How to get press even when your company has no news

August 28, 2012 1 Comment

It’s summer and most of us (especially in Europe) are on vacation – at least mentally if not physically as well. And so it’s only natural that the press seems to get a little quieter around this time of the year as well. Most companies refrain from making big announcements during the summer as people are more likely to be at the pool than at their desks. But just because your company isn’t making any announcements doesn’t mean that you can’t get press. In fact, there are several ways you can get coverage even when your company has nothing to announce. Here’s an example.

Behold: the guest post.

It amazes me how few companies think to publish guest posts. For many online publications, more content simply means more page views. It’s a simple equation, which means that lots of publications won’t shy away from the chance to publish another article – especially if it’s written by a so-called “expert” and adds a new voice to their catalogue of regular journalists.

Who publishes guest posts? Oh. Everyone.

Yes, it’s true. A majority of publications publish guest posts.

Here is an example from TechCrunch:

And here is an example from Forbes:

Essentially if you’ve ever seen a guest post in a publication, it’s likely that they publish guest posts on a regular basis. But even if you haven’t stumbled upon a guest post, it doesn’t mean the publication would be against publishing your piece.

How to get published and what to expect.

First things first, do not expect to get paid and it is very unlikely that these publications will be paying for your article. You can always ask but just know not to expect a fat check. Remember that you are writing to help your company gain more exposure – but that said, you should by no means “sell” your company in what you write. Your goal with the article is to provide an opinion or demonstrate your industry expertise. If at any point you get into grey territory, it’s likely that you won’t get published.

A (really good) example.

When I was running TechCrunch France, I regularly got pitched to publish guest posts. But there was one that really stole the show in my mind. The piece was published by the former CEO of a France-based startup, Charles Mignot, who is now at Google. What was brilliant about this piece was that Mignot didn’t write at all about his company’s service. In fact, he decided to focus on a topic that would be pertinent for the TechCrunch audience (which is largely entrepreneurs): the benefits and drawbacks of using Freemium as a business model. And the TechCrunch France audience simply loved it.

What NOT to do.

Writing a guest post is definitely a great way to gain exposure but you should definitely avoid trying to sell your own business, bashing your competitors, etc. through what you write. In other words, avoid anything that may seem like a conflict of interest. I recently stumbled upon someone on Quora who wanted to write a guest post on his own product – which is not very likely to get published (but there are exceptions).

Because it can be hard to know ahead of time what publications will or will not publish, I advise anyone who wants to write a guest post to pitch the topic before actually drafting the article. It’ll save you a lot of time and wasted effort in case publications say no, for whatever reason.

The results.

Writing a guest post like may not immediately result in more sales. However, it will definitely drive more trafic to your site (especially if the publication links to your website in the byline) and place you as a thought leader in your given industry. Ultimately, guest posts are a terrific way to increase your exposure but also to share your thoughts and experiences with others. Therefore, I highly encourage entrepreneurs and businesses to consider writing guest posts whenever possible.

If you have questions or other advice or comments regarding guest posts, please feel free to share.

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Confessions of a journalist: the 5 things I simply can’t stand.

May 21, 2012 1 Comment

Now that I’ve been regularly confessing my intimate, journalist secrets to you all, I figured it was time to finally open up and share the dark stuff. This is the stuff that makes me (and probably every other journalist) outraged.

Please keep in mind that there are naturally many aspects of being a journalist, most of which do not cause my blood to boil. But here are the things you should most definitely avoid.

1. I said “email me.” Not “poke me on Facebook.”

It’s funny, a lot of journalists make it very clear how they want to be contacted – yet people consistently ignore this info and seek out utterly annoying ways to get in touch, usually with the hopes of “making a statement.”

People figure journalists are bombarded with press releases and info (which they are) via email, phone, Twitter and whathaveyou, so by finding a different way to get in touch they’ll probably get the journalist’s attention. Well, this method definitely gets attention – though typically not the right kind.

All journalists are different. I have public profiles on a lot of social sites but I have always made it very clear that people should get in touch with me via email, Twitter and Linkedin. I dislike using both telephone, Skype and Facebook for people I have never met, yet many people somehow managed to ignore this. I’ve had people do everything from Facebook poke me to call my parents in California for an article. I definitely makes me wonder why people go to such extensive lengths when my email address is very visible and I am (generally) pretty good at reading and responding.

