Remember when the Academy was against social media and forced YouTube to pull thousands of clips from the awards show in 2007? Well, guess what? The Academy is finally getting with the times and embracing social media for the Oscars.

In 2008, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences created its own YouTube Channel offering behind the scenes footage, interviews, highlights and more. So, did this help? Well according to an article in AdAge, last year’s Oscars was the among the lowest-rated broadcast in its televised history. Ouch.

One reason this might have failed is because social media is about  strategy, and not just the tools.  Anyone can throw up a Facebook Page, YoubTube Channel or Twitter handle, but without a strategy tying these to a traditional marketing campaign, you’re likely set up for failure.

Third time’s a charm, right? The Academy is back with a new social media strategy for the 2010 Oscars. A Facebook Page for the Oscars was created with shiny features like a live stream and a chat on which they streamed the nominees. Taking note of the fact that people love to guess who will take home golden statues that evening, the Academy released an iPhone app allowing fans to make their own predictions to compare against other fans.

Is this a recipe for success? We’ll find out soon enough.

Yesterday, when Jay Baer stopped by our office to give us a full run down of the latest in SM, one particular discussion stuck out to me.  While we constantly remind our clients of this as we pass the SM torch over to them, it really is essential that companies utilize Facebook and Twitter accounts as an added component to a customer service team.

Jay noted that when  a woman calls a company to reach customer service, she almost expects to basically get no where.  When she emails, she may expect a response within a few days.  But, when an individual hops on Twitter and Facebook and posts to a brand that has so openly requested her to interact, she wants a response/solution to her issues RIGHT NOW.

Below are some simple strategies to implement customer service into your Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Using Social Media for Customer Service

1)  Monitor your social media accounts daily.  Engaging posts are important, but know that you can’t always plan for what a fan/follower may post.

2)  When a fan complains about your product, don’t delete the post.  Let it be an open dialogue where you assure your fan that the problem is going to be addressed.

3)  Respond to questions, concerns, and even positive feedback immediately.  And by immediately, I mean within an hour!  If you don’t generate a response quickly enough, that may be a lost follower forever.

4)  If the issue requires tech support or help from a separate department within your company, respond within the hour to tell them that you are sorry for the frustration, the issue is being addressed and you will respond with an answer/solution within the next three hours.  (And follow up with that guarantee.)

It’s probably a good idea to have some simple responses to questions that tend to pop up regularly on your fan pages and Twitter feeds, but know that you can’t plan the day to day.  Just be confident in your brand and remember that these fans/followers trust your social media involvement as a part of your customer service initiatives.

What brands do you think utilize social media for customer service best?

Perhaps it’s not politically correct for the CEO of a digital marketing company to express his disgust with a strong new entry into the social media consciousness, and yet here I go.  I hate Foursquare.  OK, my kids tell me that “hate” is a really strong word, so let me rephrase – I strongly dislike Foursquare. And I don’t care who knows it.

Advocates of Foursquare say it’s the next big social media marketing platform.  They say that businesses small and large should try to attract members of Foursquare because it will help them promote their business online. Even the New York Times has picked up on the hub-bub, so it has officially entered the public lexicon.

Foursquare is basically a social media game, which requires players to “check in” at various locations they visit as they vie to become the Mayor of that location.  A dubious honor, this mayorship can sometimes lead to – are you ready for it? A free cup of coffee!  Coupons for dollars off a sandwich!  Maybe even a crown you can wear around town to let people know of your superior status.

So why do I hate Foursquare? Because its participants — many of whom reside in this very office and are people I trust and respect — continue to feel it necessary to share with me through their Twitter and Facebook streams exactly where they are at all times, and what they are buying/consuming/eating etc. Frankly, I do not care where you are.  I don’t care that you are bra shopping. And I don’t care that you just unlocked the super-sonic, gold-plated badge level like some Worlds of Warcraft fanboy.

And I certainly don’t care that you are the mayor of the Hillcrest Subway. Or the mayor of Bailey Gardiner for that matter.  What makes you think anyone actually does care, except for you and the owner of the business you are promoting by telling me where you are?

There are a lot of great online business models that already offer geolocation services and popularity ratings – and way better in my opinion. User generated content and public rating systems are not new, and there are great platforms like Yelp, Loopt, Chowhound, and even grand-daddies like TripAdvisor, that allow me to check people’s opinions about all sorts of things. But on my own time and according to my own set of search criteria.

Having people barge into my social media stream with updates about their current location is pretty much spam.  It’s uninvited information from people I actually like, making it really hard to just turn off their Facebook updates or unfollow them on Twitter.

So do us all a favor Foursquare junkies – disconnect your relentless updates from your social media streams so we don’t all have to witness your trips to Subway, Starbucks and Target. Then you can become the Mayor Of Wherever The Hell You Want, and I don’t need to know about it.

Because really, no one cares except for the brands you are helping by mentioning them.

The short answer is “maybe”. And here’s the long answer….

We’re often asked this question by potential and current clients and we usually tell them that social media isn’t for everyone and having a Facebook Fan Page isn’t for everyone either. People use Facebook as a way to interact with the brands they have an emotional connection to and/or to express their personal interests to their friends.

