Aflac: Cooked Duck

During our Google+ Hangout with Mark W. Schaefer (@markwschaefer on Twitter) on Tuesday evening, I asked him which social media platform or strategy he recommended to increase traffic to our blogs for our graduate course.  His quick response was, “Twitter!”  He explained that companies of all sizes can use Twitter to attract passionate influencers, connect with them, and turn them into brand influencers (Schaefer, 2015).  Celebrities are often used by companies to influence consumers and connect with them to like a specific brand, product, etc.  Most of the time they are helping the company, but sometimes they create negative publicity.

This was the case when Aflac Insurance fired Gilbert Gottfried for insensitive jokes he tweeted related to the Japanese earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan back in March 2011.

“Japan is really advanced.  They don’t go to the beach. The beach comes to them.”

“I was talking to my Japanese real estate agent.  I said, ‘Is there a school in this area.’  She said, ‘Not now, but just wait.”

 

It's not surprising that Aflac fired him for being offensive, but also because the company does 75% of its business in Japan!  Although there was an uproar and a lot of negative publicity surrounding Gottfried’s comments, Aflac didn’t suffer too badly.  They fired him almost immediately and gave the International Red Cross 100 million yen ($1.2M) to aid in disaster relief (CNN-WireStaff, 2011). 

Everyone can appreciate a good joke and likes to laugh, but never at the expense of someone else or at the risk of damaging the brand of a major company…especially one you work for!  I would have taken the same exact actions that Michael Zuna did, Aflac’s senior vice president and chief marketing office, and fired Gottfried.  Not doing so could’ve been detrimental to the company because it conducts ~75% of its business in Japan.

I was not able to find any information related to Aflac’s social media marketing policy or guidelines; however, I agree with Scott.  “Rather than focus on putting guidelines on blogs and other social media like Facebook and Twitter (the technology), it is better to focus on guiding the way people behave” (Scott, 2013).

If used properly and efficiently, social media can be used to strategically influence customers and other influencers, possibly resulting in free marketing.  It is important for companies to have social media guidelines in place to limit undesirable publicity or sentiment.  Otherwise, be prepared for a marketing roller coaster ride...

 

Works Cited

CNN-WireStaff. (2011, March 11). Comedian Gilbert Gottfried fired as voice of Aflac duck. Retrieved from CDD: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/BUSINESS/03/14/georgia.aflac.duck/

Schaefer, M. W. (2015, February 24). Google+ Hangout w/ Mark W. Schaefer. (M. C. Class, Interviewer)

Scott, D. M. (2013). The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to use social media, online video, mobile applications, blogs, news releases, & viral marketing to reach buyers directly. (4 ed.). Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Wk. 4 - Utilizing the web & social media to attract target audiences' attention

Welcome to week 4, Group 4!  Only five more weeks to go.

This week's assigned readings focus on utilizing the web and social media to attract target audiences' attention to companies, products, causes, websites, etc.  Using web-based communications to reach buyers directly is critical in today’s market.  David Meerman Scott states, “I’m fond of thinking of the web as a city — it helps make sense of each aspect of online life and how we create and interact.  Corporate sites are the storefronts on Main Street peddling wares” (Scott, 2013, p. 54).  The web is like a city, but a giant city that can be hard to navigate if you don’t have the right directions or tools to get you where you need to go.  If the directions aren’t clear or your sign isn’t catchy, it’ll be hard for people to find your store/company/website.

It is also important to be present on the web where your customers are.  That way you can track their interests, what they’re saying, likes/dislikes, and other key decision-making data.  Scott mentions, “If you actively participate in the online communities that your customers frequent, you will earn their sympathy and patience when things go wrong” (Scott, 2013, p. 67).

 Your tasks: 

1)     Complete this week’s assigned readings in our week 4 ‘Lesson’: Unit Two Social Media Plans.

2)     Choose a company, institution (college/hospital/or similar), cause, product, or campaign (other than Starbucks, as it was used as an example in Scott, Ch.11, You Are What You Publish: Building Your Marketing and PR Plan) and create a blog post to convey how they excel using social media to attract and infiltrate their various target markets.  You may also choose one that does the complete opposite, does a poor job of using social media for marketing, and create a new marketing plan for the company to improve.

Talking points:

1)     Explain why you chose the example you did.

2)     What is the focal point?  If you’re not able to identify what it is, how could they change this?

3)     Identify and discuss the target market(s).

4)     Which platforms do they use well, or should they use?

5)     If they have a website, is it appealing and does it do the trick?  If not, why and how would you improve it?

6)     Discuss the strengths/weaknesses.

7)     Make recommendations for improvement.

8)     Discuss and reference any data you’re able to find.