In short, most journalists make it very clear how they want to be contacted. Why not just try one of those?

2. As it turns out, I don’t blog about mattresses.

One of the problems with my email being so available to everyone on the Internet is that sometimes people who have no idea about what I write about contact me with their completely irrelevant press releases. I get press releases about trucks, wine – even mattresses. Clearly, none of this really appeals to a French tech/startup blogger…

There are also times when the line gets a little blurry. I write about tech – but for the most part, I cover Europe and French-related news and companies. Therefore, I have more difficulty writing about companies in China or Australia if there isn’t a direct relationship to France or Europe. It can be done – but usually I would prefer that these startups actually have a relevant story for my audience before pitching me.

So, before contacting a journalist, it’s definitely good to check and make sure that what you are sending them is relevant to their readers.

3. Yes, you DO have competitors.

This is my biggest journalist pet peeve of all time: whenever someone I am interviewing and he or she tells me that their company does not have competitors. Every time this happens, there is an explosion inside my head. And a part of me dies.

I am a strong advocate of openly talking about competition for several reasons:

First, you help the journalist understand your business better. If you ignore talking about other people in your industry, there is a chance that the journalist may not fully understand the market you are in.

Second, I always think it’s beneficial to be seen as part of a movement – alongside big, dominant players, if possible – than as a lone star. And plus, if you are competing with the likes of Amazon or Apple (in even the smallest of ways), wouldn’t it be nice for your name to appear next to theirs?

And finally, you risk taking the journalist for an idiot – and then you’ll get a not-so-friendly surprise if they actually publish an article. If the journalist does their homework, they’ll end up finding out who your competitors are and publishing them anyway. So why not just talk about them openly and avoid looking like a bit of a scoundrel ?

4. No, my question cannot wait 48 hours.

Perhaps this applies more to bloggers than any other type of journalist – but do not forget that journalists are on incredibly tight schedules. Embargoes are not very fun to play with and usually journalists are working on multiple stories at the same time and trying to get them out as fast as they can.

Therefore, when you or your communications/PR team gets a question from a journalist, try to respond ASAP. I cannot tell you how helpful it is when someone is able to get an answer to you right away – it also helps drive the momentum for finishing the article and getting it published.

There have been times when PR teams or communications people have not responded right away, have dragged their feet a little and gotten me the answer to my question after my article had been published. Well, needless to say, it ends up making my question and the answer absolutely pointless.

5. Yes, we had a conversation. I did not sign a contract.

Perhaps one of the worst assumptions that someone can make is that a conversation equals an article. I’ve had many conversations with startups and discovered afterwards that there just simply wasn’t a story. And explaining this can be difficult.

Some journalists have enough integrity to come out and just say clearly that they will or will not publish. But on the whole, it’s best to assume that a conversation doesn’t necessarily equal an article – and not harass the journalist to bits just because you had a conversation.

Now, if there are any other journalists or bloggers out there who would like to share the things that annoy them most, by all means – feel free !

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Confessions of a Journalist: um, that’s not a story.

April 30, 2012 4 Comments

Last week I begin a series of posts called “Confessions of a Journalist.” Every week, I reveal some of my so-called deep, dark journalist secrets from my last few years of experience as a tech/startup blogger in France and Europe.

Last week, I confessed why I may not read a press release. This week I’ll go one step further and tell you what actually makes something compelling enough for me to write about it.

From here, you all look the same.

If you’ve ever gone to more than a couple of networking events in your life, you’ll definitely know what I’m talking about. You meet tons of incredibly talented people, who all work with amazing companies – from influential investment funds to life-changing startups. But over time, they all begin to blur together. Put a bunch of revolutionary people and ideas in the same room and you may eventually see no more than a crowd. Well, that’s more or less what happens once you’re being pitched “amazing” startup ideas 24-7. And that’s what happens in any industry; for the most part, everything starts to sound more or less the same.

“Once upon a time…”

I quickly discovered that entrepreneurs may actually be sitting on a fabulous story but not even know it. One example that comes to mind is from French startup MadMagz. Simply talking about a platform where people can make magazines didn’t really make me jump for joy. But then I found out one of the first users of the product was a 9 year old boy who had used the platform to print these adorable magazines. I was sold.

After I published the story, it was picked up by other publications throughout France as well – and it naturally highlighted how great the product was if a 9 year old boy could use it so easily. (Then again, this story seems less impressive now that toddlers are happily flipping through iPad applications.)

