jones huyett Partners

My Life Without Facebook:
Week 2

In case you missed it – I gave up Facebook for Lent.

This week was even more difficult than last. Last week my Facebook fast was top-of-mind to all my friends and family – this week the newness has worn off. People keep talking to me about things I would normally know about – expecting me to have a clue. But when I stop them and ask them to fill me in, I get the resounding “oh, that’s right, you’re not on Facebook.” And then there’s The Face.

“The Face” is the eye–squinting, wrinkled-forehead, pressed-lips look that you get when people feel sorry for you. I’m fairly certain I’ve used this look many times. Usually to communicate a feeling with others – typically when something has happened and I’m trying to show empathy to someone. Is that what my friends are doing to me? Feeling sorry for me? (NOTE: I’m exaggerating with that last line for effect – just go with it.)

But seriously, this past week proves one point I had hoped to make with this experiment – that you can’t communicate with your audience if you’re not using the communication tools your audience is using. If I could had been on Facebook this week, you’d know that I became of fan of my bank’s new Fan Page – CoreFirst Bank & Trust. Instead I have to wait until April to do so! And I would have known that Jayhawk Café, a new café in downtown Topeka’s Jayhawk Tower, had their grand opening. But I missed it because I didn’t know about it – I heard about it later that evening on the 10:00 news. Regardless, I’m managing. Not as effectively, or efficiently, as normal, but I’m making it through with a little help from my friends, family, co-workers and local media. Thanks everyone!

Here are a few other things you would have known if I could have been on Facebook this week:

•  WHAT!?!? There’s a Twilight “Scene It!” board game. How do I NOT have this?
•  Headed to the Heartland Visioning meeting! Can’t wait to hear all about their wonderful plans to revitalize Downtown Topeka.
•  Why are some stoplights in Lincoln horizontal and some vertical … did they just decide to buck consistency or does this madness have a real purpose?
•  Stupid friends – why aren’t you ALL on Twitter?! Okay you’re not stupid but my life would be easier if you were!

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Filed by Brie at 12:05 pm under Example, General Marketing, Social Media, Topeka, Trends, Twitter, jhP Family, online marketing
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My Life Without Facebook:
Week 1

In case you missed it – I gave up Facebook for Lent.

It’s become painfully obvious to me that I’m going to have to start using the phone more often … even more so now that I’ve officially worn out the letters i, e, t, o and h on my cell phone, making texting a little difficult to say the least. It will be interesting to see how painfully awkward my friends and I are in phone conversations. My generation had just started talking on the phone when Yahoo Messenger became popular … and we quickly stopped talking and started typing. I’ve had the Internet since I was in 4^th or 5^th grade so you can understand why it may be hard for me to communicate outside of email, texting, social media, instant messaging or in person. The sad truth is that I’m not even sure I have some of my best friends’ phone numbers! (P.S. if you’re one of those people please drop me an email at bengelken@jhpadv.com – I miss you, friends!).

I’m still habitually typing facebook.com into the URL and have actually ended up at the sign in page several times. I did finally set up a folder in my gmail account. It’s called “Facebook – Lent” and I’m putting ALL notifications I get in that file to check on April 4. So no – I’m not cheating and reading my notifications to get around being on Facebook.

The hardest night so far was the night of the K-State v. Nebraska Men’s basketball game. I didn’t know what to do with myself. It didn’t feel like enough just to rant to my Dad (who was watching the game with me). And my Twitter followers for the most part don’t care about K-State sports or follow me for my ranting. I thought about Google Buzz, but well, let’s be honest – no one’s on Google Buzz yet and why should they be when they can do everything on Facebook right now? So for now all my perfectly crafted, witty banter will go unacknowledged.

Here’s a little of what you would have seen this week if I could have logged in:
• Copywriting without Facebook breaks or Diet Coke do not make for a happy Brie

• Basketball 101 – Dribbling the ball – Learn how to!!

• Go nominate Topeka to be a test community for Google’s Fiber Network! Just imagine – Internet speeds that are nearly 100 times faster than what we currently have – and faster than anywhere else in the whole WORLD! ThinkBigTopeka.com

• DANG my job for holding me accountable (with no facebook updates) – this is one of the only times I’ve EVER been able to say that!

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Filed by Brie at 12:23 pm under Social Media, Topeka, Trends, Twitter, jhP Family
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Your company is forced to terminate someone’s employment, with good reason, and now the ex-employee is blasting your company on Twitter, Facebook and other popular social networks. Everything you’ve read about Social Media says you should be transparent and engage your audience – so how should you respond?

