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Lucy Nixon

Lucy Nixon

5 Ways to Use Twitter to Enhance Your Business Reputation

I invited Danny Gallagher to contribute a post today about social media and business reputation.

five-keys

Social media and the business world have become just as intertwined as having a website or a phone number. It not only helps a business establish their online reputation, but it also makes it easier for businesses to reach and communicate with their customers.

However, it can also present a serious downside if it’s not used properly. Reputation.com founder Michael Fertik once said in a New York Times article, “The Internet has become the go-to resource to destroy someone’s life online, which in turn means their offline life gets turned upside too.”

Here are some ways to make sure that your Twitter account is working for your business rather than against it.

1. Make time to regularly post to your Twitter account

It’s easy to let your Twitter account go unused if you don’t make time to post tweets and interact with your followers. That’s why it’s important to set aside some time in your daily schedule to maintain and update your account to show your customers and followers that someone is still steering the ship.

2. Use Twitter to interact with your customers

The key to achieving good customer service in any business is to make yourself as accessible as possible to your customer base. Twitter can make it much easier for your customers to reach your business and answer their questions and concerns.

It’s not a complete replacement for your traditional customer service process, but it can enhance the customer service strategies you already have in place.

3. Update your customers

Another way Twitter can enhance how your business interacts with your customers is how it can update them on the latest news about your business. Twitter collects all the accounts a person follows and compiles their tweets, retweets, and responses in real time.

Sending out updates on your business can help keep some of your core customers in the loop in addition to traditional means of communications such as websites and mailing lists, depending on your business’s traditional means of communication.

4. Attract new customers

Twitter loves to suggest accounts to possible interested followers, and if you can utilize your Twitter account to its fullest, you can attract new followers through these means, which can eventually lead to new customers.

The key is to make your Twitter account do more than just advertise your business. It needs to be more focused, personal, and communicative. Simply talking about your business can label your Twitter account as spam and can lead to block requests, which can mean a drop in your online reputation.

It’s not a hard problem to avoid. You should treat your customers on Twitter the same way you would treat them in person.

5. Learn the Twitter lingo

The real key to using Twitter is learning how other users interact with each other. Twitter is one of the simpler means of online social media. Since it limits updates to a fixed number of characters, it forces you to learn how to communicate online.

You shouldn’t try to use a lot of these special characters and phrases unless you’re comfortable with them. It’s better to know how your customers use them so you can respond accordingly.

Twitter is just like any other form of social media. It can help or hinder your business depending on how you use it. However, the positive benefits definitely outweigh the negative if you use it correctly – and you’ll never benefit from it if you don’t try to use it at all.

Thanks Danny!

Danny Gallagher is a freelance writer, blogger, and reporter who fully realizes the importance of maintaining a positive online reputation.

5 Proven Ways Content Can Connect With An Online Audience

all-about-you
What’s the best way to make an audience remember your product?

Make it about them.

This may seem fairly obvious – after all, it’s common knowledge that marketing a product in ways that relate to a target audience is certainly effective marketing practice.

But why?

The explanation lies in the Self-Reference Effect. The Self–Reference Effect is the tendency for people to remember information about themselves more than information that does not pertain to their needs, interests, or goals. In other words, memories that pertain directly to a person are held the longest and recalled the easiest.[1] This has substantial implications for corporate website content.

The Layers of the Mind – The Mechanisms Of The Self-Reference Effect

The Self-Reference Effect actually has its roots in the work of researchers Craik and Tulving, who found that people remember (or don’t remember) things based upon how deeply their mind processes information. They explain that memory has layers, and people remember things longer, and recall them easier, when these things are processed at the deepest layer. In contrast, things that are remembered at a shallow level are quickly washed away and forgotten.[2]

Therefore, in order for your product to be memorable, it must be processed at a deeper level. But how can this can be accomplished through website content?

