Rejoice! Employee use of social networks has tripled!

Palo Alto Networks is out with its annual numbers on employee work time spent on social networks. The company’s conclusions are based on analyzing raw data from 1,600-plus companies for a seven-month period last year. Their press release on the study confirms something we already suspected: “explosive growth in global social networking and browser-based file sharing on corporate networks, with a 300 percent increase in active social networking. (e.g., posting, applications) compared with activity during the same period in the latter half of 2010.”

The press release quotes the company’s CMO, René Bonvanie, saying “Whether or not… Read More »

Zappos sticks to its values in communicating customer database breach

Zappos is a social media darling. The company’s adoption of Twitter, its encouragement of employees to engage online openly during work and CEO Tony Hsieh’s commitment to social channels are all trotted out regularly in articles, books and talks. I’m as gung-ho on Zappos’ use of social media as anybody.

One test remained, however. All of Zappos’ social activities have so far been employed in pursuit of brand building and reputation by linking those activities to the company’s customer service-focused values. But how would the company do when faced with something negative, bad publicity if not an outright crisis?

By midday today, it’s… Read More »

Why block Facebook when it increasingly offers valuable work-related resources?

I’ve been spending a lot more time than usual on Facebook lately. Two recently formed groups are the culprits. Both are work-related. The first is the home to a largely intellectual discussion of how Wikipedia can work more closely with official representatives of organizations to ensure their companies’ entries are accurate and up-to-date. Wikipedia’s founder and Wikia owner Jimmy Wales has joined the closed group and the discussions with him have been mostly respectful, with information and ideas moving in both directions. Edelman Digital Senior Vice President Phil Gomes started the group after posting an open letter to Wales about… Read More »

FIR Book Review: The Like Economy, by Brian Carter

The Like Economy: How Businesses Make Money with Facebook, by Brian Carter, is the latest book to be reviewed by FIR Book Review editor Bob LeDrew. From the book description:

“Your customers aren’t just ‘on’ Facebook: Nowadays, that’s where they’re most engaged. That’s where you need to reach them. Marketing on Facebook is no longer optional—but the field is cluttered with hype, foolishness, and ‘fake’ solutions that don’t deliver results. This book gives you what you really need: a complete, proven, step-by-step plan for maximizing your ROI on Facebook.”

Get this podcast:

• Download the MP3 file (3.84Mb, 9:31)
• Get the… Read More »

Factor Facebook into your ongoing PR efforts to increase fan interaction

Organizations continue to pour resources into getting people to like their Facebook page, even citing the number of likes as a metric. Likes are worthless, though, if a sizable number of those people don’t come back to interact on the page. Most of us have liked a page just to be able to access some piece of content or other, only to never return.

Fan engagement on your organization’s page increases the likelihood that your fans will see your status updates in their news feeds. Commenting, uploading videos and photos, participating in polls and other interactions count far more than a like in Facebook’s EdgeRank alogirithm. A fan… Read More »

A tale of two organizations’ Facebook responses to crises

Two current crises demonstrate the value of candor in an organization’s social-focused communication efforts. In both cases, nothing the organization says will keep people from being upset and unhappy. But in one instance, the company acknowledged the fact and provided an opportunity for people to vent while at the same time confining much of the discussion to comments on its own Facebook post. In the other, an attempt to minimize discussion has led to a rash of critical comments crowding its Facebook wall.

In one corner is American Airlines, which lost Jack the Cat, a pet being transported on one of its flights. When it was discovered… Read More »

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