter during the volcanic crisis in 2010 Just as social media provides an instantaneous communication model for large and small businesses to respond to consumer inquiries, the lack of participation on behalf of corporations can always garner some skeptics. Although many corporations invest heavily in created central offices dedicated to responding to the complaints, questions and 28 comments of stakeholders via social media, some companies completely neglect the platform all together; creating a viral conversation they aren’t a part of among the audience that matters most. American airline giant United Airlines was caught in the middle of a global viral crisis when it mishandled the $3,500 guitar of Canadian country singer, Dave Carroll, in March 2009 (Deighton, Kornfeld). After witnessing United Airlines personnel throwing guitar cases around the tarmac at Chicago International Airport, Carroll arrived at his destination to find his Taylor guitar broken at the neck. After filing a claim with the airline, he was unfortunately told that nothing could be done since he filed the claim after the company’s standard 24-hour rule. After receiving the disappointing news, Carroll took his talents to social media, producing a series of songs fittingly dubbed “United Breaks Guitars,” and posted them to YouTube. Within hours, the video received more than 150,000 views, and had more than 5 million views in a month. Initially refusing subsequent requests to compensate him for his loss, United reached out to Carroll to apologize only after his video began to go viral across the globe — nine months after the incident. Becoming a global hot-button topic on social media, United offered to reimburse Carroll, and asked for permission to use the video and song in internal customer service training sessions. In addition, Taylor Guitars owner, Bob Taylor, offered a new guitar to Carroll after the story trended across social media and traditional media channels. While United eventually donated $3,500 to the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz in Carroll’s name as a good gesture, the damage had already been done (McLean). 29 Chapter Six: Role of Social Media in Corporate Product Development As corporations begin finding their own voice on social media channels through consistent brand messaging, consumer engagement, public relations and strategic marketing partnerships, one area of the corporate world that has greatly been affected by the increasing use of social media is that of product development. When widespread use of social media on behalf of corporations began in the latter half of the last decade, companies and brands knew it was important to be involved in the conversations taking place online, but still had yet to find a profitable use for the new form of communication beyond marketing functions and customer relations. By including consumers in creating and deciding key product features via social media, fitness giant Nike has been able to create a brand new division known as Nike Digital Sport, which has grown its consumer base by more than 55 percent and exceeded $3 billion in revenue in 2011 through a business model that strictly exists on social media and incorporates it into each of its products (Cendrowski). As they began to build a sustainable following through digital media, companies such as Nike and online apparel retailer Zappos.com, were able to tap into a vital stream of engaged and educated followers of their products, values and history as a company. While companies struggle to engage consumers outside of their targeted demographic each day, they have a wealth of information at their fingertips through interactive social media channels, such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. In 2008, Zappos.com looked to its fans on Twitter and Facebook to help the company rewrite its confirmation email to consumers when they purchased an item 30 through the website. By doing so, Zappos.com put the power of its service into the hands of the people who truly advocated the brand — its social media followers. Through a strategic campaign involving a specialized tab on the Facebook page, in conjunction with consistent tweets, Zappos.com followers were able to submit answers to the company for the new message. Delivered by the Zappos.com “Customer Loyalty Team,” blog entries were posted daily on the Zappos.com website to encourage online shoppers to participate in the contest, while garnering additional exposure on Facebook and Twitter. With the winner set to win a pair of free shoes, as well as a place in Zappos.com history, the company solidified its commitment to costumers. Within the month of the campaign, Zappos.com’s Twitter following drastically jumped, surpassing 1 million followers and now close to 2 million followers in 2012. While social media can prove to be an excellent barometer of where a company stands with its daily decision-making, recent years have proven that social media can be much more to corporations. In 2011, global sporting conglomerate Nike launched its first social media-enabled product, simply known as Nike+GPS. Designed as an Apple iPhone application for runners of all skill levels and ages, the Nike+GPS app allows runners to track time, distance, routes and calories burnt through the iPhone’s GPS system. However, what makes this version of Nike’s newest running companion so substantial is the integration with social media. 