Archive for category Community Management Values

Cause Marketing Contests: Less Money, More Value

Posted by Will in Community Management Values, Rules of Engagement on January 25th, 2010

vote-for-pedro

It seems odd to critique a program that just gave $5,000,000 to non-profits, but that’s exactly what I’m about to do. The Chase Community Challenge ended on Friday with some happy people and more controversy. You’re connected to the Challenge if you ever dated someone in high school who was a friend of a friend who went on to be the cousin of a guy’s college roommate who started a non-profit. Such connections earned you dozens of emails, facebook messages and tweets begging for your vote. As much as I appreciate Chase donating so much money to so many non-profits (100 were whittled down from 5,000) and as much as I don’t actually mind voting for people who ask me, there was a misfire here. The non-profits that enter these contests must be happy or things tend to go poorly. Remember: they’re more than purveyors of positive sentiment, they’re also the loudest when they feel wronged or unhappy. You have to leave them happy and moneygrabs aren’t the best way to do that.
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Sincerely, SocialHerder

Posted by Will in Community Management Values, Rules of Engagement on May 18th, 2009

Your Customers Know the Difference

Your Customers Know the Difference

An increasing number of companies rightfully see social media and online communities as an opportunity to grow their brand, name and bottom-line. The question is, “how?” and the answer is surprisingly simple:

Listen, engage and (please) be sincere.  

Companies that listen to, engage and show a sincere desire to connect grab headlines. It’s not rocket science. It’s how we hope people socially interact with us throughout the day, whether we’re in line at the grocery store or online checking status updates.

The beauty of social media and online communities is that they give companies the unique chance to listen, engage and provide a sincere voice to the world every second of the day. It’s an amazing opportunity. Whereas Coca-Cola always had a brand, they now have a potential voice in the conversation. Coca-Cola, Comcast or Southwest can all talk with their customers and they all have a chance to leave those customers feeling good about their company. Does anyone doubt that Zappos is a stronger company due to the wildly engaging, witty and sincere voice their CEO, Tony Hsieh, gives them on Twitter?

For those companies trying to navigate the confusing world of “social media strategy,” we at SocialHerder would argue that the easiest part is knowing how to do it. The challenge comes in finding the right people with the skills to listen, engage and (yes) be sincere.  

 

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