Corporate Mishap is Small Business Lesson

This year has seen employees' ability to negatively effect their employer through Twitter, YouTube, etc. It's important for small businesses to remember that they are not immune from these same things happening, but...

how you deal with it will determine the impact on customer perception.

Here's a good brief read from "Bulldog Reporter", a PR industry publication. Tell me what you would do in a similar situation.


Issue Date: Daily 'Dog - April 21, 2009,
Domino's Crisis Teaches Valuable Twitter Lesson: Major Brands Discovering They Must Respond — and Quickly

Domino's was late but eventually delivered. Amazon.com shut like a book. And CNN focused on the good news. When the three major brands engaged with their Web-savvy fans and critics in separate incidents last week, their responses demonstrated how corporations are still learning how to control their messages — and reputations — in a fast-twitch online world. The mixed track record so far shows that fluency in the evolving language of digital public relations comes easier to some companies than others, the LA Times reports.

Last week, Domino's was handed a PR nightmare when a video showed up online showing two employees laughing as they prepared food in a deliberately unsanitary way. The video quickly garnered hundreds of thousands of views. Domino's initial instinct was to try to dispose of the situation quietly by responding only to concerned consumers who had already seen the video, rather than risk broadening its exposure by making a public statement. But chatter about the problem spilled over into Twitter, whose expansive micro-messaging network is becoming an online circulatory system for news, pumping information between media organs, consumers and businesses themselves, report Times writers David Sarno and Alana Semuels.

The company posted a YouTube response of its own and even established a Twitter account to answer direct questions from customers. "What we've learned is if something happens in this medium, it's going to automatically jump to the next," Domino's spokesman Tim McIntyre told the Times. "So we might as well talk to everybody at the same time."

At CNN, as Ashton Kutcher edged out the cable TV network last week to become the first to attract 1 million followers to his Twitter account, an odd quirk of the much-hyped race was overshadowed: CNN hadn't actually owned its account until a few days earlier. For more than two years, the CNNBrk account (for breaking news) had been created, maintained and run by a 25-year-old British Web developer who just wanted a way to beam short news alerts to his cellphone.

But when CNN found out that James Cox had appropriated its name and content, it took a direction that might seem a bit surprising for a major media company. Instead of suing Cox or trying to shut down the account, CNN quietly hired him to run it — and then acquired it last week when Cox was visiting the company's Atlanta headquarters.

"We've been managing the feed through him," said KC Estenson, the head of CNN's online operation, noting the huge increase in the number of Twitter followers since the November election. "As Twitter took off and became more prominent, we decided it was time to take our engagement and make it a marriage," Estenson told the Times.

When Amazon was faced with its own consumer outcry last week, it decided to forgo the social media route. Without warning, many gay- and lesbian-themed books began disappearing from the site's search results and sales rankings. The Twittersphere instantly saw red, accusing the company of discrimination and censorship and demanding a response. But Amazon stayed mostly mum. It waited most of a day only to cite an unspecified "glitch," and when that vagueness only fomented the outrage, it released a second clipped statement blaming a "cataloging error."

But Twitter abhors a vacuum, and commenters rapidly filled Amazon's silence with boycott threats, petitions and caustic accusations — an outcome that suggests that the growth of social media may be driving up the cost of inaction.

Yet engaging with consumers can be dangerous too. Skittles learned that last month when it invited users to post Twitter-like comments on a page that prominently displayed its logo. Among the positive comments were a variety of colorful ones as well. By giving users the freedom to post their own messages alongside its advertising, Skittles had opened itself up to a kind of online vandalism that seems hard to get away from.

"There's a mob mentality to social tools where people quickly try to put fuel on the fire, really encouraging brand damage and damage to individuals," Jeremiah Owyang, a senior analyst at Forrester Research, told the Times. Every brand misstep can spur social-media denizens these days, he said, which affects even those companies that don't actively participate.

To stay safe in the social media minefield, he said, brands need to make sure to secure their own domain names in the various online environments — before any squatters do — and then start to build a community there. Then, when a crisis happens, online or off, brands can then use that community to their advantage.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7l6AJ49xNSQ

Build Community, Sustainable Brand

Without surprise the majority of small businesses being launched today are Internet-based, meaning that their primary focus is selling their product online. Now that doesn't mean that retail no longer has meaning to customers, because it does. Women, in general, will never tire of taking a stroll through their favorite shopping area and sifting through the latest products. In fact, you really need to focus on both, if your business model/product is applicable.

The real opportunity with the Internet is a company's ability to connect with their customers, to build a unique community specifically for them. Trust me....if you're customers feel connected to your business, special they will return and more importantly they will provide word-of-mouth to friends and family.