31 Figure 9. An example of Nike+GPS’ Facebook integration Before, during, and/or after a run, a runner’s time and distance can all be updated to his or her Facebook and Twitter to encourage feedback from friends and family for a job well done exercising. To take the application one step further, Nike+GPS allows friends and family to simultaneously track a runner as he or she runs and offer words of encouragement through tweets and comments, relayed directly back through the app to the runner (Heater). “We will continue to evolve the digital options we provide to runners so that their running experience is always unique and inspired,” said Stefan Olender, vice president, Nike Digital Sport. 32 Chapter Seven: Role of Social Media in Product Public Relations Perhaps what serves to be the most crucial function of social media within a corporate environment is that of public relations. Unlike marketing, product development, recruiting and customer service, public relations serves all interests of stakeholders within a given corporation or brand. Messaging, important company updates and releases, consumer engagement and much more can all be accomplished through social media with the help of public relations practitioners who hold their hands closely on the pulse of each individual stakeholder. Many companies have been able to proactively and successfully use social media in their favor to engage stakeholders and create brand awareness, while simultaneously raising the organization’s reputation capital and credibility. Normally seen around product and event pushes, organizational changes and news pieces regarding the company and its employees, public relations plays a heavy role in maintaining engagement among fans in a creative and strategic method, a sentiment backed by a 2011 Public Relations Society of America industry report that stated 76 percent of public relations practitioners in the U.S. and Canada used Twitter or Facebook (“PRSA Industry Facts & Figures”). One brand that has successfully connected its luxury image to the millions of fans it has around the world is German automaker, Mercedes Benz. In a stunt public relations tactic leading up to the brand’s first Super Bowl commercial in history, the prestigious auto company looked to its significant, and growing, Twitter following to help power its latest lineup of vehicles. Combining state-of-the-art engineering with social media 33 strategy, Mercedes Benz rebuilt four vehicles in January 2011 to conduct a four-day Twitter-fueled race to Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas, the host of the 2011 Super Bowl. With four teams leaving from Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Tampa, the objective was to garner as many tweets as possible in support of a team, and in turn the amount of tweets would dictate how many miles the car was able to go. Through videos on YouTube showing step-by-step tutorials on how to engage in the contest, how engineers rebuilt the vehicles and Twitter apparatuses and updates from the road trip, Mercedes Benz was able to consistently provide tactical promotion for the campaign, in all generating more than 2 million views in the four-day span (“Mercedes-Benz Tweet Race Case Study”). In total, the campaign garnered more than 30,000 active participants, with 72,000 Facebook fans and 77,000 new Twitter followers. Amassing more than 25 million tweets, the campaign trended worldwide and provided an excellent platform on which the brand could showcase its first-ever Super Bowl commercials in the U.S. Through social media, organizations and brands are continuing to find more ways to offer ownership of a product, idea or campaign to loyal followers, and newly launched U.S. airline, Virgin America, has been actively engaging each of its Twitter and Facebook followers for this very reason. As an airline that actively caters to its customers through social media by re-booking flights once they see a disgruntled tweet, offering free Wi-Fi en route to destinations, promoting the brand through weekly contests and 34 deciding to solely advertise through social media channels, rather than television, Virgin America has been arguably the best adopter of social media among airlines (Bush). To garner national exposure for the brand, Virgin America announced in June 2011 that it would be naming one of its newest planes in honor of its social media followers with the name: #NerdBird. Utilizing Twitter’s identifying hashtag method, the new plane was a dedication to the company’s growing social media following and the commitment to building a “social media plane” of the future (Van Grove). As the first airplane in the world dubbed after a social media term, #NerdBird quickly became a trending topic around the world within hours on Twitter. Figure 10. Virgin America’s #NerdBird Again proving its social media prowess as a brand, Virgin America’s founder, Richard Branson, was featured on newspapers around the country, as well as “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” where he announced the new name for the first time on national 35 broadcast TV. On Facebook, the company announced: “We’ve got growing planes! #nerdbird is the newest member of our fleet and brings us to 39 aircraft. For all our social media fans and followers, this bird’s for you!” Abby Lundardini, Virgin America’s director of communications, believes social media is an attribute that must already be consistent with the DNA of a company: “We’re the only airline based in Silicon Valley … and we launched the company in August 2007, when all of these channels were growing exponentially,” said Lundardini. “We’re willing to experiment, and we’re kind of a little bit in the startup space having just launched four years ago. We’ve seen a ton of promise on the guest care and consumer communications side, but