OpenSkies opens its blog up to questions

Posted by Social Media Business Council Staff on January 30, 2009

Corporate Social Media Case Study: OpenSkies

OpenSkies, a subsidiary of British Airways, has begun a new series on their corporate blog entitled, “Go Ahead, Ask Away.” In this series, blog author Dale Moss starts by inviting anyone who has a question to leave a comment and continues in the post by answering a wide range of questions he’s received — everything from the new routes the airline flies to what in-flight magazines they carry.

Here’s an excerpt:

A couple of you had questions about whether we were going to extend out routes to new cities. Hadassah asks, “How big does the vision go for other US cities to be included, namely where I’m at in Los Angeles?” Isadora had a similar question, “When are you flying from Stockholm (Sweden)?”

We put a lot of thought into our routes by considering the business opportunity and the aircraft flying range. As of right now, neither L.A. nor Stockholm are in our plans. Future expansion opportunities are always being considered and as soon as I have any news about upcoming routes I’ll be sure to let you know right here.

See the full post here.

Live blogging your corporate party

Posted by Social Media Business Council Staff on January 29, 2009

Corporate Social Media Case Study: Southwest Airlines

Do you invite customers to your corporate parties?

Using their blog, Southwest’s Christi Day and Lindsey Reynolds live blogged the company’s “Super Fly Since ‘79″ party in New Orleans. Through a series of posts, Christi and Lindsey shared the party experience via several photos and some good commentary, and it sounds like the highlight was when the SMU basketball team hit the dance floor and busted out the Electric Slide.

See the posts:

Super Fly Since ‘79!

King Cake! Get Your King Cake!

Electric Slide Occurring in Gate B7

How to thank the people who tweet about you

Posted by Social Media Business Council Staff on January 28, 2009

Corporate Social Media Case Study: The Red Cross

If you’d like more Twitter conversations to take place about your brand, an important early step is to recognize and thank the existing conversation.

The Red Cross shows us that it doesn’t have to be too elaborate. In their “Tweets of the Week” post, they offer a fairly simple highlight of those who have tweeted about them, as well as links to the individuals who shared the tweet (which is a nice thank you):

See the post.

In the words of our guests: BlogWell highlights

Posted by Social Media Business Council Staff on January 27, 2009

Check out several of the great BlogWell recaps from a few of the attendees:

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Amber Naslund — BlogWell: Perfection Isn’t a Prerequisite

“I spent the day at BlogWell yesterday, where Radian6 was a table sponsor. What a cool and interesting way to hear - straight from the doers themselves - how the big brands are embracing social media.”

(Read the full post here)

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Cam Gross — BlogWell Chicago. Impactful.

“If I were such a corporate leader, I would have walked away from Blogwell in Chicago with a new found energy.  The fear might still be there.  Knowing that my company is not walking on the moon for the first time would provide me enough comfort to press forward.”

(Read the full post here)

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Piet Levy — The BlogWell Runneth Over

“Amidst a flurry of networking, Twittering, Facebooking and feasting on oversized pretzels, a few marketing reps enlightened a few hundred of their peers Thursday at a Blog Council-sponsored BlogWell event.”

(Read the full post here)

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Dave McCue — Social Media Takes Center Stage at BlogWell

“For anyone still unsure if social media fits into their company model, yesterday’s BlogWell event in Chicago made it abundantly clear that, at the least, it’s a path worth exploring.”

(Read the full post here)

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Tonja Deegan — BlogWell - Growing an Online Community

“Large and small brands in the audience asked questions that brands everywhere continue to ask: What if something goes wrong, what if it’s not approved, what if we get sued, what if we get made fun of, what if …  And the secret answer to those questions is to do what each company at BlogWell did when they tested online engagement, found out that it works and continue to spread it into more networks and technologies.”

(Read the full post here)

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Ryan Healy — Corporate Social Media Use Will Lead to the Evolution of Web 2.0

“The [Blog Council] is defining how companies can best use social media to attain their business goals. In short, they are putting processes and controls on what is now an unregulated industry. And I think it’s brilliant.”

(Read the full post here)

UPS uses video to offer a behind-the-scenes look at their testing labs

Posted by Social Media Business Council Staff on January 27, 2009

Corporate Social Media Case Study: UPS

Check out UPS’ behind-the-scenes look at the testing that goes into the boxes used in shipping. The YouTuble clip is a great example of a company using social media to give outsiders a rare peek into how the company operates.

Learn More:
See how Nokia uses video to show the testing involved in their phones.