One great way to know what makes a story is to talk to people OUTSIDE of your industry. See what they react to and what they find interesting. Also, look at what else people are talking about and see if you can make your topic relevant.

“A dog made a website with our product.”

After the MadMagz story was published, some entrepreneurs thought that this type of story was a definite win with me – and they went on to pitch me all kinds of nonsense. At some point, I was even pitched a story about a dog that made websites. Puhlease. Make sure that if you’re going to craft a story, it’s based on (some form of) the truth. That said, if you actually do have a product that allows pets to make websites – please contact me…

In addition, it may seem like there are some pieces of information that always make the news no matter what; companies raising funding, the launch of a new product, etc. However, this definitely isn’t the case.

The truth about “non stories.”

It’s true – there may be times when you pitch a journalist a story and they come back and tell you “it’s not a story.” Actually, what they could also mean is “it’s not their story.”

I was actually reminded of this recently when talking with former Mashable Editor, Ben Parr. I mentioned a story to him that was easily picked up by French publications – but he insisted very strongly that it wasn’t a story. Turns out it just wasn’t a Mashable story. There are tons of different publications out there – a lot of the time, it’s just about making sure you’re pitching to the right people.

I cannot tell you how many times I have been contacted to write about the launch of a non-innovative iPhone app for a truck company, a mattress company, a coffee company and more, simply because the PR team figured an iPhone app meant I of course had to be interested. For me, it was definitely not a story. Then again, for an app review site or a site about trucks, mattresses or coffee, maybe it was a story.

Not sure what journalists at a particular publication actually want to write about? Just ask them – via email, Twitter, Linkedin, Quora, etc. For example, here are some TechCrunch writers revealing what startups need to do to get covered.

What about the end?

The one thing that every single journalist – no matter what industry – will be looking for, is the “so what” at the end of the story. It’s the moral of the story, the reason why people should care, the lesson to be learned. You need to make it very clear why the topic matters to them and their audience. For example, a startup building the most ridiculously hi-tech product may never get coverage if they can’t demonstrate to a journalist how their product is going to impact the lives of many people.

Here is a conclusion I found in an article in Fast Company about the data that proves that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Why should people care? Because eating breakfast can make them healthy and thinner – and here are the stats to prove it.

In many cases, this “so what” part of a story should actually come in your introduction when you are pitching a story. If I can’t immediately understand why something is important, I’m never going to write about it…

If you have additional thoughts or questions on what makes a good story, feel free to comment below.

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Confessions of a Journalist: do you think I actually read your press release?

April 19, 2012 4 Comments

This post is the first of a new series I am going to write about my experience as a journalist/blogger. I’ve written and continue to contribute to numerous publications – TechCrunch, Business Insider, the Telegraph, the Kernel, Betakit and more – and  I cover primarily tech startups. That said,  these tips are definitely relevant for all industries as journalism is going through a massive evolution with the development of new technology platforms.

Topic 1: The beloved press release.

Now, I picked a bit of a provocative title for this article on purpose. But PR and comms departments, please calm down – I DO read your press releases. Well, that is, if they are good.

What makes a good press release, you ask?

Any PR or comms expert is very familiar with a press release – an official written communication statement that is sent to the media in order to announce or share a piece of information. Most of the time, companies send out press releases to announce “official” news – the launch of a new product, new funding, an acquisition, etc.

Press releases also vary greatly from one industry to another. In tech, press releases tend to be 1-2 pages max, a little more neutral in tone with less visuals and more text. But go look at press releases from more visual industries – like fashion or cosmetics – and you’ll discover a variety of tones, colours, photos and very little text. For example, here’s a very eye-catching press release from bath & body brand Soap and Glory:

If you want to see an example of a more sober press release, take a look at Ebay’s press room. Honestly, neither of these styles is necessarily better than the other – they are actually both relevant for their audience.

Good press releases will of course feature a catchy title (I cannot stress the importance of titles enough as I often receive hundreds of emails a day that look more or less the same) and relevant information for the particular topic. Some journalists will actually publish more or less exactly what you send in the press release. But many journalists will (hopefully) want more; in fact, they’ll want to publish something exclusive that you’re not offering to everyone in your standard communication – so be sure to save some good bits of info for the journalists you really want to develop good relationships with.