When dealing with social media, your responses should always be on a case-by-case basis. But in this case, let’s assume the rant is simply that – a rant – and it doesn’t raise legitimate, business-damaging issues. In that event, you DON’T respond.

Here are three reasons why, in THIS case, you should ignore disgruntled ex-employees on Social Networks.

1)     People know a rant when they read one

When an upset employee rants on a social media website they are usually just blowing off steam – and their audience sees that. The individual is just trying to generate sympathy or brew anger and, in most cases, readers know better than to take them too seriously.

2)     It’s a Human Resources issue

Companies are often legally restricted regarding what they can say in situations that involve HR issues. For this reason alone it’s usually best just to leave it be. Don’t put your company and yourself at risk of crossing a legal line.

3)     It’s a lose/lose situation

Nothing you say or do will make up for the loss of that person’s job so it’s best just to let it run its course. By engaging in a conversation you are just prolonging that individual’s fury and drawing more attention to that person and your situation.

When dealing with personalized attacks with no merit and no business-damaging substance, please consider that saying nothing is better than saying the wrong something.

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Filed by Brie at 2:55 pm under Public Relations, Social Media, Trends, Twitter
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More than 335 people completed the Visit Topeka, Inc. logo survey last week, and it’s unanimous, Visit Topeka is the winner!

We used our social media networks to recruit participants through our blog, Facebook Fan Page and Twitter accounts. Visit Topeka also distributed an email blast. Eighty-nine percent of the participants were between the ages of 18 and 64. Just over two-thirds were women, and over 80 percent lived in or nearby Topeka.

The most popular logo received 42 percent of the votes. Here’s how the various logos fared:

For the full results, check out this page.

Congratulations to Taylor Clauson, winner of the hotel package giveaway drawing. Enjoy your night’s stay in the great city of Topeka!

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Filed by the Partners at 1:50 pm under Creative, Social Media, Topeka, Twitter, online marketing
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So you joined Twitter – now what? That ran through my mind, too, the first couple of months I was on Twitter. But I stuck with it and just spent some time watching. After a while I found people whose Tweets were useful to me, and I started following them. Slowly I learned how to make Twitter more valuable. Here are some suggestions to help you get more benefit from your Twitter account.

1. It’s not about quantity, it’s about quality.

Some people use Twitter to stroke their ego by seeing how many people they can get to follow them. While a big audience might benefit them, it doesn’t guarantee any value for you as a follower.

2. When you get a message that someone new is following you, thoroughly check out their profile before following them back.

Read their bio, check out their URL and scan the messages they are sending. Ideally they’ll have a nice mix of original messages, Re-Tweets and @replies. If they don’t, it’s a red flag. This  helps you quickly skim off the spammers and ego-maniacs.

3. Use Twitter Search. 

Search key phrases you’re interested in, and when you read an update that’s good, follow that person. This helps you sample new Tweets to learn whether the person’s topics, attitudes and ideas are worth your time.

4. Use an application like TweetDeck to help you be organized.

Create groups with the people you’re following so they make sense to you. For example, I have a group for local Tweets, a group for @replies and a group for DMs, on top of the Twitter stream that contains all my followers. This helps me keep conversations going by making them easier to follow.

5. Use TwitterLocal to see what local Twitter users are saying and connect with them.

It’s a great way to learn what’s new going on around you, and meet cool people you’ve never met before. I highly recommend attending at least one TweetUp. They are great fun if you enjoy networking and meeting new people!

Hopefully this will help you out. I promise, I really didn’t get Twitter at first, but it WILL get better.

@alissasheley

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Filed by Alissa at 11:47 am under Social Media, Trends, Twitter, online marketing
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In the last two weeks Domino’s has taken a beating in the social media realm, both on the national and local level. From thoughtless employees creating a brand–devastating video prank, to a Chicago–area pizza order being screwed up and delivered late, these situations where published for all posterity using social media. Domino’s was forced into a defensive position, and published two very different apology videos.

As discussed previously on this blog, Domino’s recently had to combat a viral YouTube video showing two employees using disgusting “secret” ingredients to make a sandwich that they implied was later served to a customer. Domino’s responded via YouTube with a video featuring the president of Domino’s USA, Patrick Doyle, apologizing.

While it was a positive move for Domino’s to post an apology in the channel where the debacle initially began, it could have been better. The video was cold and corporate-feeling and lacked personality. Mr. Doyle was clearly reading from a script and hardly acknowledged the camera.