also on the revenue side, and when we think something sounds interesting and might work with the business model, we’re definitely willing to think differently and take a risk.” Figure 11. Virgin America announces the naming of #NerdBird via Twitter 36 Chapter Eight: Role of Social Media in Corporate Advertising In 2011, 21.6 percent of Twitter users reported that they have used a brand’s advertised discount through a promoted tweet, while 21.2 percent said they were turned to a new brand and campaign through the same method (Fisher). While these rates are on par with that of many traditional advertising vehicles, the key is that only 10 percent of these respondents said they were not annoyed by the promoted tweets, meaning that this new form of advertisement is not seen as pushy or overbearing. Organic communications on social media channels has become a byproduct of the casual and direct nature of platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, however, both of these digital media vehicles offer added value when it comes to corporate advertising. Through analytics and complicated algorithms, designers at today’s most popular social media brands are able to track and identify a follower’s trends, behaviors and preferences when searching for topics, news and products. Allowing brands to target a core and niche audience, social media advertising allows brands to spend far less than traditional advertising campaigns with a greater return on investment by reaching only the targeted demographic. For a majority of advertisers, knowing your audience is the most important attribute of advertising spend. With this in mind, Facebook developers have continuously provided advertisers with the tools they need to understand a targeted demographic and their tendencies while spending time on the social media giant. Dubbed “Insights,” this new Facebook brand and advertising tool allows company’s to see the rate at which followers interact with the organization, how many followers they add or lose per term, 37 what topics were the most “liked” or “unliked,” and how often followers are advocating the brand. With these metrics in mind, brands are able to sell content to advertisers based on promising figures garnered through these tools, and tailor their posts to the ideal audience. For some brands, digital and social advertising open new avenues for marketing and consumer engagement that were unpractical or too expensive prior to the new form of communication. In search of a solution to fix declining sales and diminishing brand recognition, Old Spice decided to take a stance on social media that juxtaposed the brand’s new message with its old, traditional identity. While the campaign began through advertising spots on TV, it truly thrived online. Utilizing an unfamiliar face, Old Spice created a series of humorous and satirical videos positioning the brand as the perfect deodorant choice for men. In February 2010, Old Spice launched a compelling and humorous campaign known as “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like.” Praised for its unique cinematography, satirical tone and 180-degree spin on a stagnant brand, the advertising campaign positioned Old Spice as a household name again, and placed it at the top of every comedy and men’s interest blog on the Internet. But perhaps what was more intriguing was the way Old Spice’s ad agency, Wieden+Kennedy, brought back the second installment of the campaign in 2011 with added touch points to consumers across Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, garnering more than 20 million gross impressions through social media tactics in one week (Miller). 38 Launching its second phase in July 2011, the Old Spice brand enlisted the efforts of Italian supermodel, Fabio, to create a viral duel between popular Old Spice spokesperson, Isiah Mustafa, and pitting the two “macho men” against one another for the nation to see. While the brand launched a series of TV advertisements featuring Fabio, the true play came around a live YouTube duel, or also known as “Mano y Mano,” on July 26, 2011, which featured the two men in individual videos, vying for likes and total views to deem a new “Old Spice Guy.” Figure 12. A visual look at Old Spice’s social media success, compared to other prominent viral campaigns Leading up to the duel, Old Spice took a unique angle on mixing two distinct social media vehicles, YouTube and Twitter, by creating personalized video “@ replies” 39 on YouTube to consumers who have engaged with the brand via Twitter. Mixing up the brand’s replies to popular celebrities, such as CNBC’s Darren Rovell who has more than 150,000 followers, or to everyday consumers with no more than 1,000 followers, Old Spice was able to add variety and value to each of the 60 replies it created with Fabio and Isiah. In addition, the brand highly publicized the duel via Facebook with links to the OldSpice YouTube and Twitter channels, creating an overall sense of viral unity. In a new form of “pushed” messages from accounts users do not follow, Twitter has been able to sell advertisements in the form of promoted tweets and hashtags. As pre- approved tweets written by an advertising company or brand, Twitter users will see messages from brands associated with content they are searching for or that correlate with their followers’ trends. With this new form of social media advertising, companies are finding new ways to reach niche audiences in a highly successful format that allows for geo-targeting, trend analysis and an assured method of reaching worldwide relevancy for a determined amount of time. 40 Figure 