 

If you have any questions regarding the assignment, please reach me using any of the contact info provided in the Wiki, or by posting them as ‘replies’ in our week 4 ‘Forum.’  I’ve already spoken with Mary via text.

The assignment can also be found on my blog here: https://andrewthemaher.blogspot.com/b/post-preview?token=AFShc0sBAAA.U_2VIycwEL23o2Um6xmw7g.ETVJAXuEFCQ86UK0nTW9cA&postId=5941212302048709450&type=POST 

I look forward to reading your posts and communicating with one another as the week unfolds.  Good luck!!

 

Works Cited

Scott, D. M. (2013). The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to use social media, online video, mobile applications, blogs, news releases, & viral marketing to reach buyers directly. (4 ed.). Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

 

 

Listening 2.0: Shaving Time & Simplifying Sentiment

 

In Likeable Social Media Dave Kerpen said, “Communication is 50 percent listening and 50 percent talking.  Yet for many years, companies large and small have done a disproportionate amount of talking, shouting even.  Customer service representative, marketing researchers, and focus group organizers may listen, but budgets for these “listening” activities amount to little compared to the money spend on mass media “talking.”  For the first time in our history, now, through social media, companies can listen at scale to conversations about them and their competitors” (Kerpen, 2011, p. 14).

Listening 2.0 is about making others feel listened to and understood.  In the past, companies have relied on relied on word-of-mouth, surveys on receipts, and email generated surveys.  Today, they’re able to collect feedback instantaneously via the internet; more specifically, through social media.  Social media has allowed businesses to obtain real-time insight into consumer sentiment about their particular brand, products, and solutions.  An article by McKinsey & Co., "The rise of the networked enterprise: Web 2.0 finds its payday" stated, ‘companies that use social media intensively and integrate it both internally and externally, enjoy greater market share and higher profit margins’ (McKinsey&Company, 2010).

Scenario:  You are the social media head of a new men’s razor that was launched 2 weeks ago all around the USA.  The Vice President of Communication noticed several negative comments on the social Web as well as dozens of unanswered positive comments throughout the social Web but specifically when typing in Google the word Razor or new men’s products.  The VP realizes that action is required in order to better listen and respond to customers who bought or are planning on buying the new razor.

How do you achieve this and hit a home-run with the new VP of Communications?  SAP SocialMedia Analytics by Netbase, a product of SAP.  SAP Social Media Analytics by Netbase helps SAP customers combine traditional business intelligence with social media analytics to find new and valuable insights, such as: positive or negative sentiment about a brand or product; extracts consumer perceptions from the various social media platforms for analysis; understands buzz, sentiment, passion, intensity, and conversation drivers; identify important social conversations and people; fully understand your customers; respond intelligently and consistently within minutes; leverage the entire organization to assist customers.  Social media is a powerful tool.  Whereas before it would take time for bad sentiment to spread via word-of-mouth, nowadays millions can see it instantaneously, as it spreads throughout the different social media platforms. 
 

 

Now let’s relate the scenario to a real-life example.  A new razor company, Shave & Save, has just launched a new 6-blade razor and a new after-shave that smells like the ocean.  For whatever reason, a few men with negative sentiment have spread their hatred of the combined products across social media, saying it’s expensive and the after-shave is ‘eh.’ Shave and Save can collect that sentiment using Social Media Analytics by Netbase and reach out to these men and make amends, or defend their brand in various ways.  Similarly, Shave & Save can act on positive sentiment by extending discounts or coupons to frequent customers.  As most new companies are short on staffing, Shave & Save can spend less on having many employees monitor the different social media platforms and more on sales and research & development.

 

Listening no longer means being immersed in a face-to-face conversation.  People are conversing globally, in real-time, and are utilizing many different platforms to do so.  Again, listening 2.0 is about making others feel listened to and understood.  A new razor company could thrive or die based on its position out of the gate.  SAP Social Media Analytics by Netbase provides a 21^st century solution for Shave & Save by giving it the data it needs to make real-time decisions, become a best-run business, and win!
 

 

Works Cited

Corporate, S. (2015). Products: Social Media Analytics by Netbase. Retrieved from SAP: http://www.sap.com

Kerpen, D. (2011). likeable social media. The McGraw-Hill Companies.

McKinsey&Company. (2010, December). The rise of the networked enterprise: Web 2.0 finds its payday. Retrieved from The rise of the networked enterprise: Web 2.0 finds its payday: http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/high_tech_telecoms_internet/the_rise_of_the_networked_enterprise_web_20_finds_its_payday

SAPInsidePresales. (2012, November 8). SAP Social Media Analytics by Netbase: Turning Insight into Action. Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqd0DYWNuSc