BlogWell Chicago proves to be an amazing success

Posted by Social Media Business Council Staff on January 26, 2009

With over 200 attendees, 8 case studies and some fantastic sponsor support, BlogWell Chicago was a great success. The sold-out event featured social media presentations from the Mayo Clinic, U.S. Coast Guard, H&R Block, The Home Depot, Molson, Sharpie, Allstate and Procter & Gamble.

In addition to the speakers, here’s a very brief list of a few of the brands that were in attendance:

• Google
• Best Buy
• Boeing
• AT&T
• Crate & Barrel
• AccuQuote
• United Airlines
• State Farm
• McDonald’s
• Orbitz
• GE
• Whirlpool
• Pepsi
• Humana
• American Family Insurance
• ConAgra
• Sears
• Tyson Foods
• Serta
• Sun Microsystems
• General Mills
• Comcast
• Ticketmaster
• Kaiser Permanente

Thanks to everyone who helped make the event such a huge success.

And stay tuned, as work on the next BlogWell is already underway.

Vespa allows customers to share their favorite routes

Posted by Social Media Business Council Staff on January 26, 2009

Corporate Social Media Case Study: Vespa

Vespa, the makers of the funky scooters that have seen a surge in popularity, has created a community forum on their site designed for riders to share their favorite riding routes.

The forum, called “Your Community Rides,” allows visitors to submit their routes, vote for their favorites, and submit comments.

Learn More:

http://www.vespausa.com/community_rides.php

Novartis runs video competition on YouTube

Posted by Social Media Business Council Staff on January 22, 2009

Corporate Social Media Case Study: Novartis

Novartis Consumer Health, which manufactures Excedrin, recently created a YouTube channel to help promote its new Excedrin Gel product.  The company asked customers to make videos centered around the theme of speed and quickness to tie into the product’s key features, tell their friends, and vote on the most creative clip.  More than 200 videos were submitted and the contest page was viewed 147,000 times.  The winner received a $15,000 prize and had his video cross-promoted in Excedrin TV ads.

Learn More:
YouTube - Excedrin Express Gel channel
Winning YouTube video

Welcome to the newest members of the Blog Council

Posted by Social Media Business Council Staff on January 20, 2009

We want to publicly thank the most recent companies to join the Blog Council.

• Johnson & Johnson
• State Farm Insurance

Have you ever wondered why people and companies join the Blog Council?

Read more testimonials like these.

“We decided to join because we wanted to connect with companies that have the same kind of concerns, and see how we can share best practices, benchmark against each other, and learn from that.”
- Lee Aase, Mayo Clinic

“I found that being with my peers, the Blog Council has helped validate ideas and generate new ones.  The Blog Council is a valuable resource helping people at companies learn to become part of the conversation.”
- Rob DeRobertis, Analog Devices

“Social media is all about conversations, and this group is all about a larger conversation among companies who face similar challenges.”
- Molly Schonthal, Nokia

“The Blog Council provides a valuable forum for innovative companies to validate and intellectually stress-test their social media strategies and tactics. Regardless of industry, the level of member interaction and responsiveness of the Blog Council staff has been a huge asset in successfully navigating the highly dynamic social space.”
- Matt Lehman, Progressive

“The Blog Council is above all a unique opportunity to meet with our peers from other large companies who have embarked on social media projects. We all have - more or less - the same questions and we are also trying to solve the same issues. The council is the right place for us to pick each other’s brains and hear the answers to our questions straight from the horse’s mouth. The issues that large companies are facing are umpteen times more complex and deserve a special forum. This forum in my eyes is what the Blog Council is all about.”
- Yann Gourvennec, Orange Business Services

“As a member of Blog Council, you’re able to share, connect, and learn best practices with the top people in the industry. As leaders in the social landscape, we are frequently siloed in our own corporations, and don’t take the time to learn from others. With the Blog Council, I have the ability to build relationships with my peers who face the same opportunities and challenges I’m presented with on a daily basis.”
- Ali McCourt, Intuit

Read more testimonials like these.

FedEx uses blog to announce 2009 Super Bowl pullout

Posted by Social Media Business Council Staff on January 20, 2009

Corporate Social Media Case Study: FedEx

One of the key uses for a corporate blog is as a PR tool for getting out a message faster than a traditional press release.  When your company is one of the biggest spenders in Super Bowl advertising, it’s newsworthy when you pull out of the event.  Rather than issuing a press release for the announcement, FedEx’s Director of Advertising, Steve Pacheco wrote a post on the company’s Citizenship blog.  “As a responsible employer of more than 290,000 employees and contractors worldwide, there is a time to justify such an ad spend and a time to step back.”

Learn More:
FedEx, for the first time in 12 years, will not advertise in the 2009 Super Bowl