The “It’s All About Me” Effect

Building upon the work of Craik and Tulving, subsequent researchers have isolated the most effective way to present products in ways that foster deep level processing. More specifically, it seems that personally relevant information is processed at the deepest of levels. The more personally relevant a piece of information, the deeper it will be processed. And the deeper it is processed, the longer it will reside in memory.[1]

The Self-Reference Effect plays a key role in consumer attitudes toward the products and the marketing techniques that promote them. For example, research shows that an audience relates more to models that are similar in ethnicity.[3] One study showed that Asian consumers were more likely to purchase non-Asian products when it was endorsed by an Asian model.[4]

These two examples show the power of audience connection. In order to make a product memorable, then corporations must, above all things, make it relatable. And they can do so through the content of their website.

How To Use Website Content To Boost The Self-Reference Effect

Below are several guidelines that can be applied to website content to enhance the Self-Reference Effect:[5]

  1. Prompting – Prompt readers to think about themselves with statements such as: “Think back to the last time you…” Then follow it with relevant product information. This will generate a connection between product and consumer.
  2. Slice-Of-Life Statements – Discuss a problem that is common to your audience. This will pique their interest and solidify a personal connection to your product.
  3. Gender Role Portrayals – Determine which gender your product relates to and create content about your product that is tailored to their interests and reading styles.
  4. It’s All About ‘You’ – Using the word ‘you’ in online content is surprisingly powerful. Refrain from using the pronoun “I” which detracts the reader’s attention from themselves. Also, writing in second person has been found to be more effective than third-person testimonials.
  5. The Power of a Question – Ask the audience a question that links a product benefit to their needs. For example, a milk company may ask: “Are you getting enough calcium in your diet?”

Try implementing these simple techniques into your online content. This can be in the form of blogs, website content, Tweets, posts, etc. Doing so will make your product both memorable and marketable.

 

References

[1] Rogers, TP, Kuiper, NA, & Kirker, WS (1977) Self-reference and the encoding of personal information.

[2] Craik, FIM, Tulving, E (1975) Depth of processing and the retention of words

[3] Martin, Lee, & Fernandez (2002) Using self referencing to explain the effectiveness of ethnic minority models in advertising

[4] Martin, Kwai-Choi Lee, & Yang (2006) The influence of ad model ethnicity and self referencing upon attitudes: Evidence from New Zealand

[5] Debevec, K, Spotts, HE, Kernan, JB (1987) The self-reference effect in persuasion implications for marketing strategy

Stewardship and the Supply Chain

chain

The Chief Executive of Tesco, Philip Clarke is on a mission to reinvent the supermarket experience. The ambitious venture comes after Tesco was rocked, like many supermarkets around Britain, by the horse-meat scandal.

In response to the wave of criticism Tesco have been doing its best to clean up their image. And as part of this damage limitation exercise, Tesco have used their website to great effect. Through a video and a blog the CEO Philip Clarke has articulated a message of genuine remorse and made very real pledges to right the wrong.

At the core of all of this has been Tesco’s vow that they have a “responsibility to lead on the issue.”

And a clear lead they have taken. Through the video and blog we have seen that the Tesco response to the horse-meat debacle has been threefold.

tesco-horsemeatFirstly, the supermarket chain has gone back to the drawing board and completely redrawn how the food supply chain should be managed. CEO, Philip Clarke has said that Tesco will go right back up the supplier chain to re-establish trust and ensure visibility and transparency. As part of this drive Tesco will also create a world class traceability and DNA testing system.

Secondly, Tesco have pledged to create a new website that will give real meaning to the first pledge to guarantee trust and transparency throughout the supply chain. The goal is to take Tesco website users right into the farm and factories and up close and personal with farmers and factory workers.

By giving customers a window into the supply chain process Tesco has set off into virgin territory. The idea is both exciting and revolutionary and really sets a new water mark for the supermarket industry.

Thirdly, Tesco has promised that if they ever have to remove products again they will ensure that there will be suitable substitute products available at no extra cost.

These have been difficult times for everyone involved in the food industry. Not just Tesco. Mistakes were made and regulatory gaps were exploited. And so lessons must be learnt and changes must be made.

To bring about change, the food industry needs one thing: leadership. And that’s where Tesco has come in. By taking a robust and imaginative lead, Tesco has reimagined the way that food goes from the farm gate to plate, and demonstrated stewardship.

What is Innovation Governance?