13. Attitudes of US Twitter users toward promoted tweets, August 2011 Proving that promoted tweets apply to brands of all industries, investment brokerage Zecco implemented the new advertising platform into its 2010 strategy, resulting in astonishing figures that cemented the new method as a real alternative to traditional advertising. Looking to raise consumer awareness about the company’s newest services, Zecco needed an advertising alternative to the large-budget campaigns its competitors such as Ameritrade, Scottrade and eTrade were utilizing (Keane). While Zecco began its social media campaign with promoted tweets pushing brand promotions and messaging, it found over time that crafted tweets prompting engagement with fans saw the most success. By linking promoted tweets with Zecco blog 41 posts and YouTube videos corresponding with current events, Zecco CEO Michael Raneri said, the brand saw an increase in engagement of more than 50 percent, with as much as 300 percent in some cases. “The majority of Zecco's tweets focused on financial market commentary and new product offerings,” said Raneri. “It isn't so much a marketing acquisition story, but about brand engagement.” With newfound success through social media advertising, Zecco has now dedicated as much as 80 percent of its advertising budget to digital media. 42 Chapter Nine: The Birth of Corporate Social Media Policies As much as social media provides an instantaneous and direct channel to stakeholders on behalf of corporations and brands, its innate attribute of unparalleled visibility has its advantages and disadvantages. In an effort to engage a peripheral audience – an audience that is not actively following a brand on social media, but can view its updates and posts – company’s disseminate brand messaging, promotions and commentary onto social media channels for the entire world to see, theoretically. With the ability to potentially reach viewers all over the world, these digital channels present a great value to small and large businesses located in remote areas or metropolitan cities, however, this visibility also presents many dangers if not used appropriately. In an effort to shield companies and their social media owners from posting inappropriate messages or comments, corporations and organizations have begun implementing detailed social media policies and clauses into employment contracts and human resources documents to ensure a sense of internal regulation, as well as limit the corporation’s liability should an employee break a policy. These sets of rules vary from industry to industry, but their main purpose is the common denominator: protect a brand from public scrutiny caused by misled and unapproved tweets, Facebook posts, or YouTube videos. As the world’s largest multi-channel home electronics retailer, Best Buy has undertaken a very detailed and proactive approach to setting its social media policy for its employees. Already known for having excellent customer service through social media channels, the policy ensures that employees are continuously interacting with consumers 43 in his or her own community to raise brand awareness both locally and nationally. While Best Buy encourages the use of social media, the company has set some very distinct ground rules. Firstly, employees may not tweet company information that isn’t public; secondly, employees may not tweet Best Buy logos; thirdly, Best Buy employees must use their own tone when engaging consumers on social media, so that it is different from the main Best Buy channels (Grant). While Best Buy’s ground rules seem to be obvious in nature, they are a simple set of rules that allow employees the freedom to interact with stakeholders on an everyday basis. Through Best Buy’s company owned social media communities, such as its online central hub where tweets and Facebook posts directed at the company are aggregated on its website for fast customer service, employees have a plethora of opportunities to connect with external audiences, and these policies serve as guidelines to better serve them while keeping the brand intact (Thompson). In Best Buy’s latest social media policy, the company explains: Disclose your affiliation: If you talk about work related matters that are within your area of job responsibility you must disclose your affiliation with Best Buy. State that it’s YOUR opinion: When commenting on the business. Unless authorized to speak on behalf of Best Buy, you must state that the views expressed are your own. Hourly employees should not speak on behalf of Best Buy when they are off the clock. Act responsibly and ethically: When participating in online communities, do not misrepresent yourself. If you are not a vice president, don’t say you are. Honor our differences: Live the values. Best Buy will not tolerate discrimination (including age, sex, race, color, creed, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, disability, 44 or marital status or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state, or local laws, regulations or ordinances). With this set of social ethics mandated by the company, Best Buy has ultimately reduced its liability during any hypothetical social media crisis by clearly holding each employee responsible and accountable for their uses of digital media platforms. One such case of Best Buy’s social ethics at work was that of Brian Maupin in 2010. In an effort to showcase the marketing aura of tech giant Apple, Maupin created a cartoon animated video in YouTube showing how customers repeatedly turn down phones with higher technological capabilities just to buy an Apple iPhone. Immediately, the