Baby, Baby, Baby

I may have come down with Beiber Fever yet again over the past few days. My Twitter feed has been dominated with Justin Beiber RT'ing hundreds of fans and their excitement regarding the release of his latest single, Boyfriend. Now I adore JB but I normally don't get caught up in the hype of music releases, I listen to the radio and that's how I hear new music. But from the hashtag trends of #20days counting down to the last #48hours I was hooked. I looked up the 15 seconds of the song he leaked on Ellen, I joined in the countdown. The hype around this release was massive, and that's just on Twitter alone. There was a worldwide trend just about everyday, counting down from #20days. Today alone I saw from #12hours all the way down to #2minutes trending just waiting for iTunes to release Boyfriend. I also saw iTunes trending when there was a slight delay with the release. The power of Beliebers. 
I swear this blog has a point apart from Justin Beiber, and that point is hype. 
I get caught up in just about everything, regardless of what it is. My friend Marie & I lined up for the iPhone 4 outside Optus in the city all because of hype. We were walking home from Uni, saw 4 people lining up and we just couldn't stop staring. We got ourselves so hyped up that we could be lining up for the iPhone that we went home, prepared ourselves, and we're in the top 20 of people lining up. Hype.
My sister bought JB's latest single as soon as she got home, just so we could listen and join in on the hype. 
Basically, if something has a clever marketing campaign or simply gets enough hype I'll be first in line for it. I don't know if that is a good or bad thing. Have you ever been caught up in the hype of something?

How not to blog & addictions revisited

I've done the one thing I swore I would never do, neglect my blog, after finishing the course that started it all. It took a shameful amount of time trying to log back into my blogspot account this evening which is never a good sign. But despite neglecting this blog I have actually maintained my love (or as my friend's describe it, addiction) to all things social media related. 
Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, Klout, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, you name it, I have an account. Personally, I find Twitter to be my most used tool on a daily basis, from being the first thing I check in the morning to the last thing I do before I go to sleep. Obsessive, yes. But it does come with its rewards, last Thursday I RT'd (retweeted) a tweet from MenzFruChocs, and because I was one of the first 10 they are sending me a free pack of mini Fru Chocs! My other love would have to be Instagram. I simply adore looking at gorgeous photos taken all over the world right in the palm of my hand. This month I'm also participating in #marchphotoaday. Quite self explanatory, every day is a different photo based on a particular theme. It is quite broad terms, like 5pm, breakfast, kitchen sink, window, fork, neighbour. But the thing I find most fascinating is the different images people take for each day. It has been quite successful, every day I've received at least one like on my latest photo, often from other participants from all over the globe. 
So I promise to try to blog on a more frequent basis, I swear I think of potential blog posts all the time, I just never get around to actually writing & posting them. 

GASP and those emails...

For a blog with a focus on social media & marketing communications I simply must post about the topic dominating social media and news programs all over Australia today, GASP & those emails.
If you haven't seen or heard about GASP today (it would be hard to ignore) here is the full story according to the Herald Sun.
A customer complains about poor service, company responds, emails go viral and become a worldwide trending topic on Twitter.
I'm not a PR expert in the slightest but even I can see GASP didn't hande this well at all. In current economic circumstances retail stores are suffering and this type of customer service will not entice anyone into stores. I can understand that it would be frustrating for salespeople with a continual stream of customers and no sales. However, as a customer trying on clothing is part of the shopping experience & in no way should a sale be forced. In fact the more a salesperson forces a sale the more likely I am to simply walk away.
So in a he said/she said saga we may never know the truth of what happened. What we do know is that GASP have done horrific damage to their brand. They are persistant and are unlikely to apologise, normally a brave action. However in the face of such public negative comments it seems like a truly stupid decision.
What do you think of GASP's actions?

Twinternships

I stumbled across an article from Adelaide Now earlier this year as I was job hunting:
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/interns-help-firms-turn-on-social-media/story-e6frea83-1225983833486
It is all about companies hiring interns who focus on social media including Facebook and Twitter, called a twinternship. Something that many companies feel simply because they have a presence on social media means that it is an effective communication tool. As I blogged about yesterday, Qantas, used social media to report through a press conference and received mixed reviews. However for social media to be most effective it requires a two way communication.


Through my University degree majoring in Marketing I am discovering just how powerful a tool social media is, creating jobs that only a few years ago didn't even exist. It seems like the perfect fit for businesses wanting to have a greater online presence through social media and for young graduates wanting experience in a professional communications environment.


It sounds like the perfect job for me! Anybody in Adelaide need a twintern?

Qantas Tweets Up A Storm

Today, Qantas used Twitter to make massive restructuring announcements that were quoted straight from CEO Alan Joyce's speech. They created their own hashtag #anewspirit  and it's debatable whether it was successful or not. Personally, I loved it. Using social media as a means of reaching a wider audience is genius. I wouldn't have paid much, if any, attention to the speech otherwise and I certainly wouldn't have known so many facts that were presented.

Many people were outraged at the information announced but this post is looking directly at the communication channels rather than the message. It is said that its better to not use social media tools at all rather than use them poorly. As a method of delivering such major announcements it was adventurous and I believe it paid off for them.

Looking at the feedback Qantas didn't receive many all-round positive reviews. Many were annoyed at the volume of tweets and how such bad news (job losses) were announced inbetween good news. What company would simply report all bad news? Qantas has tweeted it was an once off event which I think is a shame. Perhaps with a lower volume of tweets (something the company has acknowledged may have been an issue but necessary to convey everything) it could be an excellent tool. It was useful during the ash cloud situation in Australia earlier in the year to keep customers informed.

One aspect Qantas has really excelled in this whole situation has been the response to feedback. Qantas responded to the mixed reviews in a polite and informative manner. More businesses need to realize it is a two way communication rather than simply spreading information and not interacting.

Did you like Qantas' use of social media? Do any improvements need to be made?