Moreover, your website and building a community for customers gives you an opportunity to communicate with them directly answering questions, giving advice, pimping your own new products and services, as well as accomplishments. All of this re-establishes, in the customer's mind, why they've aligned themselves with your business.

Here's a great article from Chief Marketer on the importance of creating an online community for your small business, and how to build it so that they will come.


Building Your Brand by Creating Community
Apr 14, 2009 12:19 PM, By Ryan Buchanan

What are the most important goals when building your brand online? No matter the product, service or industry, those goals likely include:

1. Starting a relationship with your customers that can't be duplicated by the competition, encouraging loyalty and providing value.
2. Maximizing customer interaction time with your brand, as well as building mindshare and influence.
3. Building an e-mail list for targeted follow-up and communication.

Now, what's the best way to kill these three birds with one rock-solid project?

One popular and effective method is building an online community for your brand, letting your customers lead the way from a touch point that they control.

Read More...

Twitter Away to Build Your Brand

Great read on Chief Marketer for every business owner that wants to master cutting-edge marketing opportunities.

To Tweet or Not to Tweet? How Twitter Can Further Your Brand
Apr 21, 2009 3:15 PM, By Jonathan Paisner and Bill Westcott

Twitter has spawned a powerful social information and communication medium. This has impacted how news is gathered, how organizations get the word out and how buzz is created. And with Twitter's explosive growth brands are jumping into the game—thousands, actually, according to twibs.com (a business directory that aims to be the Yellow Pages of Twitter).

So just how does a brand use Twitter to further its aims? A few recent anecdotes can help demonstrate how companies need to think about Twitter and its impact on their brands.

Pushing the Brands
Brands ranging from ESPN to Starbucks to Dell are supporting active accounts boasting tens of thousands of followers. Whole Foods has over 300,000 followers, enabling them to communicate instantly with their most avid customers, essentially providing an open discussion forum around the Whole Foods lifestyle, with recipes, promotions, tips, etc.

Read more

Think Outside The Box For Marketing Success

People often ask me what my number one tip for small businesses is and that is:

DIFFERENTIATE your company in every way

Some of you might ask "why? Things are going well for me right now. If it ain't broke...." Well, my answer to that is the same as the one many of the experts on Small Business Daily will offer: if you don't work to differentiate your business it will stall. You will stop growing and your marketing programs will become stale. Eventually, you will be out of business.

It's a harsh truth and while I'll leave the business planning aspects to Clayton and Michael, I do want to discuss what happens to your marketing if you don't differentiate: Nothing, zip, nada. You might as well throw money down the toilet.

Marketing your business is the most crucial element to business success and one that requires endurance and stamina. If you don't realize that right up front you aren't going to get anywhere because, well, it takes a llllloooonnnngggg time to build brand recognition with customers and the industry.

The power of differentiating your business from competitors, creating new trends and becoming an industry leader is that it gives you stories to tell, whether that's with public relations, advertising or social media. If you're like everyone else why does it matter where customers go? Eventually they'll waste a lot of time, money and energy finding what business is trustworthy and beneficial on their own, but by communicating your unique offerings upfront you can cut to the chase for them....straight in your door.

Remember: What you say about your business is as important as where you say it

Think about it this way, a journalist is not interested in writing the same story over and over again. They want new angles, new trends and new innovative businesses. So, if you want to generate PR for your business you have to make sure you have a fresh, new story to tell.

I say it over and over, but the beauty of small businesses it their ability to be flexible, creative and innovative. You can't stop with one version of your product. You have to keep adding to it, making it stronger, better. Customers are looking, especially right now, for the biggest bang for their buck. You need to continue thinking ahead to expansion - new product development, business relationships/partnerships and increased marketing.

To make your business grow:

1. review your business model and differentiate against competitors, meet the standards of technology people expect
2. you have to communicate what you're doing,
3. make it relevant
4. grow product and service offerings
5. be dilligent
6. always be thinking ahead of your competition and industry
7. work everyday to meet and predict the needs of customers

There's a reason why companies that bank on a single product idea eventually fail. The company stops being relevant when they fail to grow and differentiate. See business development and marketing go hand-in-hand in helping entrepreneurs like you achieve success.

I want to hear from you: What are you doing to differentiate your business? What unique ideas have you created to stand out in the crowd?

Jennifer Fortney, Cascade Communications and SmallBizPRMadeEasy.com; Twitter @SmallBizPRXpert

Why PR Will Help Your Biz Thrive in a Recession

Sales & Marketing April 10, 2009, 1:09PM EST

Why PR Is the Prescription
The right story told at the right time can bring valuable attention to your business, even during a downturn By Steve McKee

Times are tough. It can be difficult to keep your focus on driving the top line when the bottom line is bleeding red. A lot of us can identify with John Krafcik, acting president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America, when he says, "Flat is the new up."