humorous video went viral, garnering more than 1.3 million views within weeks. Although Maupin didn’t specifically use any references to Best Buy in the video, or create any likenesses to its stores, the brand subsequently suspended Maupin’s employment (Siegler). While corporations find themselves developing strategies over time as they pertain to social media and managing one identity, organizations such as professional sports teams must structure these policies to cater to a multitude of eccentric personalities clamoring for the public spotlight. In the case of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Football League (NFL), the two largest and most prominent leagues in the U.S., social media has been a key issue over the past few years. In March 2009, Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, was the first individual to be fined by the NBA for his inappropriate use of social media. During a close game going into the 2009 playoffs against the Denver Nuggets, Cuban turned to Twitter to voice his concern about the officiating in a heated battle his team lost. Immediately following the 45 backlash, the NBA fined Cuban $25,000. While Cuban wasn’t the first NBA player or owner to tweet during a game, this incident pushed the league to enact its first-ever guidelines as they pertained to social media. Through the new guidelines, the NBA prohibits the use of any mobile devices, PDAs or social media-enabled devices during a game. While other teams, such as the Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat, implement stricter rules when it comes to social media, the NBA’s rule has since created a precedent and example on which other leagues around the United States have built upon (Stein). The NFL has adopted a similar set of policies for its owners, coaches and players, prohibiting them from engaging with fans via Twitter or Facebook as much as 90 minutes prior to a game. Figure 14. Cleveland Cavaliers’ Charlie Villanueva sparked controversy in 2009 when he tweeted from the locker room during halftime Still, while social media policies prove to be great guidelines for employers and their brand messaging in an ever-changing and visible digital world, corporations must be 46 prepared for rogue instances of inappropriate use of social media, especially when it is filtered through a hired digital agency. In the case of American automotive giant, Chrysler, its digital agency played a vital role in tarnishing the brand’s social media channels in one failed swoop. In March 2011, an employee working for New Media Strategies, the social media agency enlisted by Chrysler, decided to use the brand’s Twitter handle to promote his own opinion in regards to the driving habits of residents of Detroit, Michigan, the motor capital of the United States and Chrysler’s hometown. “I find it ironic that Detroit is known as the #motorcity and yet no one here knows how to fucking drive,” read the tweet from @ChryslerAutos’ 17,000 followers (Diana). Immediately beginning to receive a tidal wave of feedback across social media channels, regional and national broadcast, as well as numerous blog posts around the Internet, New Media Strategies deleted the tweet and fired the employee in question. Within a day, Chrysler severed its ties with the agency and decided to issue a new request for proposal (RFP) to choose a new agency. While some critics chastised the company for letting go of New Media Strategies, the decision was appropriate given the magnitude of the indiscretion and the negative influence it had on the growing brand in the social media sphere. Distancing itself from the crisis, Chrysler’s spokesperson, Ed Garsten said through a company blog post, “This company is committed to promoting Detroit and its hard-working people. Inside Detroit, citizens are becoming even more proud of their town, and outside the region, perception of Detroit is rapidly improving. With so much 47 good will built up over a very short time, we can’t afford to backslide now and jeopardize this progress” (Elliott). Figure 15. Screenshot of @ChryslerAutos controversial tweet While social media presents seemingly endless opportunities to interact with a company’s direct and indirect stakeholders, social media policies offer the rigid guidelines to a fluid environment. Whether a company is proactively ensuring its employees do not act irresponsibly on social media, or whether it is reacting to a crisis taking place on its digital media platforms and channels, companies are beginning to adopt detailed standards for a multitude of activities on social media; all of which adapt with each new platform or innovation. 48 Chapter Ten: Role of Social Media in Corporate Crisis Communications Although all issues corporations find themselves in aren’t derived from a miscue on social media, digital media provides an excellent channel on which brands can relay valuable information, updates and messages in a timely and direct method. Whether a corporation loses employees or consumers in a natural disaster, or an employee is found to have committed fraud, companies are held accountable on social media by millions of global citizens who are able to share news quickly and begin to speculate without a presence in the conversation from the brand itself. According to a University of South Dakota study on the role of social media in crisis communications, “social media is not a replacement, but an integral addition to other methods of communication in the crisis communicator’s toolbox, delivering crisis information to a large group almost instantaneously” (Jackson). With the invention of social media, corporations