Social Media and the NZ 2014 Election

This is not a political blog, but it would be foolish to ignore the fact that 2014 is a general election year. In addition it takes place at a time when the use of social media to assist parties in their campaigns is accelerating.

I have found it interesting to look at how the parties are and are not using social media in 2014. As yet I cannot discern from a lay perspective whether any one party possesses the knack, nor is it clear that some of them and/or their adherents have any idea how to get it.

However, I have found this blog site, Social Media & the 2014 General Election run by Matthew Beveridge to be helpful when considering the area.

One of the reasons for my interest, apart from a general one in current affairs, is how effective marketing of ideas and brands by the parties is. Does this marketing and the use of social media in elections hold any general lessons for how business is conducted?

One concern I have, which I think social media exacerbates, especially the use of Twitter is the fact that the discussion of ideas and the exploration of issues is reduced to extremely simplistic stereotypes, indeed caricatures.  This has ominous portents, I fear, for the future of debate.

Taking a pessimistic view it is possible that Twitter has ushered in a period when debate is reduced to 140 characters of simplistic abuse in many cases and reasoned argument no longer applies. This might well be seen as aiding the rise of populist and/or extreme groups of both left and right. It enables the use of sloganeering rather than thought, in a new and more virulent form.

I would be very interested in how others see this issue.

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs is dead. A great shame for his family, friends and colleagues.

Yet I confess I find the outpourings of grief by so many somewhat OTT, and much of the media coverage equally so, for example the front page of the Dominion Post here in Wellington this week.

Jobs was a great businessman in many ways, but he was not a saint. In many ways he had the instincts of a monopolist given Apple’s success at creating a walled garden for its offerrings.

How Content and Social Media Equal Marketing Success

I came across this interesting item today regarding the use of Social Media

In this video Michael Stelzner, of Social Media  Examiner,  interviews Joe Pulizzi, author of Get Content, Get Customers. Joe is an expert in the world of content. Listen to Joe explain why you must have a content marketing strategy before you have a social media strategy. Joe connects the dots between content and social media.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

How Content and Social Media Equal Marketing Su…, posted with vodpod

If you are interested in using Social Media, then Michael Stelzner says that this video will help you consider:-

How to take your sales hat off and put on the publishing hat on

Why you need something interesting to say to say

What you need to do first before you write your report

How to add social tools in your content strategy

Why you need to know where your customers are hanging out online

How to get the most bang on your buck for your content marketing strategy

What content works best on social media

What’s changing today with regards to content marketing

Furthermore he provides a free download of  the Content Playbook (it’s free) to find 42 different content tactics you can use.

Some interesting points come out of the video and related download. Worth looking at and thinking about. In essence this is about the application of commonsense and forethought. As always understanding what your customer wants/needs is key.

Peter in Auckland 27-30 September

I will be making another foray to Auckland on the above dates.

Please let me know if you would like to make contact. Happy to discuss anything and everything with no obligation on either side.

I will be downtown in Auckland CBD in early afternoon on Monday 27, leaving on evening of Thursday 30 September.

You can contact me either by commenting on this post, or on Facebook, or the old fashioned ways email or telephone

Email:– manning.charles.assoc@gmail.com

Phone:- 021 533 651

Look forward to hearing from you

Social Media: Facebook for Manning Charles

Given my interest in Social Media, I have recently started getting to grips with Facebook.

As part of my ongoing use of the application I have created a Facebook Page for Manning Charles & Associates Ltd, my company. So o if you are on Facebook, please ‘Like‘ the page. In addition let me have any thoughts you might have on content or anything else about the page.

There is now a Facebook ‘Badge’ in the sidebar.

Thanks

The dangers of dabbling in social-media for promotional purposes

The other day I posted on the Power of Social Media and cited the case of Busted Blonde, NBR and the Veuve Cliquot competition. Yesterday I drew attention to the publication of guidance by ISACA on Social Media Risks. One factor identified by ISACA was the need to:-

Include social media training in the organization’s regular awareness communications or information security training curriculum. Users need to understand what is (and is not) appropriate and how to protect themselves and the organization when using social media.

The NBR/Veuve Cliquot incident illustrates this well. There has been considerable media comment in NZ both online and in the MSM. Much comment in NZ, often negative, was directed at NBR.

In addition there has been considerable overseas comment. Apart from press comment such as this piece by Anthony Rose in The Independent – When cliquot lost it’s Veuve, this item in a trade journal caught my eye.

Marinel FitzSimons – The Drinks Business described the situation and concluded thus:-

But the ever-effervescing temper of the bloggers has not been calmed, as the current quarrel is that she is not receiving her weight in Champagne, but in Champagne bottles.

As one blogger puts it: “[NBR] had a com­pe­ti­tion, they enlisted social media, they changed the rules and got smashed via social media. It isn’t good enough to get away with­out a penalty pay­ment, and I say they should pay her weight in Cham­pagne, as per the terms and con­di­tions, with­out the bottle.”

This tale is yet another example of the dangers of dabbling in social-media for promotional purposes.

Ms FitzSimons makes a very good point. If you are going to use Social Media, make sure you know what you are doing and why. Develop a clear strategy and understand the risks.

In this regard, I found this article- When A Social Media Campaign Goes Bad –  by Dr. Colin N. Clarke, who is a senior strategist for The Flint Group; he studies how and why people choose to consume information to be of considerable interest. At the beginning he writes:-

An interesting case study has recently emerged in New Zealand that underscores the power of social media… and how it must be wielded CAREFULLY.