Still, you know you can't put your marketing program entirely on hold. You need to do something to attract new customers (and give existing customers more reasons to stay). It may be sacrilege for an ad guy to say so, but I recommend a healthy dose of PR. Yep, PR.

There are a couple of trends that, while causing headaches for journalists, can work in your favor: Properly understood, they can help you generate attention for your business.....

Read more

Make a Good Interview and Drive More Media

So, you want to get PR for your business or organization but are you prepared to be a “good interview”? It’s not enough to secure opportunities with media to drive business, you also have to be prepared to do a good interview; one that can lead to additional stories.

For me, there’s nothing better than securing a media interview opportunity for my clients, but the role they play in that story comes down to how they interview. I can only do so much to prepare them and keep the nerves down. Sure, you know your stuff inside and out but the second you put a microphone in their face they become nervous. Their thoughts may not be as clear and they sometimes fail to actually answer the question they’re being asked. That’s where preparation comes into play.

There are a number of things to consider before being interviewed, such as never wear white or busy patterns on TV and thoroughly understanding the topic in which you’re being interviewed (remember: journalists don’t write the same story but are looking for unique angles and they look to you to offer more specifically on that angle). What business owners often fail to do is prepare, and let me tell you that practice DOES make perfect.

Here are some tips to make practicing easy, everyday, successful and to build confidence:

* Know the audience you’re speaking to. A journalist is just a catalyst to deliver information to their readers, viewers or listeners. Understanding who they are will help you determine how to respond to the journalist’s query. Think industry vs consumer.
* Stay focused on the topic. Trying to get too many of your key messages in can increase the chances of your quotes being edited, or even edited out, by the journalist to keep focus on the story angle. The more you offer them, the bigger the presence you will have in the story.
* Why should the audience listen to you? What makes you a expert? How are you going to communicate your expertise?
* Craft your messages. Really think about the five specific things you want to be sure to communicate to the audience about the industry or your business and product. Write them out and refer to them during the interview, or memorize for broadcast.
* Learn to segue. Sure journalists are going to ask questions to lead you in the direction they want to go, but paying attention during the interview can provide opportunities to segue into the messages you really want to deliver.
* Be flexible. Be prepared for journalists to ask all kinds of questions. If you really are an expert then it should be easy for you to be flexible and react positively.
* Be helpful. Make sure that what you are offering is truly helpful information for the journalist and the audience.
* Speak in soundbites. Don’t manipulate the entire conversation by going on and on. Get to the point quick and think in soundbites (brief and informational statements). This also gives the interviewer the opportunity to ask you more questions. You don’t want to dominate the interview.
* Speak clearly, firmly and with confidence to establish credibility. There are two things that make for a potentially poor interview performance, 1. speaking fast and quietly or 2. not speaking enough. Prove you’re a good interview by speaking at a reasonable volume and pace. Finally, don’t rely on the journalist to pull the information out of you. They are interviewing you because you’ve provided them confidence in your capabilities to offer a good story. This is not the time to be shy.
* Practice, practice, practice. Use a mirror or ask someone you trust to run through a series of practice interviews with you. This ensures that you know exactly what you want to say, that you’re thinking and speaking in soundbites and delivering helpful information to audiences about the subject, your business and/or product.

Do all of this and you will build confidence for media interviews of all kinds. There’s nothing worse than letting your nerves get the best of you and walking away feeling as if you failed to communicate the messages you want to get out about your business.

A final tips: if you’re embarking on a PR campaign, go after smaller media first. Not only are you more likely to get an interview or mention but you can use it as practice to prepare for opportunities with larger even national media. Record your interview, if possible, and listen to it after to make a list of key learnings and things to work on to become even better.

For more tips on DIY PR visit Small Biz PR Made Easy and get weekly lessons that will make you an expert for your business!!

Small Business Tips and Radio Show All Must Hear

It's been a busy week for us at Cascade Communications. On top of managing our client work we found time to take part in a radio show that every small business should listen to on BlogTalkRadio - Strategic Growth Concepts and how PR can grow your business. Plus, our pal at The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur included us in over 100 tips for small businesses. These are both worth checking out!

BlogTalkRadio - Using PR to Grow Your Business

The show runs about 90 minutes, but I promise it's totally worth it. I was joined by two other extraordinary women on this panel.

Toilet Paper Entrepreneur - 115 Marketing Strategies for Small Business Jennifer Fortney is mentioned as #49. There's so much good stuff here, you can't afford not to read it!

For more information, remember to visit Small Business Daily for more advice and tips for small businesses!