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From time to time, we get the question “what’s the risk of not having a social media monitoring tool?” The question reveals a perception that “social media is just an add-on to other media outlets”. It’s not. Social media has a different set of rules and is reshaping entire markets.

With social media, people are engaging and interacting around context, not necessarily personal relationships. Whereas we used to connect around place (neighborhood, community, schools, associations, etc.) we now link to online personas that share our intellectual interest and emotions. For many, traditional media is no longer the main source of information. Increasingly people turn to social media looking for “someone just like like me” and consequently, many blogs and forums discussions are more important in shaping opinions and perceptions than traditional media outlets.

Likewise, PR and marketing campaigns are no longer about one-to-many communication by distributing press releases and pushing “call to action”. Via social media monitoring tools, companies connect and interact with people that have expressed interest in a particular topic.

Still, the strategy of reaching out to people of influence has not changed. PR and marketing efforts still try to connect with “trust agents” that are likely to pass on a particular message to their networks. In effect, successful campaign management is engaged in one-to-one-to-many communications. The PR or marketing message gets forwarded from one-to-one-to-many if it connects with the interests of the person receiving it, AND if it provides value to his/her network.

The main challenge for companies using social media is therefore the blurring between marketing and communication. Marketers want to use it to sell, communicators to build relationships. Of course, social media is very much about being a real member of a community and providing value, rather than just chasing the next sale. That increases the number of people a company has to deal with, requiring more time and investment in building relationships.

The effect of social media monitoring and interaction will have a profound effect on the PR and marketing industry as we know it. PR and marketing efforts is increasingly about connecting with real people and because everyone is involved in a network, it’s not just up to the people working in the PR and marketing departments. A well thought out strategy will leverage the connections of the entire organization, leaving a more profound, valuable and documentable impact than any traditional campaign could ever hope for.

Want to start listening in on social media conversations? Sign up for the free trial of the Imooty social media monitoring tool today.

In a context of online reputation management, we refer to crowdsourcing as social bookmarking or collaborative tagging. So what does that have to do with brands and brand monitoring? Well, these days, pretty much everything. The latest example comes to us from Sears, a large department store chain in the US:

A couple had just bought a freezer from a Sears store in Dripping Springs, Texas. It would be delivered directly to their home free of charge. When the Sears truck arrived, the family dog, Toot, ran out to investigate the new visitor. As the truck was about to a stop, a loud yelp was heard. Toot had been run over and died shortly thereafter.

Understandably, the dog’s mom was upset and went to see the store owner. She wanted to bring closure to the tragic event. The owner apologized, but went on to say that it was not Sears fault. It was the couple had let the dog out in the yard. This did not help the woman to find closure and when she got home, her husband was unhappy about how Sears had treated her.

He called the store, the owner repeated that it was the couples fault, the dog should have moved. He would have been wiser in offering an apology without placing the blame on a distraught customer.

The couple bought a domain name, SearsKilledMyDog.com and created a website telling about their experience. Once live, they forwarded it to their friends and family, and posted it on Facebook. As with any viral story, the response was immediate. Within 24 hours, their website was generating heavy traffic, and the tragic tale was trending as number 1 on Reddit while becoming a Twitter phenomenon via The Consumerist.

At this point Sears customer service entered to execute online reputation management and active damage control. High level executives called the couple personally to apologize and offer restitution for pain and suffering. The couple felt they had been heard and the SearsKilledMyDog.com website was taken down. Next, Sears added their voice to the conversation raging at The Consumerist. They requested to add a response in the article itself;

“We are very sorry about the loss of the dog of a devoted Sears customer. As soon as we heard about this (which was at 5 PM CT on Dec-11-2009), our team acted swiftly to contact the customer who purchased the freezer from our Hometown Store in Dripping Springs, Texas. In fact, Will Powell, our business unit President, spoke to the customer just before 7 PM CT on Dec-11-2009 and extended our apologies and the customer graciously accepted. As a symbol of our deep regret for the accident, we offered to reimburse him for the cost of his dog as well as to refund the original sale.”

After the update, Sears identified the people with most influence who had Tweeted the article and sent them a link with the update. This enabled 3rd parties to post an update to the article via their own accounts, adding online reputation management credibility since such re-tweets would not come from Sears directly.

The conventional definition of crowdsourcing is that it is the completion of tasks that normally would be performed by in-house employees or contractors, and out-sourcing them to a random set of people (that’s the crowd). The Sears story shows how the term applies to online reputation management too. With engagement, sincerity and personal interaction, Sears was able to turn the negative crowdsourcing around to a positive.

Feel like getting started with online reputation management? Sign up for a free Imooty.eu trial today!

Interest in Imooty’s online monitoring tool has picked up significantly over the past few weeks. As we launched the BASIC service in October, we were targeting the small and medium sized enterprise segment, however, we were soon approached by large companies looking for a user friendly environment to collect media intelligence.

Over the next few weeks we will test our online monitoring PRO features in a private Beta. The new version is scheduled to launch commercially in March of 2010. Imooty PRO will include a online monitoring team platform, semantic search and a information categorization tool. Please drop us a line if you’d like to participate in the Beta!
Looking back at 2009 we collected a wealth of practical experience from which we will benefit (hopefully) in 2010. In terms of theoretical knowledge, the most valuable read was without a doubt “Getting Real” by 37 Signals, mandatory reading for anyone developing an IT tool…

Want to start with online monitoring and don’t know how? Go to Imooty.eu and register for our free trial!

An important element of Online Reputation Management is developing a social media policy for your employees. Social media behavior can certainly  influence how your brand or company is being perceived.

Traditionally, creating a “policy” focuses on restricting action, i.e. outlining things that cannot be done. However, the whole point with social media is engaging your customer! Therefore, in the interest of promoting engagement, focus on what contributors CAN do.

First, make sure that the idea of community is well understood. The idea is to participate in a network where you can support others that in turn will support you. It should be a place where people will be comfortable with connecting, sharing experiences and asking for advice.

Transparency will play a major role in establishing trust and finding the balance between personal and professional information will be the main challenge. Still, transparency does not mean unrestricted sharing of company trade secrets for example. Employee’s are obliged to protect confidential information.

Also, make sure your employees understand that they will bear full responsibility for what’s being contributed. There’s no implied right to say stupid things under a disguise of “self expression”. Sure, it’s all good to share your opinions online, however, contributors need to consider each audience and ensure that statements will not be misunderstood as narrow minded or discriminating.

Specifically, contributors need to understand that what their social media activities will be part of the company’s overall online reputation management. Their actions will influence how they are being viewed within the organization, as well as how external parties will perceive company culture. Make it clear that their activities will be part of  your company’s overall social media monitoring efforts.

Finally, provide value to your community! Many companies seem to have a hard time speaking about anything else than their products and services… Find topics that connect to the bigger picture, such as general industry news, developments and FAQ’s.

Want to try Imooty’s Online Reputation Management tool? Sign up for a 4 week FREE trial at Imooty.eu!

Online reputation monitoring has become a standard tool in a PR industry constantly adjusting to change. One commonly hears that new tools and practices have everything to do with changes in technology. But is that really true?

Sure, technology has pushed a paradigm shift on traditional media. Long gone are the days when radio, TV and newspaper’s had a monopoly on expressing opinions. However, sudies show that the main change taking place is sociological.

PR professionals are faced with the task of reaching out to a new generation of youngsters that grew up online. Their perception is one of suspicion to anything that smells like “official” opinion or advertising. Forget about conventional press releases, their opinion-makers are bloggers and fellow members in online communities. They are media savvy, value honesty, transparency and engagement.

In order to reach an online community, you have to join in as an exited and engaged participant - welcome to the new PR, a.k.a. community management!

As a PR consultant you will advise community managers (a full time in-house position) on how to conduct online reputation monitoring, participate in community forums discussions and interact with bloggers. Look for a community manager that has:

• ability to reach out to people, “step into the other person’s shoes” and build trust
• deep knowledge of product/service details and problem resolution skills
• an understanding of the organization’s social media goals and ability to communicate strategically to achieve them

In other words, it’s not the geeky knowledge of all the latest social media tools and platforms that makes for a competent community manager. Social media is all about people skills and being able to execute according to strategic goals. More than anything, this means investing in someone who will refrain from responding reactively and with impulse.

Have you started with online reputation monitoring yet? Register for a free trial with Imooty.eu now!

In a recent survey of over 2000 German media intelligence professionals, respondents answered questions centering on three topics; impact felt from the financial meltdown, gender issues and professional ethics.

Not surprisingly, it is the media intelligence professionals from the automotive and metalworking industry that are hardest hit by financial crisis. Particularly challenging is a rising communication need (45%) combined with a decrease in available resources (30%). The average yearly income has furthermore decreased with €6500 compared to 2007. Challenges are a further focus on added value communication aspects (36%), concentration on legitimation over image related aspects (35%), intensified internal communication (21%) and increased efficiency control (29%).

The media intelligence profession furthermore see an increase in female practitioners. In 2007 53% were men, whereas in 2009 we see a 50/50 split. For professionals under 30, 78% are female and between 30-39, 55%. As the professionals come of age, over 40, we see increasing male dominance.  For those over 50 there is a 2:1 ratio between male/female practitioners. On average women earn ca. €22.500 less per year than men (€75.876 vs. €53.301). This discrepancy can in part be attributed to the fact that on average women practitioners are younger than men.

In recent years, corporate transparency has become a top-, front- and center issue for the media intelligence profession and 88% of the respondents agree that it is a condition for communicating trustworthiness of their organization. Only 4% of the professionals work in a department subordinate to another department. Consequently, about half of the professionals see their strategic influence on the media intelligence policy of the company as high or very high (and thereby presumably also on corporate transparency). Still, many of the respondents also criticize senior management’s understanding of the strategic importance of a consistent media intelligence policy.

Check out Imooty’s next generation media monitoring and media intelligence tool at Imooty.eu

The first step step beyond social media monitoring is developing listening skills. Needless to say, companies have a lot to gain from understanding the customers problems. By providing solutions and sharing knowledge, content is likely to be passed on and advocated by consumers.

So what’s the problem?

When you say that you have an open and receptive online presence, it creates an expectation. Specifically, an expectation of being heard. Active social media monitoring and a policy for when/how to respond to feedback, is priority number one for building customer relationships and trust. Do not make the mistake of ignoring a customer who expects being heard.

Most companies hesitate to take the step from social media monitoring to active interaction because of perceived risks. A fear that everything will spin out of control if people start communicating via Twitter. However, there are also risks associated with not participating.  The indecisiveness is an expression of sticking with the status quo and keeping with the old hierarchical communication structure. However, adapting to social media is unlikely to undo the company. Mistakes will be made, sure, but that is part of what makes social media appealing.

Companies seem to have a hard time speaking about anything else than their products. To avoid looking pushy, or worse, boring, find topics that connect to the bigger picture. Kodak’s photography blog for example isn’t just about their products.

Also, users increasingly expect websites to be interactive, not just an online version of the company brochure. They’re looking for fresh content, articles, videos, podcasts and links to the latest developments in your industry. Content generation is unlikely to work very well in a top-down structure. If the IT department needs to recode the website every time someone wants to contribute, social interaction will never happen. It is important to have an easy to publish CMS. Once the new PR and communiation policy is in place, everyone should be able to share and contribute.

Taking the step from social media monitoring to participation doesn’t have to be a major undertaking. It doesn’t take hi-tech tools to connect with your customers. Think corporate blog, Twitter and a Facebook page.

Media intelligence : Analyzing how your company name or brand rates in online reviews, vs. those of your competitors’, most definitely belongs on your media intelligence to-do list.

Or does it?

The New York Times article, “On the Internet, Everyone’s a Critic But They’re Not Very Critical” reports that the average online review rating is 4.3 stars out of 5. That’s of course far away from being even remotely close to the “bell curve”. How come the average distribution of statistical data is so far off? Does media intelligence practices play a role here?

The article seems to indicate that yes, they do. Printer paper, boots and dog food in particular have bloated online reputations and the same can be said for hotels being reviewed on TripAdvisor.com.

However, media intelligence practices, such as a manager’s puffing up the average rating of this own product or service, is not the only factor. Someone is also minding the store. Several independent Amazon reviewers for example, suspect that the online megastore is involved in selective review vetting.

Translation: Negative reviews are simply deleted in order to sell more products. Ed Keller, CEO of the Keller Fay Group, has found that ca. 65% of word-of-mouth reviews are positive, whereas only 8% are negative!

At the end of the day the question then becomes how “good” is a good review. Do you have the strength to give a 4.3 review its real (average) value in your media intelligence matrix?

Proactive social media monitoring deals with minor social media flames before they turn into forest fires. When spotting a negative comment on your brand in a discussion forum the question quickly becomes, “how big is this”?

You don’t want to engage a diper rash personality who is using social media to symptomatically complain. However, DO pay attention if the comment resonates with other forum participants.

Next, find out who placed the comment. Is it a real person with a social media following? Is his/her audience likely to have resonance with your target group? In short, in doing social media monitoring, try to establish what level of influence the person posting the comment has.

It’s time to pay particular attention when social media monitoring shows that members of your core audience are posting negative comments. If some of your evangelist users are unhappy now, more are likely feel the same way in the near future.

When you find that comments and forum posts spread to a blog post, you need to take a closer look. The fact that a message makes a channel shift, from a forum discussion to blog post, is a red flag.

The blog may at that point be a good place to actively respond to criticism and do some active online reputation management. Start by getting in touch with the author and establish rapport. Explain your side of the story and ask to contribute with a comment.

With some luck, the blogger may issue an update on the previous post and report your solution to the problem. Proactive social media monitoring could prevent the issue from making another channel shift, for example to other blogs, online news sites, video and/or picture sharing sites.

The Communication Summit is the yearly highlight for PR and Communication professionals in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. During a panel discussion on online PR and communication, Mr. Volker Gaßner from Greenpeace, made an interesting contribution to the topic of online reputation monitoring.

Greenpeace does online reputation monitoring of companies they see as “greenwashing” their corporate image (i.e. claiming without merit that they are green and sustainable). He used an example of RWE, a large energy provider, who recently hired a high profile PR and marketing agency to create a video to improve their corporate image. The video depicts an animated version of the energy giant planting windmills, wave power generators and fixing broken power lines.

In fact, only 2% of RWE’s energy comes from green and sustainable energy and Greenpeace sees the RWE video as a typical “greenwashing” campaign. Accordingly, Greenpeace re-cut and altered the video to be shown on a TV monitor, sitting in a wasteland of nuclear energy plants (RWE owns 5 of them in Germany).

After only a few weeks the Greenpeace response has almost as many YouTube views as the original, it backfired.

Mr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management at Daimler AG, also addressed the topic at his opening Keynote to the Communication Summit. The challenges for PR and communication professionals in communicating green technology efforts are indeed real. It is not only a complex and difficult technology to understand (especially in the car industry), it is also easy to fall for the temptation of playing with statistics and nice imagery.

Mr. Zetsche concluded that only communication of real substance is likely to gain trust and goodwill. It is also safe to assume that Greenpeace, as well as competitors, will continue with online reputation monitoring, to keep track of greenwashing and misleading advertising.

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