For example, I’m a fan of Diet Coke, but I don’t make it a point to visit their page to interact with the brand or with other fans. I just like Diet Coke and wanted it to be on my list. I’m also a fan of Scripps Health because I’m a patient and think they are a wonderful health care provider. I often interact with them by answering questions posed to their fans or even posting my own questions. I also love paperclips and appreciate their function, but I’m not going to go out of my way to become a fan let alone post comments on the fan page.

When we advised our client, Vet-Stem, a company that provides stem cell therapy for dogs, to create a Facebook fan page, we were really excited and knew a page focusing on people’s pets and how Vet-Stem has helped them improve their quality of life, would be a success. But, we were not prepared for just how much people wanted to interact with the brand and shocked at how fast we saw results.

Our team set moderate expectations using past experience and industry benchmarks. We created the  fan page with a strategy and compelling content, and when it was complete in January, networked it out within our Bailey Gardiner team. We saw a slight bump in fans, but that was the calm before the storm. Vet-Stem sent an email out to their database which included veterinarians and patients. The email didn’t just include “become our fan”, but told people why we created the page and how we wanted them to interact. We were asking them to share stories about their pets, how Vet-Stem helped and opened it up to questions and comments from dog owners.

Now, Vet-Stem’s Facebook Fan Page has nearly 950 fans and sees several interactions per day on their fan page. Dog owners post pictures of their dogs and write stories about how thankful they are for stem cell therapy. We’ve also use the page to share links to our Arthritis in Dogs blog posts and have seen an increase of click throughs to both the blog and the website. Vet-Stem has also started using their fan page as a way to streamline their customer service protocol and gather testimonials for us to use for traditional public relations pitching.

The point is, if your brand is one that people are passionate about and already has a strong following of brand ambassadors, then a Facebook Fan Page is something you should consider. Remember that interaction and engagement are your two goals for your fan page. Creating a two-way communication with them and making them feel like they are a part of something is key to a successful strategy.

When ordering pizza with friends a few days ago, I was surprised at the level of interaction Domino’s Pizza offered their customers. Here are five of the ways that Dominoes is giving consumers what they want online:

1. Real time tracking of your order. Minute by minute, your order is tracked from “Order Placed” to “Out for Delivery.” The tracker even shows you who is making your pizza and who will deliver! Social media and online ordering has created a real time consumer.

2. Sharing every moment of your life. No matter how boring. Domino’s made it easy for me to connect to Facebook and share that I am about to have pizza. This message is then displayed on my wall and the news feeds of my friends.

3. Domino’s monitored social sites like Facebook, Twitter and Yelp and listened to their critics. They took all of this feedback and re-created their pizza. Then, they went on the road and found the people that were their “harshest critics.” They called this promotion the “Pizza Turnaround.” They showcase their videos on their YouTube channel and on their own website.

4. Notice in the picture just above that they highlight their Twitter stream about their new pizza. They realized they needed to listen to their customers and make things right.

5. They genuinely want to know how they are doing. They make it easy for you to leave comments and feedback about your pizza and your experience.

6. Last but not least. The email follow-up not only confirms your order and tells you that you can track your order online, it also has a “come back” message:

*This post is part of Bailey Gardiner’s Public Relations Tactics series, which highlights tools and best practices to ensure a successful public relations campaign. The series will run weekly.

If you work for a public relations firm, why wouldn’t you do your own PR and practice what you preach?

A while back, Jennifer from our advertising team blogged about Bailey Gardiner’s ad in USA Today. But like she mentioned in her post, advertising is only part of the strategy in branding yourself and working with the types of clients you want to represent. Creating an integrated strategy by adding public relations and social media to the mix is like the one-two punch. Ready? And go.

Here are just a few ways to PR your agency’s work:

Share Agency News

You’re proud of the work you do, right? Announce new hires and share your agency wins with PR trades like PRWeek and Bulldog Reporter as well as local business publications and online. PitchEngine is great service that makes it easy to create a social media news release and your own social media newsroom.

Utilize Social Media Platforms

Whether it’s creating mobile video or doing industry-specific public relations,  showcase your agency’s brilliant thinking on platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook, or make it easy for people to find you with a Twitter handle or Twitter hashtag.

Position Key Staff as Experts

Another way you can use PR to promote your agency. Pitch senior staff as experts available for interview and for speaking opportunities.

There’s been a lot of hype lately regarding the constant changes to Facebook fan pages.  One of the most upsetting changes for marketers was the newly added restrictions regarding contests held on Facebook..  As marketers, what we loved about Facebook contests were that it leveled the playing field for companies and brands of all sizes.  Brand recognition and money had nothing to do with whether or not you became visible on Facebook. But sometimes good things must come to an end…or in our case, come to a crossroad, where we’re forced to be more creative with our outreach.

While Facebook hasn’t entirely banned all contests, here are the most important new guidelines to keep in mind:

• You need written approval from Facebook before beginning a contest.  Sounds easy enough, right?  Not so much!  Facebook has companies “fill out” a contact form and in that form, they ask what your ad budget is.  From our own findings, we discovered that this form is somewhat useless if you don’t plan to spend at least $25,000 in advertising, as we were directed away from the contact form when not entering a high enough dollar amount.   Out of curiosity, we entered the $25,000 amount and sure enough, the contact form continues with its questionnaire.  Hey, I guess we finally know how Facebook makes their money.