Previous posts explained the growing importance of innovation governance and that it is not getting enough attention by Boards and C-Suite executives. Now let’s take a closer look at just what it is.

I think a good start is perhaps the world expert on the subject, Emeritus Professor Jean-Philippe Deschamps at the IMD Business School. He states:

Innovation governance provides a frame that defines the mission, focus and implementation of innovation in the company. It starts with establishing a set of policies regarding the scope of innovation and addressing a number of questions dealing with both ‘content’ (i.e. projects) and ‘process’ (i.e. approaches and responsibilities).

Seems similar to corporate governance? Yes it is. Some describe innovation governance as a subset of corporate governance. Perhaps, but I believe that since innovation transcends all corporate departments and directly impacts risk and performance, it should be embedded within corporate governance. In my eBook Everything You Need to Know About Business Creativity and Innovation, I outline a typical corporate innovation process and now indicate which components have corporate governance implications–

Innovation Process ComponentsCorporate Governance Implications
To create a safe space for innovation, CEOs must invest in creating an environment that allows innovation to thrive while encouraging employees to feel comfortable taking calculated risksYES
Teach senior management and project team members the mind-sets and behaviors that foster disruptive growthYES
Provide employees with a process manual, a step-by-step guide to creating ideas and innovation. The manual includes overarching principles as well as detailed procedures and templates to help teams describe opportunities, identify requirements for success, monitor progress, make go/no go decisions, and work with integrityYES
Offer employee creativity training
Create an innovation strategy: innovation activities should be focused around achieving corporate goals and that identifies how innovation will build on current success to achieve corporate goalsYES
Stimulate ideas: innovation opportunities are everywhere, sometimes hiding just below the surface
Create programs to trigger employees, customers and partners to contribute innovation ideas that align with the innovation strategy goals
Identify the best opportunities: the benefits of innovation are increased by focusing on the best opportunities. Develop criteria to evaluate innovation opportunities and create an open selection process to decide which to implement. Ensure that the few projects selected are properly resourced and implemented in a timely fashion with results communicated to stakeholdersYES
Implement with speed: innovations only provide value when they are implemented. Failure to implement good ideas promptly is one of the biggest barriers to building an innovation culture
Provide incentives and rewards: show employees that their contribution is valued, both for good ideas and successful implementation. Make sure that failures are seen as learning opportunities, not causes for punishment. Recognizing innovators sends other employees a powerful signal that innovation is something that the company greatly valuesYES
C-level managers must walk the talk: a corporate push to innovate loses its momentum quickly if the inspirational words are not backed up with action
Measure the performance of the innovation process itself and look for opportunities to refine and improve itYES

This indicates that innovation should be an important component of corporate governance.

Back to Professor Deschamps who recommends the following responsibility elements for innovation governance:

  • Defining roles and ways of working around the innovation process
  • Defining decision power lines and commitments on innovation
  • Defining key responsibilities of the main players
  • Establishing the set of values underpinning all innovation efforts
  • Making decisions that define expectations
  • Defining how to measure innovation
  • Making decisions on innovation budgets
  • Orchestrating, balancing and prioritizing innovation activities across divisions
  • Establishing management routines regarding communications and decisions.

Next we will look at the vital leadership role of the Board and the C-Suite in advancing innovation governance in the enterprise.

Mozilla Celebrates Brand Promise with 15 Years of a Better Web

Mozilla Firefox browser iconsOn March 31, 1998, the Mozilla Project launched at Netscape with a mission to, “offer choice to users and drive innovation on the web.” That’s according to Mozilla’s list of 15 facts about what the organization has been doing over the past 15 years to achieve its goals of promoting “openness, opportunity, and opportunity on the internet.”

Mozilla is a non-profit that relies on volunteers and open innovation to deliver products like Firefox. Contributors and donors are located on every continent and have helped to translate Firefox into 89 languages. That means more than 95% of the world’s population can use Firefox. Clearly, Mozilla’s mission is working.

Ten years after The Mozilla Project launched, Mozilla set a Guinness World Record for the most downloads of a software program in a single day. On June 7, 2008, which was promoted as Firefox 3 Download Day, 8,002,530 downloads of Firefox 3 were recorded establishing Firefox’s popularity and strength as a relationship brand.

