It's Been a Busy Month!

Since the Recap of 2010 blog post, we have added more clients! We would like to welcome the following companies to NetConnect Group:

Main Event Productions LLC - The main event family of companies includes The Bake Shoppe, A Catered Affair, Fantastic Flipbooks, Events @ 1418 and Legacy Farms. The first area we will focus on is branding and pulling all of these companies into one brand, Main Event Productions. Kellie Bryson is a great marketer and has a greater understanding of social media than any other client. It's going to be a fun ride.

Taylor Entertainment - Working with Robert Taylor to develop his Facebook page is going to be a blast. I have worked him in the event planning world where he produced some casino parties and a game show that has been the talk of that group's annual convention for years. Be sure to check out his Facebook page for photos of his interactive entertainment options, especially the crab races!

Event Logistics, Inc. - I started talking to this company back in the summer of 2010 and they just weren't ready to even think about their social media presence but, six months later, here we are -- ready to start this ball rolling. In addition to their outstanding meeting planning division, they also manage a venue on the floor above their offices that I am also going to be working with.

One Eleven - Nashville's Premier Rooftop Event Venue is one of Nashville's secret gems. Located above Big River Restaurant, this venue provides a sideline seat to all of the action that is happening at Riverfront Park and on Second Avenue.

Isn't it time you added your company to this list?

Using Social Media to Gain Attention to a Problem with a Corporation

In the November 2010 Reader's Digest, they ran a story titled "Buyers' Revenge." It told the stories of a few people who had used Social Media and the Internet to get the attention of the higher-up-on-the-ladder-execs-at-companies-who-appear-to-not-give-a-hoot-about-their-customers. From Volvo to 1-800-FLOWERS, consumers found a way to get their voices heard by the people in a position to make a difference.

I have never gone to such extreme measures but I would if a situation would merit it. I have complained on Facebook on a couple of occasions to companies and it is all in how they responded that got my attention. And loyalty.


The first time was to a national budget hotel chain. I had made reservations online at one rate but when I checked in, the new owners refused to honor the rate. No matter how much I talked to the owner, he refused. I paid the higher rate but, upon my arrival back home, I looked up their corporate website to make a complaint. I completed the online form and the response was that I should hear something back within 14-21 days. Say what? You have a disgruntled customer and they may have to wait three weeks to get any type of response from you? I went to Facebook and put my compliant on their wall. It took about 15 minutes before someone from the company posted a phone number for me to call. I did. They refunded me the difference in a timely manner. In fact, the refund arrived before they responded to my first complaint.

The next time was a locally-owned restaurant where service and food quality was an issue. I posted on their Facebook page how disappointed I was as I was hoping for better. It took a week for someone to respond to the Facebook post and their response was for me to enter my mailing address so that they could send me coupons for a free dinner. Say what? I'm going to post my mailing address on Facebook? I provided them my email address (mine is all over the Internet anyway so I wasn't worried about that) and asked them to contact me via email for the mailing address. I'm still waiting. That was in October. I haven't been back to the restaurant and may never go back.

If your company is going to go to the trouble to set up a Facebook page, Twitter account or website, you need someone to monitor it on a frequent basis. Don't let disgruntled buyers have their revenge at your expense.

A Facebook Page that "Gets It"

Facebook pages are supposed to be social. After all, it is called social networking. Many businesses get caught up in promotion but don't have any personality. You just don't get the feeling that you can pick up the phone and call the person who is doing their Facebook postings.

I recently joined the Alabama Gulf Coast Facebook page as I am thinking of vacationing in the Gulf Shores area later this year. This page totally ROCKS! They update continually from 7:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. each and every day -- weekends included. Considering their target audience, weekends are an essential part of their marketing strategy.

One of their strategies that I absolutely love is to take questions posted to their wall and turn them into a question for the masses. An example would be that someone wrote on the wall asking if a local restaurant/bar that will be broadcasting the Alabama football game on Saturday. They will then post that as a question for their fans to answer. It's all about engaging your audience.

There is a video posted every day that gives you a beach update. How can you not want to visit when you hear the waves crashing in the background and see the beautiful white sand?

A lot of companies that use social media want to control what is posted on their pages. The Alabama Gulf Coast encourages visitors (and wannabe visitors) to post their beach photos.

Do you have a favorite Facebook page to share?

20 Fantastic Content Ideas For Your Online Community

Engage365 is an online knowledge community where association and corporate meeting professionals can network with each other and learn proven concepts and strategies to help their organizations maximize the use of social media for their events… yada yada yada.

20 Fantastic Content Ideas For Your Online Community
This article is not just for meeting professionals, as there are many good ideas for every business considering the social media marketing arena.

Using Social Media to Your Advantage

When I meet with a potential client, we always have the talk about negative comments and how to handle them. The experts say to meet them head-on and ask what you can do to help.

I recently had reservations at an extremely "limited-service" motel in Indiana. In this case, limited service means they had a bed and a bathroom that I rented for two nights while in this town on business. No complimentary breakfast, no pool, no shampoo, etc.

My reservations were made online in February but when I checked in two months later, they would not honor the lower online rate. The motel had changed from a corporate owned hotel to a franchise hotel just the week before I checked in. I spoke to the new owner and he said that he would honor the rate and it would be no problem to change it. However, when I checked out, the rate had not been changed and I was charged the higher amount. The owner was nowhere to be found at check-out.

Incidentally, the front desk clerk at check-out told me that the owner had stated that he didn't care what corporate said, he would be charging whatever he wanted for rooms. She wanted to quit her job.

Upon my return home, I visited the corporate website and completed their online complaint form. The next day I received an email response stating that they would be contact the owner and would let me know his response.

I had already been down that road and I wanted something to happen quickly.

This chain of motels had a page on Facebook that I joined. My message was simple:

I guess I have just stayed my last night at XYZ motel as they refused to honor my online rate.

Their response was swift -- only about 10 minutes. They provided me with an 800 number. When I called they asked me to fax them copies of my reservation and the receipt. A return phone call within 30 minutes of doing that resulted in a refund being sent to me within 10 days.

Not every company is likely to respond this quickly or to your full satisfaction but I hope that they would at least try.

I recently saw a quote that stated something like:

Your customers are going to talk about you. Don't you wish they would talk about you to your face instead of to each other?

Have you had an experience of filing a complaint on a social media site? What was the outcome?