Unevenlane presents the second concert in its debut season. Featuring works from Director Mary Lane, the concert will include performances of “Three Steps” and “What RU Missing” which was commissioned by The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as part of Performing Arts for Everyone and the Millennium Stage. “Three Steps” and “What RU Missing” were performed at the Kennedy Center and more recently as part of a dance concert in Lexington, VA featuring the Moving Arts Initiative. The premiere of the title work “DANCE.” will feature dancers Tina Fratello, new company member Chanel Smith, and director Mary Lane.
I first discovered Twitter in the spring when my web communication class watched the Commoncraft Twitter video. I signed up because it was free, but more than half my class thought it was a waste of time. I think by the end of the semester more people were changing their mind about the growing microblogging “fad”.
Twitter is great because it’s ability to direct followers to more information. Shel Holtz (@Shel) refers to the idea of Twitter as a table of contents or a billboard advertisement. You would never just look at a table of contents or a billboard and be satisfied; you would see the message and then go to the destination to be satisfied with an article or product. He does point out that Twitter is best when it is used for conversations. I agree because of the idea of ‘markets as conversations’ outlined in the Cluetrain Manifesto.
I recently researched how nonprofits and development organizations are using social media. Some development organizations are using Twitter to promote their mission, publications and events. Web 2.0 for Development explains how Twitter allows organizations to share information, network with stakeholders and discuss ideas with a large audience. Organizations can create dialogues with their audience asking and answering questions. Like any other social media tool, time and resources are the investment made to achieve a high return. Some of the development organizations on Twitter referenced are UNHCR, the World Food Programme, OECD, and the World Bank.
Beth Kanter (@Kanter) discusses Twitter on her blog and shares ideas about how to decide who should tweet for your organization. She suggests creating only one organizational account because of the need for several daily updates. Staffing Twitter with a team of employees may be the best way to manage an organizational account. She highlighted Co-Tweet’s Twitter account to see how each employee identifies their tweets within the account adding faces to the organization.
Employees can have personal accounts and should be encouraged to create an account to humanize the organization, but they need to remain transparent about their affiliation with the organization. An easy way to remain transparent is to identify twitter handles on the staff page of a website or web sites newsroom and to identify their affiliation in the twitter biography and website link.
There are several tools, including Hoot Suite, which can update an organizations twitter account with individual employee’s tweets about the organization. Also, Hoot Suite enables scheduling tweets ahead of time, shortened URLs and measurement options.
At IFPRI, most people rely on e-mail to send information out within the organization. An information and knowledge management specialist at IFPRI recommended this article to explain how Twitter is similar to e-mail because of the abilities to respond, retweet, mention a person or topic, and send direct messages.
Before an organization, like IFPRI, uses Twitter, a strategy must be made concerning what types of content will be tweeted and who will do the tweeting. For individual use I recommend that everyone gives Twitter a try. What’s one more social media addiction?
In the video below, Vida Killian, Dell employee, discusses Dell’s blogging strategy with Mark Ragan, CEO of Ragan Communications. Dell started blogging internally and externally in 2006. Direct2Dell, the external blog, represents the main corporate voice and within this blog, blogs on specific topics can be found. One Dell Way is Dell’s internal blog written by the internal communication department. Other internal groups, such as IT, participate in team blogs. Dell encourages all of their audiences to engage in conversation. Listen to her advice on how to create conversations with bloggers.
Vida Killian explained that Dell’s Communities and Conversations 40 member team works to listen to and monitor blogs with the software Radian 6. Dell’s team represents all backgrounds, from engineering to marketing, so that a knowledgeable and credible response will be generated. Dell measures customer sentiment through the number of negative comments found on the web and has worked hard to reduce the negative statements about Dell.
Dell has not always known how to use social media or start conversations. Jeff Jarvis, author of the blog Buzz Machine, knows how Dell had to transform its’ strategy to adhere to the growing numbers of people talking on the internet. Dell initially did not listen to their audience, including small “no name” bloggers, but finally discovered the importance of allowing interactivity into their communication strategy.
One of Dell’s most important social media applications, though perhaps not considered blogging, is Dell’s Idea Storm. The tool is an “online suggestion box” where anyone can suggest an idea for Dell and have others vote on it. Dell actually takes the time to consider the ideas with the highest votes. The Idea Storm is an alternative direct feedback blogging application created by Dell for their audience. Idea Storm brings more customer feedback directly to the Dell site. Vida Killian, manager of Dell’s Idea Storm, discusses Idea Storm with Mark Ragan and the importance of listening to your audience. Killian also discusses Employee Storm for employee suggestions.