News beyond the release.

Even though many traditional PR and comms teams may still hold on tight to their beloved press releases, journalists are actually excited in finding news through other means – and there are tons of terrific social platforms that they turn to in order to do so. Some of these I mentioned in an earlier post about some of the new social platforms companies should really be paying attention to: Pinterest, Quora and Instagram. But naturally, the list is much longer and often includes Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Foursquare and more. These different platforms are now considered viable and verified sources for news, so Facebook status updates, Tweets, Quora answers and Foursquare checkins can all be used in lieu of quotes in articles.

For example, here is an article in People Magazine about actress Melissa Joan Hart. Notice that the evidence in the article is a direct link to her Tweet…

Journalists love this type of thing because it looks like they’ve done some good fact-checking and they can use quotes direct from the source. PR and comms teams should think about leveraging different platforms when communicating to journalists and supplementing press releases with Tweets, Quora answers, Foursquare checkins and more. Or, ditch the press release and send this stuff in lieu – in some cases, a very powerful Tweet can be enough for a story…

Oh, careful, everyone can see.

That said, don’t forget that social platforms are public and that everyone can see. Therefore, the information published on these platforms lose their exclusivity if the journalist doesn’t publish quickly and if multiple sources pick up on the info. So be sure to manage what you publish and what you give to journalists – and always include something exclusive if you can.

No, press releases are not dead.

It may be natural to want to draw the conclusion that press releases are losing their relevancy – but they are very clearly NOT dead. They’re simply going through a bit of metamorphosis with the evolution of the social web. But we need to recognize that communication habits are changing as are the ways in which journalists and bloggers receive and relay info as well.

Some quick things to avoid…

In the past, I have seen some companies do all kinds of no-nos with press releases. For example, one company used to send along a press release every month to announce a “new” product feature. It quickly became evident that the features were rather trivial and that this was simply a poor communications tactic. Overtime, I stopped reading the releases.

Another thing to be sure of is that you send the press release in the right language (the language that the journalist will be publishing in) and the right format. If there are elements (photos, videos, links) that the journalist may want to incorporate into their article, be sure to send them as part of the original email (there are now different products that let you build dynamic and multi-media press kits, including Augure). Do not send large attachments as they can get stuck or also annoy the journalist – in fact, the journalist will probably contact you to get the elements they need if they are interested.

Now, if there are other journalists, PR or comm experts out there that would like to share additional tips and tricks, feel free to chime in.

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10 French brands you’ll find on Pinterest

April 11, 2012 15 Comments

Typically, French companies are not the first to jump onto a new social media trend or craze. Not that any of these more traditional, historic brands is averse to social media, but they’re definitely not your average early adopters. And with President Sarkozy not setting the best social media example, we were pleasantly surprised to find a few French brands on up-and-coming social marketing platform, Pinterest. Here’s a look at a few we discovered…and a few who are, well, missing in action.

1. Marmiton.

French cooking and recipes platform, Marmiton.org, is behind one of my all-time favorite Pinterest accounts. The platform owned by Aufeminin.com (yet to have an account) displays tons of images of delicious treats from around the world, with a majority of the photos linking to the actual recipe on their website. It’s a fantastically visual way to get users excited about their content and expand their reach.

With 182 actual followers, my main criticism for Marmiton at this stage is that there is no way of knowing that they are on Pinterest from their homepage. Wouldn’t it be good to include that somewhere?

2. Allociné.

I’ve always been very pleasantly surprised by film platform Allociné. Their social/innovation efforts have really been a terrific example for numerous French companies to follow. Still, there Pinterest account isn’t as developed as I would have expected. Clearly lots of effort has gone into the boards for cult films like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings but not as much attention is given to indie or even French films. And the “actors” board is completely empty – despite The Artist’s recent Oscar win. Plus, the fact that  there is a board dedicated to attractive men (titled “Ils vous font vibrer”) and not the female equivalent makes me wonder if this board is not run by a lovely lady. But all criticisms aside, it’s a great start and has already accumulated a small following.

3. FNAC.

FNAC, the French equivalent to book and music retailer Borders, has gotten off to a terrific start on Pinterest as well. With fewer boards and pins than both Allociné and Marmiton, FNAC does currently have 2 separate accounts for France and Spain. Just as with Marmiton, all the images link back to the products on their website. However, I have to say that some of the products could be more creatively displayed to attract more social interaction. Take for example the Volume 1 DVD of cult TV series Bref. While the logo is definitely widely-recognized throughout France, Pinterest content that would be more likely to be liked and reposed than the simple DVD case might include actual photos and quotes from the show itself, no?

