Restaurant with a cool 'tude or just being rude??

Restaurant with a cool 'tude or just being rude??

We talk a lot about businesses using Twitter to attract new clients, interact with existing customers and offer special deals to build loyal fans.  But here's a new one, ever thought of using Twitter to SHAME your customers?

WHAT?  Of course not, that would be ridiculous!  But, it is happening.  A popular Vietnamese restaurant in LA, Red Medicine, has been using Twitter to call out guests who make reservations and never show up.  How strange, right?  But it is true, check it out: 

This is unheard of, right?  I mean, sure, it is poor form to just no-show for a reservation.  But in the day of using social media to ENGAGE customers, this seems so backwards!! And, as you'd expect, customers are fighting back with low Yelp scores and scorching comments about the restaurant: 

For what it is worth, though, Red Medicine has been getting a ton of PR over this.  And if you believe the saying that all PR is good PR, then they are doing something right! Also, many other restaurants charge hefty fees for no-shows.   Some might prefer this tweet over a fee! 

What do you think?  Is this just a restaurant with an edgy attitude are these customer-shaming tweets a path to disaster?

Facebook/Twitter War Continues!

Or, shall I say, #TheWarContinues

The Twitter vs. Facebook war- that heated up at the end of last year with the Instagram debacle - is still raging.

The latest line of defense to be violated may be Twitter's infamous icon, the hashtag.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Facebook is working on fully incorporating the hashtag into the site. 

First reading this, I was unimpressed.  So what!? People already post tweets to Facebook and replicate the hashtag in their status updates, right?  Why does this matter?

But think about it, Facebook doesn't really DO anything with the hashtags that end up on the site. They are just there as a leftover from a tweet or a byproduct of an automated service that lets users update statuses and tweets simultaneously. Now, it looks like Facebook is realizing the goldmine that these leftover hashtags could create.  According to the article, the hashtags will soon be used as a way to group conversations within Facebook.  So, similar to Twitter's current hashtag capabilities, you will soon be able to click on a Facebook hashtag and pull up all posts about similar topics or events.  The hashtag also will serve as an index to conversations around trending topics.  Note that this could ALSO allow Facebook to better develop user conversations about those topics, increasing the chances for advertising on the topic's main pages.  And of course Facebook is under enormous pressure from Wall Street to increase its revenue streams.  

I'm still not sure if this seems like a breakthrough plan.  Facebook already groups conversations and has pages devoted to just about everything.  But it definitely shows the turf wars going on between the two social media giants.

What do you think, are #hashtags really valuable to Facebook? 

What You Need to Know About The New Facebook Change!

So, Facebook's latest News Feed changes - of course - are news all over. Anytime Facebook makes a large change like this, some people love it and some hate it. Remember the ruckus people put up about switching over to Timeline?

 

But, let's face it, most of these changes are here to stay no matter how we feel about it. So, might as well make the best of it! And here is how: one key factor to help your company make the most of the new Facebook News Feed!

First, you need to understand the difference in the update. Basically, Facebook is making its site more analogous to a newspaper. Before, the News Feed contained all possible news and updates from your social circles all smashed together into the same feed. Well, now, different sections will be separated, creating what Facebook is touting as a "personalized newspaper". (Um, hello, sound like my fav Flipboard app to anyone else!!??)

So, like a newspaper, the new Facebook feed might still show you the "biggest news" all in one place (think, front page news), and then section out other updates, such as "Likes" (classifieds), "Status Updates" (editorials), etc.

The new challenge will be to get your company's content OUT of the "Likes" category and onto the main New Feed! Or, to follow the newspaper analogy, out of the "Classifieds" section and onto the "Front Page News"!

Now, how to do this. Take a note from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who shared at Facebook's press event that over HALF of the content in the main News Feed comprises photos and videos. Why? Easy! People like to view and share photos and videos! It's not enough to get someone to "Like" your page, you need to create engaging, high-quality pictures or videos for your company.

So, stop worrying about the new feed and start planning how you can use this opportunity to better engage your customers! Your Facebook status is depending on it!

"Tweetable" makes it to The Oxford Dictionary!

LOL. Hashtag. Meme.
 

Social media jargon is getting more and more popular.  But when one of these words is accepted into something like the Oxford Dictionary, things are brought to a whole new level.
 

That's what happened last week with one trendy word: "Tweetable"
 

Here's the link to the ever-so-formal definition, in case you haven't used the word.
 

But let's look into this a little further, The Oxford dictionary defines "tweetable" as: suitable for sharing on the social media site Twitter.
 

Makes sense to us, right?
 