Dr Clarke then backgrounds the whole affair, including some quotes from bloggers. He suggests that the original premise to harness Social Media was sound, but it failed in the execution. Indeed, just like many business projects do.

He comments:-

What is one of the most important elements of a social media strategy? TRANSPARENCY. And this is where NBR failed.

The fallout is beginning to reach a fevered pitch in New Zealand as bloggers and mainstream media are now berating NBR for its lack of transparency. True to the nature of social media, the court of public opinion is speaking out and it’s not pretty

So now a lot of media coverage, but not favourable coverage.

Dr Clarke highlights how Transparency is critical when using Social Media and concludes his piece with this:-

NBR and Veuve Clicquot opened the social media door when they created the campaign. The best move they can make now is to create extra space on the podium, include the popular vote winner and celebrate. Maybe next time they will plan their social media strategy more thoroughly, and make sure that the rule of TRANSPARENCY is heeded.

What failed social media campaigns have you experienced? How did they fail you?

EDIT – Five days after the social media eruption occurred, NBR posted this apology and awarded the popular vote winner a grand prize as well. A graceful apology with a bit of humor, it is interesting that NBR states it did not intend to “compromise transparency.” No doubt a lesson learned by NBR in how to properly engage in the social media environment.

The bold text is inserted by Dr Clarke.

This media coverage and the comment piece by Dr Clarke vividly illustrate what happens when media campaigns go wrong. When a good idea is poorly executed!

Some Thoughts:-

This case brings out a number of key issues.

1. Using Social Media not only potentially incurs technology and  related risks, but as with other initiatives incurs Business Risks. In fact in some instances, such as this one the Business Risk may be the greater risk run.

2. Social Media inititiatives should, in the same manner as other business projects, be subject to a Business Risk Assessment as part of the proposal for the project

3. Social Media campaigns must be run by people who understand the nature of the media being harnessed; or with input from same

4. The rapidity with which issues/problems can spread due to the nature of the Social Media world means that risk planning and mitigation strategies are essential.

5. As with all initiatives an appropriate governance framework should be in place, one that is flexible and responsive, with appropriate underlying processes and policies

A last word from Anthony Rose:-

It may yet well be a win-win situation though if you believe that all publicity is good publicity (ask Max Clifford). Remember when the champenois sued Yves St Laurent for calling its fragrance Champagne? It may have cost YSL a packet in legal fees, but it was nothing compared to the profits reaped from worldwide sales of Champagne, the fragrance, and publicity for the brand. Could the last laugh belong to the marketing-savvy Widow after all?

Call me cynical, but?

Usefulness of Different Social Media for Business

Came across a report today from Business.com –   2009 Business Social Media Benchmarking Study which looks at the variety of ways businesses use Social Media. This free report can be easily downloaded.

One graphic I found interesting was this one:-

Source:- 2009 Business Social Media Benchmarking Study

I was especially taken with this comment:-

“The most useful social media resource is the webinars. I feel that they offer the most, don’t demand that I travel, spend a lot of money, or even make a huge commitment of time. They are usually well focused on a topic and therefore don’t waste my time with a lot of unrelated topics.”

Personally I find podcasts and webinars very useful, especially when you can download and listen at your convenience.

The ratings are very interesting and show a clear preference at present for webinars, podcasts.

This may call into question whether time spent on LinkedIn and Facebook is time well spent>

Anyway my first comment on this material. The Business.com site has what looks like quite a lot of useful material, though one needs to make allowance perhaps for a US centric focus.

Illustrative Engagements

I have finally made the effort and put up some brief ‘snapshots’ of some illustrative engagements. I will post more in due course.

Tiger:However bad it looks, it can be turned around!

The Economist has a take on the Tiger Woods ‘affair’, in which they examine how Brand Tiger can be brought back to prominence.

An interesting look at brand management, including a comparison with how David Beckham’s people handled his issues of a similar nature.

I rather liked the conclusion to the piece:-

what seems at first to be bad publicity can be transformed. “Companies that screw up, then go into overdrive in apologising and putting the situation right end up with a much deeper customer relationship than before,” says Mr Milligan, who thinks the same can be true of Mr Woods. “He hasn’t committed a crime against humanity. He has just been caught with his pants down—which actually adds drama to his story, and could improve his long-term value.”

If he sorts out his personal life and wins some more tournaments, Mr Woods could soon be on his way to that second billion. Accenture could even start running adverts featuring a triumphant Tiger with a new slogan: “However bad it looks, it can be turned around.”

Wales seeks to lure IT firms from NZ

Simon Hendery writes in the NZ Herald on efforts by the Welsh Regional Government to attract  Kiwi IT companies to set up there and some of the inducements on offer.

At the end of the article he writes:-

Perhaps just as importantly, we should be monitoring its success to see if we can win some business back in this direction.

New Zealand may not be able to offer the proximity to the huge European market that is a key selling point for IBW, but we have other selling points that are of interest to the technology industry, including our time zone (allowing overnight delivery of services to Europe during our business hours) and the “lifestyle” benefits that attract migrants from around the world.

I was disappointed with this comment. For high tech IT firms proximity for the sales people yes, but surely we can do the R&D here,especially once we have reliable heavy duty broadband, furthermore our cost structure is surely not as high. Why do we keep quoting lifestyle, we have as well the China FTA for example and the newly concluded Malaysian one.

Looking at 2025 aspirations surely we could design an investment regime that makes it attractive to set up here, rather than say in Wales. Maybe not!