4. Evian.

Like FNAC, Evian currently has 2 accounts on Pinterest – one for the Netherlands and another in English, which I am guessing is not run out of France. Interestingly enough, Evian’s Pinterest seems to have a less commercial focus (no links back to the company website) and is much more about communicating brand and lifestyle messages, as redistributing content created by their community. Check out this incredible work of art. Still, I would encourage Evian to link to the products that are sold on their site and to also include their skincare products that are probably less well-known.

5. CITROEN.

I’ll be totally honest and say that I never expected to find Cirtoen with such a developed Pinterest account – especially since Renault seems to be straggling along with only 1 account for Renault Switzerland and a whopping 0 pins. But funny enough,  Citroen’s 17 boards dedicated to various models pull content from Citroen’s different international websites and other content sources, like Flickr. But if there is one thing I have to criticize Citroen for, it’s the large amounts of commercial text they are publishing with each pin. And the worst part is, it’s the exact same text for multiple images (see here for an example)…yikes.   What about something a little more subtle that feels less like an advertisement?

6. Lacoste.

If there is one sector that has been really slow to get onto Pinterest, it’s French fashion brands. But it’s not just names like Louis Vuitton that are MIA – it’s also more innovative online companies like Vente-privée. So even if Lacoste isn’t yet rivaling UK designer brand Burberry in terms of its social media presence, I was nonetheless pleased to find that it did have an active Pinterest account. The company appears to be taking somewhat of a similar approach to Citroen, however, placing repetitive text underneath its images. Still, I think in particular the company’s fashion show boards could be a huge hit.

7. Dior.

Again, as Chanel and a number of other high-end designer brands were MIA, I was pleasantly surprised to see Dior. And clearly, they’ve capitalized on fashion shows…

8. L’Occitane.

Just as with fashion, I was a little disappointed with the beauty brands as well. Even Sephora – who is traditionally the example to turn to in the beauty space when it comes to its online presence – still hasn’t officially launched on Pinterest. That said, French brand L’Occitane has a very impressive Pinterest account being run out of NYC. The account takes a lifestyle approach, like Evian’s account, but has also done a great job repining content from Pinterest and linking it to their online store. See here for an example.

9. L’Oréal Paris.

Another example from the beauty and cosmetics space is L’Oréal Paris. There is another L’Oréal Paris account with only 1 board, making it a little difficult to tell which is the official account until you discover that it is actually the Australian account. The company will clearly have to do a better job of separating their international accounts for users and followers. The French account does have one very nice board for the brands ambassadors, all beautiful black and white photos that link back to the company website.

10. Michelin.

Ah, yes, Michelin. While the account is not officially up and running, I’m glad to see that they have the intention to get one going soon. We’ll be sure to keep you tuned once the board goes live.

While some are clearly ahead of others, it’s nice to see French companies jumping on board and not shying away from the occasion to be an early adopter.

Did I forget anyone?

There are definitely more French brands than just these 10 on Pinterest. In fact, La Redoute also recently got a lot of attention for their creative use of leveraging Pinterest to see their most popular products. If you are a French brand with a Pinterest account we should be looking at, feel free to let us know!

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3 new social platforms your company should be paying attention to

February 21, 2012 4 Comments

Back in 2004 when Facebook first launched, there was no reason for companies to pay any attention. The platform was only open to a select number of American university students and nobody really thought of “poking” as having any real business value. It couldn’t be much better than a big, college chat room…could it?

By the time YouTube and Twitter launched within the next few years, Facebook was already well on its way to becoming the dominant social platform and businesses were beginning to tune in. The company had launched interest “like” pages in 2007 and redesigned them for business purposes in 2009. Nobody dared to question the business value of Facebook as it launched its famous “Like” button on April 22, 2010.

But while businesses undoubtedly grasp the value of Facebook, there is still a lot of reticence to join other social platforms – potentially because none have become as powerful as Facebook with its 800 million users. Even platforms like Twitter – which has managed to topple governments around the world – still struggles to convince companies of its business value.

