cmkubicki-blog

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Social Media in Times of Tragedy

As a brand, posting to or responding on social media, especially when responding to a tragic event, is very difficult. Brands are not regular social media users, they have an image to uphold, and that image is essential to how the brand is represented. That image is also fragile, and even one inappropriate social media response during or after a tragedy can be seriously damaging to (or even ruin, depending on the severity) a brand’s image. According to Adweek, are things that brands should (and should not) do on social media during or after a tragedy. The following is a list of do’s and don’ts that a brand can follow to keep their social media activity appropriate during and after tragic events.

Do’s (during the event):

- Be aware in the moment

- Put any and all automated messages on hold

- If a brand statement is released, make sure that the message is as broad and positive as possible

- Provide a link to relevant sources (if available)

Do’s (after the event):

- Provide a link to the best relevant sources

- If the brand is connected to the event, be sure to tailor the message

- Start a charity drive in relation to the event

Don’ts:

- NEVER tie a promotion to the event

- Do *not* send out any promotions during the event whatsoever

- Do not make a specific statement about the event afterward

There are examples of brands (and celebrities) making both good posts that are appropriate to the situation, and bad posts that are inappropriate and offensive. 

Good, appropriate posts:

- After the Boston Bombing, Nike Running released a statement on Twitter that was appropriate : “We run with heavy hearts after the Boston tragedy, but we will never stop running.”

- Coca-Cola released this statement (also on Twitter after the Boston Bombing): “Our hearts go out to Boston.”

Bad, inappropriate & offensive posts:

During the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, the fashion brand Kenneth Cole posted this on Twitter, being accused of being insensitive, and “hijacking” the #Cairo hashtag to promote their clothes: “Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online at http://bit.ly/KCairo -KC “

In 2014, DiGiorno’s Pizza made this post, misuses a hashtag about domestic abuse:  “#WhyIStayed You had pizza.”

Sources

 http://www.adweek.com/digital/how-should-brands-respond-to-tragedy-on-social-media/

http://www.adweek.com/digital/kenneth-coles-twitter-fail/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2016/05/02/the-7-worst-and-most-amusing-mistakes-brands-have-ever-made-on-social-media/#eed2c6f6a5cc

https://twitter.com/scottfpaul/status/509180196290039808

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Klout

According to Klout.com, I have a Klout Score of 31 across Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. It is a loose measure of how much “influence” one possesses on social media. It is measured on a scale of 1 to 100, meaning that I have a fairly low Klout Score which, given my propensity for not using these outlets very often, I expected to happen.

Going off of how social media works, I believe that the “Klout Score” is measured by the amount of followers, connections, friends, subscribers, et cetera one has, along with content posted that has a lot of likes, comments, shares, and retweets.

Three things I could do to improve my Klout Score:

1.) Make a lot more friend requests, connections, et cetera. Just start sending them out to any and everyone to obtain more.

.2.) Analyze these social media outlets and find out what kind of content gets more likes, shares, retweets, et cetera across these outlets and post more content that is of that kind to generate more likes, comments, shares, and retweets.

3.) Post more content in general, as I do not post very much as I use these channels very casually.

That is my report on my Klout Score. Have a great day, and Roar Lions!

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Facebook Brand Survey

The Facebook brand profile I decided to analyze is the McAfee brand Facebook profile. The elements of the profile I have analyzed are the brand assets (or lack thereof), consumer engagement techniques, level of engagement of the brand’s fans, as well as potential improvements as no brand profile is perfect. But, without further ado, here is my analysis.

Brand assets:

The profile includes brand assets such as the McAfee brand name, the new stylized McAfee shield, as well as the new company tagline, “Together is power”. Since the re-branding after being spun out by Intel, they no longer use the old McAfee “M” shield, nor are their products marked by the Intel Security logo anymore. As such, these logos are not present on the profile.

Engagement techniques:

There are really only three techniques that McAfee is using to engage with consumers on their company Facebook. One of these techniques is providing information about the company & their products. They also provide links to their website to facilitate purchases from the profile. The last technique McAfee uses is making posts that cover a variety of topics: what the company is doing, coverage from security industry events, awards the company has won, articles from company blogs, information about partnerships with other companies, as well as security-relevant statistics.

Brand fan level of engagement:

In regards to the level of engagement of the fans, fans of the brand seem to be taking to the profile well enough, but they are not all that engaged within the community. While the brand’s profile has only been around since around mid-2017 (McAfee became a standalone company again after being spun out by Intel in April 2017), it already has almost 1 million likes and 1 million follows. While fans seem to be following the profile, they are not really sharing or commenting on the content that is posted. Individual posts are not getting much attention in the way of likes, shares, or even comments. While the profile itself is getting attention with almost 1 million shares and follows, the fans are not really engaged within the community and individual posts are getting little attention.

Potential improvements:

While the McAfee Facebook profile can be described as informative, it is not very engaging, they do not give consumers any reason to engage with the community. It almost seems, considering their posts and the nature of these posts, as though McAfee is more concerned with simply informing consumers on some the previously mentioned topics than with engaging the consumers directly or encouraging them to engage with each other in the community. That being said, they could stand to try out different types of content. Maybe consider some more entertaining videos, as well as advertise some discounts to their services only obtainable through their Facebook profile (like a percentage off of their products for people who like and share that specific post), perhaps some giveaways and guest appearances (maybe with some celebrities or well-known businessmen whose companies use their products). Adding more variety in the content they post should increase engagement within the community, as well as increase the amount of attention the profile itself is receiving from consumers.

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Unwired Day

So I had an assignment to do for my Social Media Marketing class, called Unwired Day. The point was to be “unplugged”, to not use any electronics for 24 hours (cellphones, laptops, tablets, television, gaming systems, et cetera)   and record my experience. I started the assignment at 9 am on Thursday, February 16th and completed it at 9 am the following morning. The following is the complete record of my day.

6:45 - woke up and prepared to begin my day

6:50-7:15 - coffee and croissants

7:30-8:15 - got ready for school

8:20-9:20 - commute to Florence for class

9:30-1:25 - International Business and Personal Sales classes

1:45-2:45 - commute back home

3:00-5:45 - caught up on reading The Way of the Wolf by Jordan Belfort

6:15-6:45 - dinner

7:00-10:15 - spent time with friends

10:30-11 - preparing for bed

11:15 (approximately) - fell asleep

8:45 (the next day) - woke up

9:00 - end of the assignment

I did not find this to be particularly difficult, in fact it was actually somewhat relaxing. I do not get on social media all that often, and most things I prefer to do do not require Internet, so it was actually somewhat therapeutic to not have to get on Canvas and worry about upcoming assignments, or see something on Facebook that disturbs me. The only thing that was somewhat difficult was being able to keep track of time, as I do not have a clock in my room and I do not have a watch that currently has a battery. Overall, I found the experience to be fulfilling and somewhat therapeutic, and I will most likely be doing it again in the near future to unwind. I hope this was as interesting to you reading it as it was doing it, but for the full effect, I suggest doing it sometime. You may it just as relaxing as I did, perhaps even more so. Have a great day, and thank you for reading!

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Goals

I am Christian Kubicki, and this is my blog. I will occasionally post business-oriented and business-related content that I hope people will enjoy. I have 3 goals for my MK 375 course (Social Media Marketing) this semester:

1.) Give every assignment my best effort throughout the semester

2.) Gain an increased understanding of the art of marketing using social media that I can carry with me into my professional career

3.) Earn an A in the course by demonstrating proficiency in the material I learn over the semester.

Welcome to my blog!