were not only given an easily accessible channel to respond to crises, but they were also provided with a potential burden if they didn’t take advantage of this new platform and remained silent during a trying moment. In 2011, Kentucky Fried Chicken was presented with an internal video from an employee in Malaysia citing poor handling of food at a restaurant in the country’s capital (Taggart). While the video was intended for internal purposes, the video was eventually leaked to millions of viewers on YouTube. Not wasting any time, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) decided to respond to stakeholders directly on social media to conduct damage control around the globe. First, KFC Malaysia created a central location on its Facebook page where it could accurately 49 and promptly disseminate information regarding the scandal to its stakeholders, fittingly dubbed “KFC Responds.” On this tab located on the brand’s Facebook page, KFC Malaysia uploaded a video message from its Director of Restaurant Operations, Mohammed Alwi, within a day of the incident, notifying consumers and followers that the brand was investigating the situation and would have an answer shortly. Figure 16. KFC Malaysia creates “KFC Responds” on its Facebook brand page In addition to the video apology, KFC Malaysia posted a Frequently Asked Questions tab on its Facebook to provide as much information regarding the incident to followers in an effort to keep speculation at a minimum. Although negative comments were reaching into the thousands, addressing the situation head-on through social media 50 proved to be a great asset for KFC Malaysia, as the comments disappeared within a week. “It is abundantly clear KFC had thought ahead about crisis communications because the video is available in both Malay and English, an obvious but essential step to ensure they didn’t further enrage customers by excluding them from their communications,” said Michael Taggart, social media strategist at MRM London. On February 15, 2011, the American Red Cross seemingly came to its own aid when a rogue user sent a tweet about getting drunk through the globally recognized organization’s Twitter account. “Ryan found two more 4 bottle packs of Dogfish Head’s Midas Touch beer…when we drink we do it right #gettngslizzerd,” read the rogue tweet to more than 270,000 followers. Within an hour, Twitter users around the world began passing around the tweet, which finally came to the attention of the organization’s heads. Immediately, without hesitation, the American Red Cross deleted the tweet and sent out a new message explaining the situation and apologizing to its followers. In addition, director of social media strategy at the Red Cross, Wendy Harman, published a personal explanation of the mishap on the American Red Cross’ blog. By utilizing various forms of online communications, the American Red Cross was applauded for taking all proactive steps to explain the situation to the public, both in traditional media channels and new ones. 51 Figure 17. The American Red Cross’ follow up tweet in explanation of the rogue message By responding in a humorous and casual way, the American Red Cross received so much praise that “#gettngslizzerd” began to trend worldwide and became the catalyst to additional donations to the American Red Cross. While both KFC Malaysia and the American Red Cross demonstrated successful social media responses to their respective crises, a study of the uses of social media by public relations practitioners during crisis communications by the Public Relations Society of America reported that only 48 percent of practitioners have incorporated social media into their respective crisis plans (Wigley, Zhang). 52 Conclusion While Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have led the revolution in digital communications for nearly a decade, new forms of digital integration and engagements are allowing corporations to not only interact with consumers and stakeholders, but promote advocacy. Through new platforms, companies are able to track social engagements with other media properties, such as TV, and are able to actually incorporate social media with everyday experiences. Using Facebook, Twitter and YouTube as foundations, new channels and platforms such as GetGlue, Foursquare, Instagram, Klout, Spotify, Tumblr, Pinterest and Google+ are making headway among emerging brands in the digital media space. With a shared goal of reaching stakeholders with pertinent information and a quest for engagement, each of these tools provides valuable assets to marketers and communication professionals alike. Alone, each one of these tools proves to be a powerful asset in reaching a targeted and sought-after demographic, however recent case studies have shown that when these properties are intertwined, the results can be much more powerful; reaching millions of people across the globe through various media models, such as pictures, videos and text. Much like the popular location-based social media model known as Foursquare, GetGlue allows online community members to “check-in” to actual experiences such as watching a television show, watching a movie and reading a book. In the case of ABC Networks, the broadcaster began implementing this new 53 format into its digital media strategy in 2011 when it began allowing GetGlue users to check in to its shows when they aired. Once viewers begin following ABC on GetGlue, the broadcaster offers incentives such as sneak peek previews of future episodes or coupons for merchandise. Once the implementation of GetGlue took place, ABC saw an increase of more