Still, just because a social platform doesn’t have 800 million users doesn’t mean that it can’t dramatically change the way you do business. Innovative cross-platform social strategies can often result in an increase in user acquisition and retention. So here are 3 new platforms you should be paying attention to, if you haven’t already.

1. Quora

Founded in 2009 by a handful of former Facebook founders, Quora is the social web’s answer to Yahoo Answers. This social Q&A site may not seem that different from the rest – but the company’s original user acquisition strategy encouraged well-known professionals to use the platform as early adopters. Therefore, you can find questions and answer by people like Sun Microsystems co-founder and former CEO Vinod Khosla, amongst others.

But what does this mean for business? This platform can do everything from help you recruit talent to help you establish relationships with potential clients – primarily by demonstrating your expertise. It’s a little less fun than poking and retweeting, but then again, it’s far more professional. By clearly demonstrating your expertise in relevant topics, your answers will begin to make their way to the forefront. This, in turn, should help you (and your business) gain exposure. Don’t believe me? Just read how HelpJuice leveraged Quora for customer acquisition.

It can also be used as a more indirect customer service channel. If you notice that a particular question that is related to your business or sector is accumulating a lot of followers, then it’s probably worth paying attention to. Mashable’s Heather Whaling notes the example of Instagram’s CEO Kevin Systrom, who leveraged the platform do openly answer questions about his company.

To find out more on how building a Quora presence can be beneficial to your business (and how to do it!), check out this article from Inc. Magazine.

2. Instagram

The company crowned as Apple’s best mobile app in 2011 is far more than your average photo sharing app. Tons of brands – from Starbucks to Burberry to MTV – have discovered the beauty of this app, which focuses on providing good quality photo content rather than pushing products and services down people’s throats.

As with many social platforms, experts encourage Instagram users to post consistently, frequently and to engage followers and users. But what makes Instagram different from the other social platforms is the visual element. This means companies can present content in a fun and creative way – and chances are it will look amazing, too. Even if your product is not visual, chances are you can come up with a related theme that will make having an Instagram account worthwhile.

Instagram itself published some resources for brands to see how they could leverage the platform – including my favorite idea: flash mobs! But if you’re curious for more info on why companies like General Electric (check out some of their featured photos here) and Puma are flocking to Instagram and what kind of content they’re creating, read this.

3. Pinterest

The latest social platform to take over digital headlines is Pinterest. This virtual pinboard platform allows people to organize and share their interests from all over the web in a visual way.  And once again, companies haven’t failed to notice the business potential in Pinterest either.

Companies like Birchbox, Whole Foods and Scholastic have developed beautiful display boards that help to visually communicate their domain of expertise. As one article put it, Pinterest is “visual story telling for brands” that helps to create brand awareness. Brands can use it to communicate about their domain of expertise as well as their company culture, corporate social responsibility and more. In addition, “pinning” good content from the right location can help you drive traffic to your site or other social media properties. Check out this article for a few tips on how to use Pinterest for business – and if you’re still not convinced, check out this fabulous presentation by Nurun’s Gregory Pouy.

Obviously there are tons of other noteworthy social platforms out there too. But these are 3 that are really beginning to make their way to the top. In the next few weeks, we’ll be including more in-depth analysis and tips on how to properly leverage these platforms – and a few others.

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FakeCEO: Corporate reputation and the attack of the fake Twitter accounts

July 13, 2010 1 Comment

At the time that this article was written, 120,028 people were following the Twitter account @ceoSteveJobs. This is the same fake account that diffused a tweet just after the launch of the iPhone4 reporting problems that sent consumers into a havoc – as well as a journalist from the Daily Mail, who went ahead and published an official article off the false premise that the iPhone4 would be recalled. If you want details on the Daily Mail fiasco – check out this great article in the Guardian. Note that the original article is no longer available but the issue is still being widely discussed on the web.

This is not the only fake Twitter account for Steve Jobs – although it has definitely a majority of the more amusing tweets. Take a look at what is broadcasted to the 120,000+ followers:

and of course the infamous tweet behind the article published by the Daily Mail:

But Apple is not the only company suffering from a fake CEO account on Twitter – in fact, companies like BP have also had issues with fake corporate accounts. While it may definitely seem riskier for a company to have fake Twitter accounts when they are in a B2C space, BP obviously proved the opposite can be true as well.

Twitter has tried to help by introducing “verified” accounts but what can companies do when consumers prefer to follow parody accounts rather than the real deal? And worse, what happens when professional journalists start base actual articles on false information published on Twitter?

Companies need to keep an eye out for what’s being said about them on these new real-time web platforms and respond accordingly. Sure, it’s difficult to follow all the information that’s being said about you, your company, your management team, your industry, etc. – but that is why we’ve recently integrated Twitter into the latest version of our robust media monitoring solution, ComDecision.

Still – there is definitely a huge risk for companies presented by the latest trend of fake Twitter accounts. You know what our thoughts are but what do you think are the best ways to adapt your corporate communications strategies to these new real-time web threats?

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Stop, look and listen: GM lets consumers name their brand

June 15, 2010 Leave a comment

GM has got a lot to worry about these days. In a Freep.com article, Mark Phelan heavily criticized the company’s recent rebranding attempt, remind us that the car company is “crawling out of bankruptcy”, “61% owned by the US government” and “has alienated millions of buyers with lousy vehicles.”  

But one thing the company does not need to worry about is branding, at least as far as consumers are concerned. As GM tried to kill off the use of “Chevy” in lieu of “Chevrolet” to make its branding more consistent, consumers back-lashed reminding the company that its brand is perhaps stronger than it may’ve thought. Naturally, when the New York Times first leaked the info, it took a natural jab at the idea – and consumers and bloggers didn’t hesitate to chime in on social media platforms. After all, what would become of Don McLean’s “Bye bye miss American pie” if nobody could drive their Chevy to the levee?

GM, with Chevy and Caddie, is not the only brand to have consumers replace official brand names with informal ones. An article in the New York Times points out that consumers have also transformed the brands of Kentucky Fried Chicken to KFC, Beverages & More to BevMo! and Federal Express to FedEx. The fact of the matter is that nicknaming a brand is part of how consumers establishing an informal relationship with it. Rather than trying to run their brand image like the Death Star, companies should embrace their consumers’ opinions and foster the relationship. After all, consumers are perhaps the most important stakeholders a company has.

While we could point fingers at GM for overlooking the importance of their consumer’s opinions, the company did backtrack, saying “we love it when people call us Chevy.” The moral of the story is even in times of crisis, don’t try to silence your stakeholders.

Filed under Engagement Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Has Apple stopped listening to its customers?

April 14, 2010 Leave a comment

Everyone knows that Apple is the perfect example of the corporate comeback-kid. The company that practically fell off the map during the 1990s was recently recognized as the world’s most admired brand by Fortune Magazine for the 3rd consecutive year in a row.

Adobe, on the other hand, has maintained a more level reputation – but a good one nonetheless.

But is all the recent drama between the 2 companies putting a damper on their reputations?

It’s not exactly a secret that Steve Jobs has been keeping Adobe Flash away from Apple products – when the company announced its new iPhone OS 0.4 last week, the developers agreement could be interpreted as an aim to ban Flash on the iPhone altogether.

And then Adobe’s response, which came from Flash Evangelist, Lee Brimelow, did not make matters any better. Adobe is now carefully looking into the wording of the developers agreement and Brimelow went on to publish a rather harsh statement aimed at Apple’s leadership on his personal blog – he’s not spending another cent on Apple products and that’s that.

But many argue that Apple, who obviously is trying to keep developers from cross-releasing applications on various platforms, may actually be hurting its consumers – and thus itself. Now, whenever users go to play videos, error messages stating that Flash is not supported by the platform are displayed. That’s not particularly satisfying after paying for high-end Apple products, is it?

But possibly worse is the way that the 2 companies have been indirectly communicating on the topic. The fact that Apple hasn’t openly acknowledged Adobe has been interpreted as rather childish – the company has simply responded to developer concerns via blogs and email. Hmmm, professional? This is no way for America’s most-admired company to behave, is it? Apple’s rather brusk response tactics have even spurred a bit of speculation, with some suggesting that this is Apple’s way of getting back at Adobe after it began working more directly with Windows in the 1990s. Hopefully Steve Jobs isn’t holding a grudge at the price of consumers.

Well, whatever the reason may be, it may be a good idea for the companies to reconsider their communications strategies – and their customers. Apple did not become the leader it is today by ignoring consumer concerns and desires. Why start now?

And of course, don’t forget that all this drama could be just what Google needs to give the Android a little leeway.

Filed under Industry debate Tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

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