But we aren't the people who are looking up words in the Oxford Dictionary!  If someone is going through the trouble to include more current, tech words in the dictionary, I think they should describe them in a way that is less reliant on tech knowledge.  Is someone who looks up "Tweetable" going to know what "Twitter" is?  Probably not.
 

I say either define it in layman's terms or don't define it at all.  After all, I can't stand when I look up a word I don't know and then part of the word is referenced in the definition. This might not be exactly the same issue, but it's similar!
 

Congrats to "tweetable" for becoming a real word!  But a big question mark goes to Oxford Dictionary for their partially self-referencing definition.
 

How would you best define "tweetable"?

When It's Great To Get Hacked!

 

The old adage says all press is good press. That played true last week for Burger King. The fast food royalty's Twitter account was hacked by jokesters who changed its header photo to its arch nemesis's golden arches and claimed the company had been acquired by McDonald's.

 

At this news, you'd probably think: Sound the alarm! Social Media catastrophe!

 

But the real results of the hack were quite the opposite.

 

Because of the snafu, @BurgerKing acquired 30,000 new followers in a single day, saw a 300% increase in conversations and was mentioned in 450,000 Tweets!

 

The profile ended up being suspended until Twitter restored the true Burger King access, but all in all BK keeps the new followers and the publicity.

 

Of course, some of the conversation and mentions were a bit disparaging toward Burger King. This is to be expected. To balance that though, many tweets were sympathetic, and now @BurgerKing gets the added impressions of all the new followers obtained from the hack.

What do you think, is getting hacked worth it?

What you can learn from the Harlem Shake!

It's catchy.  It's funny.  It might already be overplayed.  It's the latest meme craze: The Harlem Shake.

 

The Harlem Shake originated less than two weeks ago and has spawned over 40,000 versions uploaded to YouTube, totaling more than 200 million views. If you haven't seen it yet, just go on YouTube and watch one.  It is much easier seen than described.  Basically, someone starts dancing in a room of otherwise normal activity and then the scene switches to everyone dancing/ going crazy.  So what turns such a simple and silly concept into an Internet sensation? Let's take a look at three things companies that are looking to engage customers through social media can learn from Harlem Shake!

 

Harlem Shake Characteristic: Length

The videos average about 30 seconds in length.  This makes viewing them, and possibly viewing multiple in one sitting, very easy for the average YouTube visitor.  They can also be viewed in the entirety as part of a conversation or showing one to a friend on a mobile device.

Lesson: Keep it short: You have to capture attention quickly! No one is going to read through pages of material or watch a half hour long video. 

 

Harlem Shake Characteristic: Easy to Create

It is easy to see how there have been so many versions created and posted as the videos are technically quite simple to set up, create and edit.  They typically are one static camera angle and just require one cut from that camera angle.  This simplicity implies that just about anyone can make a version without much planning or effort.

Lesson: Keep it simple: If you want engagement, keep it simple for the customer!

 

Harlem Shake Characteristic: Open to interpretation

The theme is so loose that it is easy for viewers to imagine their own "creative spin" on the Harlem Shake.  Think of the armed forces version, the Swimming Team version, or the senior citizen version.  This lets viewers feel part of the craze and inject their own creativity into the concept.

Lesson: Keep it creative: Give your customers space to make the interaction unique and personal to them! 

 

 

 

Take away any other lessons from the Harlem Shake?  Let us know below!

Superbowl XLVII Proves Need for Social Media Speed!!

 

We always say the world of social media is fast paced.  Long standing rules of marketing, public relations and consumer engagement have been flipped on their heads by the real-time quickness of today's digital world.  And this was seen on a national level during last night's Superbowl!  While Twitter quips and Facebook posts filled up the night, my top two performers for speed and agility are Oreo and @SuperbowlLights!

 

Twitter handle @SuperBowlLights is a classic look at timing in the social media space.  The handle was created as a joking nod toward- what else- the power outage!! Get this, within ONE HOUR of the moment the lights went out in New Orleans stadium, the handle was created, gained 25,000 followers and was being regulated and having tweets removed by the NFL.  ONE HOUR, people!  It has taken me long than that to get my hair done!

While the story of @SuperBowlLights is quick and impressive, I think @OREO outdoes them.  Mere minutes after the power outage, @Oreo tweeted this "You Can Still Dunk In The Dark" ad.  Wow.  The reason I find this more impressive is that Oreo is a large brand name.  It is owned by Nabisco, which is owned by Kraft--- you get the point? We are talking layers upon layers of approval in a typical decision making process.  But apparently, they are lean and mean enough to be quick and relevant when needed!  Kudos to Oreo!