than 50 percent in regards to consumer engagement with the brand. With a new social media platform connecting consumers to one another and a brand through activities, GetGlue has emerged as one of the largest members of the digital media community in 2012 (Perez). With more than $12 million in new funding this year, GetGlue has been the main focal points for other entertainment networks such as FOX, NBC, Showtime, HBO and DirecTV. Figure 18. GetGlue boasts an increase of 800 percent in engagement and check- ins in 2011 54 Again using Facebook and Twitter as a foundation, social media startup Instagram has found tremendous success as of late by combining its photography services with the two social media pioneers. By using an individual’s Twitter or Facebook login information, Instagram allows users to take everyday pictures with professional effects and upload them directly to his or her Instagram profile, Facebook page and Twitter feed. By doing so, Instagram is creating a social media community solely based on the premise of sharing pictures with friends and family members, with effects that aren’t regularly available on personal cameras or Facebook and Twitter photo functions. While this has proven to be an excellent form of entertaining communications among friends, companies have begun to post images through Instagram, which are linked to respective Facebook and Twitter pages, to provide consistent visual updates to stakeholders. In the case of American heritage brand Levi’s, Instagram has been the inspiration for a new digital casting call for its newest advertising campaign. Urging Instagram followers to use the tag “#iamlevis,” the brand has been able to cause a groundswell of amateur fashion gurus to display photos of them sporting their favorite Levi’s products for a chance to be featured in the company’s 2012 advertisements. As one of the first companies to use the photo-centric platform exclusively for advertising, Levi’s has been able to garner millions of impressions in just the span of two months (Fawkes). Instantaneous, direct and personal, social media presents an unparalleled formula that has never been reproduced in communications history. For small and large businesses, social media provides a direct line to stakeholders that never existed before; 55 providing endless possibilities for e-commerce, reputation management, marketing, recruitment and many more administrative and business development functions. For a sports team, social media provides fans an inside look at the locker room before game day; for a Fortune 500 company, social media provides a new analytical perspective on a respective company’s No. 1 consumer; and for a non-profit organization, social media provides constant updates to donors regarding ongoing charity initiatives. The speed at which social media has taken over every-day communication has been tremendous. With more than 1 billion people having the ability to engage with friends, family and business partners on a daily basis, this new form of digital communications not only offers new avenues for profit, but also allows for the sharibility of experiences on behalf of individuals and organizations. With increases across the board for corporate spending in social media, the indications all favor an increased use of the platform for years to come. With 30 percent of business-to-business marketers reporting to spend millions of dollars in 2012 against social media (Lianne), this year marks another successful trend for digital media. Just as companies begin to raise their budgets to accommodate this new form of media, policies and expectations must consequently be changed to acknowledge the growing visibility and possibilities that social media provides. Whether it is a part of the success, solution or demise of a company’s ongoing headlines, social media has proven itself as a profitable asset in the 21st century. Not only are corporations beginning to use digital media in conjunction with traditional sales 56 assets, social media has also given spark to some of Fortune 500’s most successful tech companies. With Facebook and Twitter creating new incentives for companies to advertise, such as unmatched analytics to follow consumer trends on their platforms, social media is not only becoming a prominent digital community, but an integral marketplace to the global business landscape. From politics, business, sports and crime prevention, social media has proven to be a viable candidate to the world’s most widely accepted form of communication. 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Asset Metadata

Creator Borhani, Faryar (author)

Core Title Corporate social media: trends in the use of emerging social media in corporate America

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Strategic Public Relations

Publication Date 04/12/2012

Defense Date 04/12/2012

Publisher Los Angeles, California (original), University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag communications,corporate america,crisis communications,digital media,Internet,Marketing,OAI-PMH Harvest,Public Relations,social media

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Tenderich, Burghardt (committee chair), Hernandez, Robert (committee member), Swerling, Jerry (committee member)

Creator Email faryarb@gmail.com,fborhani@mac.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-4598

Unique identifier UC1112645

Identifier usctheses-c3-4598 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-BorhaniFar-598.pdf

Dmrecord 4598

Document Type Thesis

Rights Borhani, Faryar

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA