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?

Why Do We Feel Compelled to Tell EVERYONE?

I am safe and dry here in my house north of Nashville and feel far, far away from the destruction of the recent Nashville (and other parts of Tennessee) floods.

There was a lunch meeting that I needed to attend yesterday that normally would have been a 35-40 minute drive. It took me an hour and 45 minutes to get there. Traffic was diverted off a major highway onto a secondary road that was not prepared to handle the traffic. Once I figured out how to cut through the back of a shopping complex (and shaving off probably 15 more minutes), I was on my way. Once I get almost to my destination, traffic backs up because the normal four-lane road had been cut to two. I was already stressing about how I was going to get home.

My lunch meeting was over in an hour and it took me another hour to get home as I decided to take my chances on road closures and head cross-country to find my way. It was new territory but all worked out okay. I'm just not planning to venture out again for a couple of days.

But, I digress.

During the lunch with my social media-challenged colleague she posed the following question: "Why do people on Facebook and Twitter think they have to tell everything they know about Nashville and the flood damage?"

I could only answer on how it made me feel to post on Sunday afternoon and Monday as I watched television reports in horror as pieces of Nashville history floated away on the Cumberland River.

It was cathartic to do so. I felt isolated, cut off from my network of friends and family. Lots of people were without power but they still had cell phone service to get updates. I wanted them to feel like I did. I wanted them to know what was going on outside of their own neighborhoods.

So, why DO you feel compelled to tell everything to everyone?

Top 10 Notes from Maurilio Amorim Presentation

I attended Meetings Industry Day yesterday and sat through a three hour (yes --- THREE hours! - I didn't know my ADD would let me do that anymore) session by Maruilio Amorim (@maruilio) which turned out to be great. I have blogged before on the fact that all of the social media sessions (in person or online) are beginning to sound the same and, I have to say, this was different.

First off, Maruilio did not use PowerPoint, he used Keynote. I have been playing around with Keynote and Prezzi and will now dig a little deeper into each one.

My top 10 notes:

1. New term - digital immigrant (that's another term for us old people who didn't grow up with computers.)
2. Amorim likes foursquare. I have been trying to resist but now realize that resisting is futile.
3. Google Alerts - I have been using them for myself and my company but had not thought of that for my clients. I felt so inadequate at that light bulb moment.
   
4. While this didn't come from Amorim , check to see if your desired username or vanity url is still available at dozens of popular Social Networking and Social Bookmarking websites at namechk. Thanks Angela Layton.
5. Use of photo tagging for viral marketing (ala IKEA). I have always loved IKEA and now love them even more.
6. You should create landing pages on your website that are specific to your different target markets.
7. It matters more what consumers say than what you say about yourself.
8. The more things change, the more things stay the same. Direct mail and email campaigns are still highly successful marketing tools.
9. Wednesday - Thursday afternoon is the time of the week when people buy the most online. Send your product promotion emails out during this period.
10. Create a way for people to share their thoughts. Use a thumbs up or thumbs down icon or ask what they think. Make it easy and quick.

Bonus Note: Don't create a page that you would not want to be a fan of yourself.

Can you think of ONE great social media tidbit you learned recently?

Not Engaging in Social Media Could be Mistake

"Social media is still in the formative stage. Not engaging now could be the biggest mistake you could make." -- Douglas Quinby, PhoCusWright

I attended a webinar last week where Douglast Quinby was one of the presenters and his comment really hit home. I have said this before but it bears repeating, "Social media is not a fad! "

I'm just glad to find someone who agrees with me.

Followers Follow Interesting Dialogues

We refer to social media as being about "the conversation" but does anyone really know what that is? I found the title of this article from a quote by Maria Domingo (@mariedomingo) which helps clarify what "the conversation" means. We use words like "engage," but how do you accomplish that?

Pretend you are at a reception where everyone is wearing HELLO MY NAME IS name tags. Someone approaches, you exchange names and pleasantries and then you ask something about their job.

Engaging an individual on your social media site means asking questions and listening to the answers. Find out about each other and determine common ground. Offer your expertise but don't be pushy.

Start a dialogue -- even if that means talking to yourself. Others will join in if it is interesting enough.

Are You Tired of all the Social Media Hype?

I was asked recently to speak later this year to a group on social media. One of the things they asked me was "do you think we will be social media weary by November?" I think the answer is both YES and NO.

YES because we are beginning to hear the same old rhetoric. Everyone's skill level is different and social media presenters are trying to cover all the bases but losing part of the audience because they are looking for basic, how-to social media nuts-and-bolts. You make the presentation too elementary and you loose the more advanced audience.

NO because we all still have a lot to learn as the face of social media is changing on a daily basis.

My belief is that if I can engage the advanced audience with the nuts-and-bolts audience in discussions with each other, we all benefit. I would no longer be the presenter but take on the role of facilitator.

I like that. It's better than the same old PowerPoint presentation.

Hashtags - Single Most Important Twitter Application for Meetings & Events

I believe that hashtags are the most important items a meeting professional can use when promoting their meetings and events. It helps funnel the chatter on to one back channel that makes the conversation easy to follow. The more people talk about your event, the more excitement is generated.

Hashtags are simply a short way of identifying your event. The # sign is the same as a hashtag. Don't get me started on all of the new language to be learned in social media. That is a whole new topic.

Let's say you are the International Society of Dog Bathers and your upcoming meeting is known as "Splash Your Way to Profits." You might want to assign the hashtag #splash to this meeting. A simple search on Twitter can tell you if your hashtag is already in use by another group.

Going even further, meeting professionals can get their speakers involved in promoting their presentation at the event. You could assign a hashtag to each speaker's presentation (i.e. #splashfleas for a presentation on flea prevention.)

Don't forget to communicate your unique hashtag by using it on your promotional materials, website, email signatures, blogs, Facebook event pages, etc. Attendees, speakers, exhibitors, sponsors and others cannot help promote your event for you if they don't know what it is.