70% of Companies Ignore Customer Complaints on Twitter

social telephone

Despite increasing numbers of customers using Twitter to publicly complain about brands, the vast majority of companies respond in the exact same way….with the quiet of contempt. New research from Maritz and Evolve24 of 1,298 Twitter complainants found that only 29% of those tweet gripes were replied to by the companies in question.  This is

5 Reputation Management Lessons from Prince, Dell and Beyond

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Difficulties arise. Mistakes happen. Reputations become tarnished — this is the way of the world, particularly when an error occurs after a company brand achieves a leadership position or a human being becomes famous. As we’ve seen time and time again, when a problem is avoided or “hushed up,” the blemish becomes more pronounced. But

Nobody Said Social Media Should Be Simple

Social Media Simple

Simple isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Social media is unique in that it is the only medium yet conceived where companies are playing in the exact same sandbox as we’re playing personally. Your employees and customers aren’t making TV ads on the weekend. Nor are they making their own magazine ads for fun

The Fallacy of Round the Clock Social Media

give the brand a break

Guest post by Chris Hall an interactive content specialist at Off Madison Ave who specializes in writing for humans, not robots. It’s 11PM and the world around you is getting ready for bed. As a mobile obsessive, you instinctually check your Facebook, Twitter and all the rest of your social media accounts while you brush

Speak No Evil – Why Trust Isn’t a 4 Letter Word in Social Media

speak no evil

Now is the summer of our discontent. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. For social media, one hand giveth (instant spread of the Bin Laden news) while the other hand taketh away (seemingly daily stories about a company or person doing it “wrong”). The most egregious occurrence of late

Debating the Future of Social Media Management

Join Mark W. Schaefer (whose {GROW} blog is a must-read) and me for a fireside chat about social media centralization vs. decentralization. While Mark and I agree about nearly everything, we have a difference of opinion on one particular topic: social media management and the role that social media will play within organizations. I contend

Blinded by the White: Social Media and Diversity

social media and diversity

Over the past couple weeks, two events got me thinking. At South by Southwest in Austin, I was at several events attended by the “social media mafia” – the 300 or so folks that create much of the content around social media nationally. Bloggers, consultants, community managers, et al. There are of course many excellent

Why Social Success is No Accident

Bell

If you read Convince & Convert on even an occasional basis, you know that I’m firmly in the social integration camp. You need to focus on how to “be” social as a company, and worry less about how to “do” social. This is because social touches do not occur in isolation. I’ve seen a LOT

3 Key Roles to Make Your Social Team Scalable

3 Key Roles to Make Your Social Team Scalable

One of the continuous discussions and questions surfacing in the social media chatterbox is that of “who owns social media?” Is it marketing? Public relations (PR)? Customer service? The answer is . . . yes. For the long-term, anyway. You’re not likely at the point yet where you have social media wired into everything. Right

The New Small – How Technology Levels the Playing Field

The New Small

Phil Simon is a technology cupid. Whatever your company’s issues or objectives, he can recommend the optimal platform, rollout strategy, and operational considerations. In his work as a tech consultant, he’s realized the days of “big iron” – solving problems with huge, expensive systems are gone. Now, it’s the nimble, inexpensive technology that rules. So