The New Communications Review acknowledged Dell’s efforts in internal communication and provides some of Dell’s goals and figures regarding their social media efforts. Dell, a direct company, has continued with their previous programs offline, but uses their online forums to learn more about their audience. All feedback is important in the progress and reputation of a company because Dell’s reactions affect the company. Dell is working to establish online outreach and participation with social media into the culture of Dell’s employee’s.
Companies are no longer in control. This idea is very frightening for companies who are used to traditional marketing campaigns and research. Through the use of social media, consumers can promote or damage the reputation of businesses. It has become the company’s job to listen and engage consumers to maintain credibility and authenticity.
The groundswell is the social phenomenon of individuals and communities gaining power using technology. People are using Twitter, blogs and YouTube to spread messages and experiences with each other. Viral marketing creates an impact through conversations with peers. Josh Bernoff and Charlene Li, vice presidents for Forester Research, promote the idea of working with the groundswell to improve the reputation and credibility of their company.
Many companies have determined that consumers have great power over their brand and are engaging consumers through social media, especially blogs and Twitter. In earlier posts, I described several examples of companies working with the groundswell to improve their brand image through conversation and interactivity.
Southwest Airlines is a company that exemplifies the use of social media to engage with consumers.
To actively participate on “Nuts about Southwest,” a user account must be created, but everything can be read or heard without logging in to the site. Each blog post is identified by author and their job position. Employees, as well the CEO, engage in updates on the podcast, blogs and video blogs.
At the bottom of the homepage screen, there are links to YouTube, Flikr, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Southwest has created a good reputation on Twitter. With 18,364 followers, Twitter is an excellent way to communicate with their audience providing customer support, weather updates, boarding information and links to the other social media tools such as the video blog. In the blog, Read,Write,Web, Sarah Perez cites user experiences with twittering Southwest and the favorable and quick responses that were received.
In the video below, Paula Berg, manager of emerging media at Southwest Airlines discusses their performance in social media. Look for how Southwest Airlines used customer feedback on their blog and how they are using Twitter. Also, be sure to notice why there is only one Twitter manager.
Other companies and organizations should look to Southwest as a model who actively engages the consumers to provide information and customer service using social media. Southwest has many diverse options available to engage consumers effectively online. Southwest has done a good job improving its’ reputation by working with social media demonstrating trustworthiness and credibility through interactivity.
Everywhere I go, I hear people talking about Twitter. Twitter is a new social network application where you can ‘follow’ people and be ‘followed’ by those you may or may not know personally. Information is updated by answering the question, “what are you doing?’ Answers can range from a simple, “I am eating a sandwich” to providing breaking news on any type of situation. There are many opinions on whether this microblogging site really can be useful in the corporate world. Some people think the 140 character limit is too restricting, while others think it is a chance to really learn to write concise and relevant material. Twitter has only been around for three years, yet there are many companies who have turned to Twitter for extra support with their social media objectives.
According to a cision-twitter-conversation, Twitter should be used to establish relationships and create dialogues with audiences. Public relations can benefit from using Twitter because the format makes conversations simple and direct. Listen to your audience and decide if and when you should pitch an idea. If you are not trying to pitch a story, just try to find out what your audience is interested in and improve the way you communicate with them.
One company that has really explored Twitter is Zappos. An online shoe and clothing retailer, Zappos.com, has found a way to excel as a company with the help of social media. Tony Hsieh, Zappos’ CEO, uses Twitter regularly to update on anything from work travels to what he is eating to company news. The way Tony writes, as well as the links he provides, gives a personal insight into the company. On his blog, Hsieh lists the reasons he loves and appreciates Twitter.
The Zappos CEO is not the only one ‘tweeting.’ All of the Zappos employees are allowed to join Twitter and/or write for the company blogs. On Twitter, the picture identifies them as employees, so they are immediately showing transparency and authenticity with their followers.
Marshall Kirkpatrick on Read,Write,Web discusses how Zappos is using Twitter to engage with customers and provide personalities for the people working at Zappos. The post is from almost a year ago and the numbers of employees using Twitter and CEO followers has increased by a huge margin since then. Kirkpatrick discusses in depth the importance of Zappos including public brand mentions, employee tweets, employee twitpics, and employees who Twitter. Also, Hsieh has created an introduction guide for using Twitter.
As I have discovered in my previous posts, it doesn’t matter who blogs (or tweets) for your company as long as that person is willing to take on the commitment and deliver relevant information to their audience. Twitter presents a chance to really show a personality and have fun with the character limit. Zappos has found a strong personality and is recognized as an innovator in social media technology.