• You’re limited in how you publicize your contest. If you’re lucky enough to gain permission to run a contest from  Facebook, this means you probably have a larger budget for ad spending than most and also that you need to be aware that you’re still limited with how you promote your contest.

1. You can only run contests on third party applications and may only share info regarding said contest on the canvas page of an application or an application box in a tab on your fan page.
2. You cannot condition that participants take any action on Facebook – that includes uploading photos or videos, updating status, or updating a profile or page.
3. You cannot notify winners of contests through Facebook – that includes private message, IM, status update, or wall post.

Whether or not Facebook took the wind out of your sails, we’d recommend that you re-think running a contest on the platform. Even if you think Facebook wouldn’t notice a tiny Mom & Pop Shop running a contest, iyou are risking having your page shut down and losing your already-established fan base.  Facebook is still a behemoth platform where the demographic is constantly changing and the public is more than eager to interact.  If your brand doesn’t qualify for running a contest, you may just have to find a new/creative way to market you Facebook Fan page.

*This post is part of Bailey Gardiner’s Public Relations Tactics series, which highlights tools and best practices to ensure a successful public relations campaign. The series will run weekly.

Media relations and writing successful pitches are two skills that get better with practice, much like how wine and cheese get better with age – two of my other favorite things, in addition to public relations. My first successful pitches were written during my days as a PR intern at Bailey Gardiner, and I’ve since learned a few tips on writing pitches that work and deliver results, like one to LA Times’ Brand X for Electra Bicycle Company.

Electra bikes featured in LA Times' Brand X

• Consider starting with a question and keep the intro brief. I started this pitch by asking, “Are you familiar with Electra Bicycle Company?” Then, I summarized what the company is known for in one sentence. Reporters are people. Have a conversation.
• If what you’re pitching isn’t new, make it sound new. It’s all in the delivery and how you phrase your sentences.  Are you pitching a story angle the publication has not yet covered? Can you offer the reporter an idea of what’s to come next from your client and when?
• Pick one angle and stick to the point. Electra has four bike lines and more than 200 different styles of bikes. Where to start? I picked three bikes and explained in three bullet points why readers would want these specific bikes.
• Be specific in your ask. Instead of closing with something general like, “Please feel free to contact me with questions or more information,” try closing your pitch with something more specific. Offer photos or an interview.

Now, it’s about landing the PR hit by following up and calling the reporter. What other tips do you have for writing successful public relations pitches?

Facebook is making new changes to its fan pages next month and all of us social media marketers are abuzz with anticipation. This is big stuff. Apparently the news that Facebook was changing its fan pages was actually released back in October, but somehow it’s only now catching on. (Strange considering the implications the new design has for companies on Facebook). Below is a summary of the changes, what these changes mean, and why they are happening.

Changes to your Facebook fan pages

• Your boxes tab is disappearing – and possibly any custom content currently housed under the boxes tab. Some are saying that the majority of your content will just be moved into tabs on your fan page, however there doesn’t seem to be a consensus on how this will happen.
• Your application tabs are changing – The tab width for all those custom tabs will shrink from 760 pixels to 520 pixels. This means, if you have built a fan page with application tabs right now, you are going to need to re-design them…pretty much immediately. No word yet as to whether un-shrunken content will be immediately deleted, or will just look strange and broken.
• Your ability to talk to your fans via their news feed is changing – your updates will only be inserted into your fans’ feed if your Facebook fan page is being visited often and if you have lots of likes and comments. Facebook has created an algorithm  which will measure engagement and, rumor has it, how much Facebook advertising you purchase.
• You can get your fans’ email (kinda) – There is a new email API that allows you to collect email addresses from your fans. However this is only if you are building your own app – for now at least.

What do these new changes to Facebook fan pages mean?

In short – it means you need to step up your game. You will be able to rely less on the custom content as Facebook continues to refine their policies. In fact, I’m guessing this won’t be the last time they make changes, so I wouldn’t put all your eggs into the “customization” basket. It all comes down to your status updates and wall posts, and they are going to have to be good. Update less often and make sure that when you do, it is something people will respond to. I’d go with making your fan page entertaining, as these days it seems people are on Facebook more and more for entertainment and less for info. (That’s what Twitter is for).

Why is Facebook changing its fan pages?

Yes, many will be upset, but Facebook is doing what it always does – looking out for its users (while trying to make a profit…hey, it’s a business after all!) Facebook was never originally about companies, and the fact that they’ve let us play at all in their sandbox is far from where they originally started. Facebook is making these changes, because they want to be different than Myspace. After Myspace was taken over by companies and intrusive advertising, it literally died. Facebook is protecting its users by making sure their feeds aren’t inundated with companies’ updates and their platform isn’t cluttered with custom content. And at the end of the day, they are also watching out for their bottom line – something I think any company can understand.

So what do you think? Are you up for the challenge that these new changes to facebook fan pages will bring?