On the other hand, a Chicago-area Domino’s hit the nail on the head with an original and genuine video apology given by the owner of the franchise, Ramon De Leon, and the store manager, Ernesto “Junior” Royal. The franchise owner @dpzramon saw a Tweet from @interactiveAmy on Twitter complaining about her pizza order being messed up and then delivered late. Within hours @dpzramon contacted Amy via social media and then followed up with this video apology.

No script was utilized for as both men showed personality and spoke from the heart about the situation. They admitted error on their part, vowed to make it right and discussed how they were going to prevent a similar occurrence in the future. They apologized again, said there was no excuse and asked for the opportunity to make it up to her by remaking the order. Clearly, they saw an opportunity to turn a problem into an opportunity to market their commitment to “wowing” their customers.

Which video apology resonated most with you? Which would make you want to try eating Domino’s pizza again?

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Filed by the Partners at 2:56 pm under Public Relations, Social Media, Twitter
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Keeping up with the critical changes in today’s digital media landscape can be overwhelming. But the jhP philosophy is: With a few good friends and a cold brew we can do anything.

Friday, April 10, jhP launched a new educational forum for clients and friends, tied to our famous Beer-30 festivities. Starting at 4:00pm, an enthusiastic flock joined us for our inaugural “Twitter Tips Beer-30.” The education session covered the basics of Twitter, a rapidly growing social networking phenomenon.

In an informal hour, we discussed what it means to follow, tweet, retweet, reply and repeat – highlighting the importance of Twitter in today’s business world. The fellowship was fun, the beer was tasty, and everyone took away a better understanding of Twitter and social media planning.

Such valuable good times must be repeated. We’ll soon host more Beer-30 educational forums about Twitter and other hot digital media topics. Check back soon for dates and times. Better yet, sign up for our email blasts so you’ll know immediately!

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Filed by the Partners at 4:47 pm under Events, Life at jhP, Social Media, Twitter
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Lately, it’s not uncommon to hear people talking about tweets and retweets. No these people are not discussing birds – they’re talking about the social media network Twitter.

Twitter is a microblogging service where users explain what they are doing and share information in 140 characters or less. The key to Twitter is summed up in five simple steps: Follow, Tweet, Retweet, Reply and Repeat.

If that sounds like gibberish to you, please join the jhP team Friday, April 10 at 4:00 for a fun “Twitter Tips Beer-30” at jhp, 3200 sw huntoon in Topeka. For valuable Twitter info and a cold brew, make your reservation by calling us at 785.228.0900 or by email: lweichert@jhpadv.com. Seats are limited, so don’t delay!

And if you’re still wondering why your company should care about Twitter, consider these facts:

1.)   Twitter is good for business.

I’ve been told many companies are uncomfortable with social networking because they can’t control what’s being said about them. Today’s truth is, more than ever before, the customer controls your brand. So it’s imperative that you find out what your customers are thinking – and saying. Twitter’s search features let you monitor what’s said about your company. This gives you up-front and personal opportunities to monitor and manage your company’s image. If a customer had a poor experience, now you’ll know and can get to the front line, speak with them and resolve the situation. Think of the times you’ve been in a restaurant and had poor service. Do you still go back? You might – if the restaurant’s recovery was handled right. Twitter is your chance to recover and develop a better relationship with your customer base.

2.)   Twitter is a great training and research tool for your employees.

My favorite Twitter feature is following other industry professionals. I can post industry-specific articles or read links posted by other professionals that I find interesting. I no longer have to search various blogs for industry-specific information because I just log into Twitter. Now I’m usually one of the first to know about industry news and emerging trends.

3.)   Twitter allows you to subtly market your business.

Twitter puts a face to your brand and personalizes the experience for your clients and customers, AND it allows people to learn more about what’s going on in your company. Taking part in a tradeshow this week? Let your followers know! Help them realize they should be there to learn that your product or service is just what they’re looking for.

So logon to Twitter and start following people! Remember to Follow, Tweet, Retweet, Reply and Repeat. These five steps will help bring value to your tweeting experience. But also keep in mind that Social Media isn’t something to experiment with. You need a plan and strategy just like all your other marketing efforts. That’s the only way to turn this fun activity into business success.

Make your reservation now for our “Twitter Tips Beer-30,” 4:00pm Friday, April 10 at jhP. Call 785.228.0900 or email lweichert@jhpadv.com and ensure you’ll have a seat. (And a frosty beer!)

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Filed by Brie at 11:34 am under Events, Social Media, Trends, Twitter, jhP Family, online marketing
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