Here are some highlights from the list of facts about Mozilla to show you how far this organization and its efforts have grown since 1998:

  • More than 10,000 contributors supported Mozilla when it launched Firefox 1.0 in 2004 by paying for a full-page ad in The New York Times.
  • Over 3 million Firefox Add-ons have been downloaded by users so far.
  • More than 2 million visitors use the Mozilla Developer Network community each month to access online documentation, tutorials, tools, and more.
  • Firefox OS will launch in 2013 for smartphone users.

Mozilla and its Firefox product grew because the company set brand expectations and consistently met those expectations again and again. Today, Firefox is still the second most popular web browser based on market share (behind Internet Explorer 10 and ahead of Google Chrome).

It’s been 15 years since The Mozilla Project launched, and the organization’s mission to keep the web open and accessible to all is just as relevant today as it was in 1998. As long as the brand continues to consistently meet consumers’ expectations based on its first 15 years of shaping consumer perceptions, the organization should continue to grow and thrive. With all of those thousands of volunteers, contributors, and donors, combined with millions of users around the world, the future is bright for Mozilla.

Image: Philippe Ramakers

5 Ways to Turn Employees into Vocal Online Brand Advocates

employee-brand-advocatesA company’s employees are its most powerful brand advocates, but few companies know how to effectively empower their employees to advocate their brands. Learning how to do it should be a top priority for every company and brand, particularly for generating online brand advocacy where the reach and influence of your employees could be significant.

Of course, employees have to be happy and have to believe in the brand promise in order to want to advocate it to their own connections and online audiences. That’s where a company needs to start — with a focus on internal brand building.

Next, you need to give your employees the tools they need to advocate your brand in the ways you want them to. This is particularly important for workforces that are spread out in multiple locations. Using a tool like the employee advocacy software from Expion can help you manage the process, but you need to create your strategy and brand advocacy plan first.

You can’t expect your employees will know what to do. It’s up to you to guide them to advocate the brand properly. To help you get started, following are five ways you can turn your employees into vocal brand advocates online:

1. Give your employees the messages you want them to share.

What do you want your employees to say about your brand in their online conversations? What messages would make them proud to share information about their company and your brand? Can you give them messages that would be useful and meaningful to their friends, family, and online connections? Don’t assume they’ll relay every message you give them, and don’t give them sales-oriented messages. Very few employees will want to broadcast marketing and sales messages from their employer to their connections, but many will want to share useful information.

2. Give your employees the content you want them to talk about and share.

Beyond giving your employees messages, give them actual content to talk about and share online. This includes videos, infographics, images, slideshows, ebooks, and so on. This content should be meaningful, useful, or entertaining or none of your employees will share it. The goal for employee brand advocacy should be to build brand awareness across wider audiences that can lead to sales at a relatively low cost . With that in mind, keep self-promotion to a minimum. Focus on brand storytelling and tapping into emotions in your content, so people will want to share it.

3. Acknowledge your employees who actively advocate your brand online.

Don’t let your employees’ brand advocacy activities go unnoticed. Respond to them online. Acknowledge them offline as well. This acknowledgement should include company recognition and personal appreciation on a one-to-one basis. They’ll have more motivation to continue talking about your brand if they feel appreciated for their efforts.

4. Show your employees the results of their online brand advocacy efforts.

If your employees’ online brand advocacy efforts are showing measurable results, make sure they’re aware of the effects their activities are having on the brand and company. They’ll feel more motivated to keep up their efforts knowing that those efforts are actually having an impact.

5. Reward your employees who actively advocate your brand online.

If you can tie brand advocacy efforts back to individual employees, then you should have a method in place to not just acknowledge those employees but also to reward employees who are extremely active or driving real results for the company through their efforts. This is essential if you can tie employee advocacy efforts directly to sales and revenues. Internal brand advocacy can help your company drive word-of-mouth marketing at a fraction of the cost other marketing initiatives would require, so make sure you reward your top employee influencers whose advocacy leads directly to sales.

Image: Svilen Milev