February Archives
Public call: How the U.S. Coast Guard puts social media to work; Feb 17, 2 PM (EST)
Posted by Blog Council Staff on February 12, 2009
Rear Admiral Mary Landry and Commander Ron LaBrec will be leading a public conference call, “Always Ready… and Online: How the U.S. Coast Guard Puts Social Media to Work,” as part of our Best of BlogWell series. We’ll discuss how the Coast Guard:
- Improves public safety through social media
- Uses social media both internally and externally
- Develops relationships with military bloggers
When: Feb 17, 2 PM (EST) / 1 PM (CST)
Cost: Free
Register: Click here
About the series: Best of BlogWell is a series of conference calls recapping the corporate social media case study presentations from January 22, 2009’s BlogWell in Chicago. They’re free, to the point, and provide a chance for you to ask questions to some of the world’s biggest brands on their use of social media.
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93% of social media users believe companies should be involved in social media
Posted by Blog Council Staff on February 4, 2009
This morning on GasPedal’s You Can Be a Word of Mouth Marketing Supergenius blog, we highlighted some interesting research that we wanted to share with the Blog Council community:
A September 2008 Cone Business in Social Media study concluded that 60% of Americans use social media, and of those, nearly 60% engage with companies on social sites—one in four of which interact with companies more than once per week.
The study goes on to reveal that a whopping 93% of social media users believe a company should have a presence in social media, while 85% believe that a company should not only be present but also interact with consumers.
Other findings:
- 56% of social media users feel both a stronger connection with and better served by companies when they can interact with them in a social media environment
- 43% of users believe companies should use social networks to help solve their problems
- 41% believe companies should solicit feedback on their products and services through social media
- Men are twice as likely to frequently interact with companies online than women
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Nike uses its blog to cover sporting events
Posted by Blog Council Staff on February 4, 2009
Corporate Social Media Case Study: Nike
From time to time, Nike will use its blogs to cover upcoming sporting events. In their series of posts, “The Family: Versus,” they highlight match-ups between their “family” of sponsored NBA athletes.
While they don’t cover games with the details you’d expect of an ESPN article, they offer some interesting stats and storylines behind the games.
Here’s an excerpt:
Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, arguably the two best players in the NBA, face off tonight in what will be the most explosive, high-flying, backboard-crashing, ankle-breaking game of the new year.
The last time the two met in January 2008, LeBron put on a show with 41 points in the Cleveland’s close victory over L.A., earning his place at the top of the food chain. LeBron and the Cavs then went on to face Boston in the Eastern Conference semifinals, but fell after 7 grueling games.
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Clarifying mainstream news through a corporate blog
Posted by Blog Council Staff on February 3, 2009
Corporate Social Media Case Study: Toyota
Traditional responses to the media (if any at all) often require a press release or a press conference. But a corporate blog allows companies to quickly respond to clear up misinformation or simply state their side of an issue, which is exactly what Jon F. Thompson was able to do through Toyota’s Open Road blog in his post, “MPG Race is Good for Everyone“:
“Ford, Toyota squabble about ‘midsize’ hybrids,” reads the headline in a recent issue of USA Today.
Well, fine, but it’s not exactly a squabble. What’s going on here is that we respectfully and cordially disagree on the definition of a midsize car. This is important when we’re discussing the EPA fuel-economy ratings of vehicles like the Camry Hybrid, the Prius and the Ford Fusion.
Continue reading Jon’s response.
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Facebook in the enterprise
Posted by Blog Council Staff on February 2, 2009
On the Orange Business Services blog, Rob Evans describes how he envisions Facebook playing an integral role in businesses everywhere.
His ideas include:
- Using Facebook’s built-in instant messaging capabilities
- Allowing employees to network through their interests as listed on their profiles
- Sharing business documents (including photos)
- Setting up Facebook groups for team projects and discussions
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OpenSkies opens its blog up to questions
Posted by Blog 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.
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Live blogging your corporate party
Posted by Blog 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:
King Cake! Get Your King Cake!
Electric Slide Occurring in Gate B7
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How to thank the people who tweet about you
Posted by Blog 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):
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In the words of our guests: BlogWell highlights
Posted by Blog 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.”
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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.”
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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.”
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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.”
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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.”
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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.”
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UPS uses video to offer a behind-the-scenes look at their testing labs
Posted by Blog 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.
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