#SocialMediaCampaignsGoneWrong

 As public relations students and practitioners, we all love a good hashtag or social media campaign. Often, hashtags and campaigns can enhance your voice on twitter, broaden your outreach and begin a discourse with your followers. All of which is great, but when you are a big corporation or a largely followed twitter account, you have to remember that your followers have as big of a voice as you do. Forget this component, and you’ve got a social media campaign gone wrong on your hands.

Here are a few examples:

#MyNYPD

#MyNYPD was a twitter campaign run by the New York Police Department that asked Twitter users to post a photo of themselves with police officers using the hashtag #MyNYPD. Expecting positive responses, this campaign went horribly wrong when people began using this hashtag to send in pictures of police brutality and other negative responses.

#AskJPM

When JP Morgan asked twitter users to participate in a question-and-answer session with one of its executives using the hashtag #AskJPM, it seems as though they forgot to think about the level of distrust and anger people have over the role of big banks in the financial crisis. 7 hours later, JP Morgan canceled the campaign after questions like, “Did you have a specific number of people’s lives you needed to ruin before you considered your business model a success?”

#McDStories

Back in 2012, a McDonald’s campaign backfired when the company used the hashtag #McDStories to geet their followers to draw attention to the brand’s use of fresh produce. Extremely vague, the hashtag brought back results of McDonald’s horror stories. McDonald’s quickly pulled the hashtag after being active for less than 2 hours.

The lesson to be learned from these social media campaigns gone wrong is to realize that social media makes it impossible to control where a conversation or a campaign will go. Before initiating a campaign, it is vital to go into pre-Crisis Communications mode and create a contingency plan just in case your campaign goes wrong; realize that some negative comments will arise and consider sticking to traditional uses of social media if your company or organization does not fit the potential for a positive campaign.

Source: #MyNYPD: Why It's Impossible to Control Online Conversation

This guest blog was written by PRowl staff member Rute Barkai.

Tips to Improve Event Social Media Coverage

Recently, I've had the pleasure of attending several events and covering them via social media. However, I've also had the displeasure of attending several events and covering them via social media.  While I enjoy my job, it can sometimes be difficult to keep up, keep track, and keep within your data limit. Here are a few quick tips that I've adopted to help me while I'm updating social networks during events.

• Keep Up | Sometimes the pace at which you have to send updates to social media can be pretty overwhelming. The best way to combat this is to use a scheduling application like Hootsuite or Buffer. They allow you have regular content posted during the event so you have an opportunity to actually enjoy being present. However, you should still continue to check each network to make sure that all updates are going up on time and without any grammatical errors. If something noteworthy happens that you didn't plan for, make sure to account for that and post content on that as well.
• Keep Track | A great way to know everything that has been posted to each social network is to develop a spreadsheet. A spreadsheet can serve as a visual aid to ensure accountability and make sure every necessary topic is covered. It helps to break it down by social network so you know exactly what needs to be posted on which platform. It eliminates confusion and checking tasks off your list makes live updates much less daunting.
• Keep Within Your Data Limit | Lately, I've been running into the problem of going over my monthly data allowance. During these events I'm expected to cover, I find myself in areas with either poor wifi service or none at all. The best thing to do is to arrive to the venue early to sort everything out ahead of time. If you discover the venue does not have wifi you have access to, take time to find a "safe place," like a nearby cafe, to plan all of your posts ahead of time as mentioned before. If that's not an option, you might just have to bite the bullet this time around. We're public relations students so we'll have to get used to it!

Have you had to create social media content during an event? What was your experience like? Let us know in the comments below!

Fake It Till You Make It #ChipotleTweets

Most of the tweets posted Sunday were intended to tie into their 20-day long treasure hunt called "Adventurito," which features 20 days of puzzles. Sunday's fragmented tweets were clues of the ingredients they use to make their mouth-watering guacamole. Most of the clues from "Adventurito" have been popping up all over the place and this was the first time they tied them into their social media presence, which surely confused a lot of people.

This past Sunday, American food chain Chipotle Mexican Grill did something out of the ordinary in the social media world; they faked their own Twitter hack.

Chipotle took the expression "fake it till you make it" to a whole new level. According to Mashable,  its main account, @ChipotleTweets, posted a series of confusing and seemingly random tweets over the course of an hour. Now, the company has come forward and admitted that it faked having its account hacked as part of a publicity stunt tied to its 20th anniversary promotional campaign.

In the end, however, it worked out in Chipotle's favor. A representative from the company, Chris Arnold, reported to Mashable that their Twitter account added more than 4,000 followers the day of the "hack," compared to its normal rate of adding about 250 followers a day. The supposedly hacked tweets, which have not been deleted, were retweeted about 12,000 times. By comparison, Chipotle's Twitter account usually sees about 75 retweets per day.

What do you think about this social media saga? Would you advise your brand to stage a Twitter hack? We want to know!

The Internet Never Forgets

While social media can be an extremely beneficial tool for networking and reconnecting with others, I can’t help but think of the possible negative implications of making ourselves so visible online through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to name a few. One of the wisest (and perhaps most cynical) expressions I’ve heard is, “The Internet never forgets.”  I hear all the time that it is safe to assume that once something is posted online, it will be seen by somebody, and perhaps more alarmingly, could be seen by anybody.

Therefore, it is essential to use some helpful practices with our social media accounts such as using restraint and thinking things through before posting. In March of 2009, Dan Leone, a stadium operations employee for the Philadelphia Eagles was fired for voicing his opinions on Facebook regarding a trade the Eagles had made. This violates the rule of thinking about it before posting. If you work for the Eagles, perhaps posting a negative opinion about a decision the Eagles made is not the wisest of ideas. Using some restraint and a little bit of thought could have gone a long way for Dan Leone.

In the professional world today, social media has become almost expected in certain professions. Many professionals in the arts, entertainment, sports, and business industries use their Twitter account as a means for others to follow them and to connect. It may not be a poor choice to have separate Twitter or Facebook accounts for professional and personal purposes. The drawback for this strategy is that it can become tiresome to filter their thoughts through two accounts. If you find it too overwhelming to have separate accounts, simply remember the adage that the internet never forgets and be mindful and careful of what you post! Somebody, anybody can – and most likely will – see it.

This guest blog post was written by PRowl staff member Chris Krochak.

PRISM and Social Media Security

As the internet and social media have evolved, so has the etiquette that we should follow when using them. We have been taught not to post or send anything that we would not want to get out, for the sake of being professional online. However, we were not told to be careful of what we share in the event that the government would see it. 

Over the weekend, news broke that the National Security Agency and the FBI have been accessing information from the servers of nine top U.S. internet companies through a program code-named PRISM. The purpose of this program is to track foreign targets. So far information has been gathered from Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, PalTalk, AOL, Skype, YouTube, and Apple; basically, every website that is used by millions of people on a daily basis. It has been reported that the NSA and FBI can request email, chat (both voice and video), video, photos, file transfers, and more. 

The most interesting thing about this revelation is that it is completely legal thanks to two pieces of legislation passed during the Bush Administration. The first, The Protect America Act of 2007 which allowed suspects to be monitored online without a warrant if they are “reasonably believed” to be foreign. The second, the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 which grants immunity to the internet companies that provide the information. Because of this, most, if not all, government statements thus far have been unapologetic and in support of continuing this program to ensure the safety of this country. 

Just yesterday, the PRISM whistleblower, Edward Snowden, decided to come forward. Why? He explains that when going up against such powerful agencies, you go in knowing that, “If they want you, they will get you in due time.” Snowden says that trying to keep your identity a secret does not prolong any consequences. He chose to blow the whistle on this project because he simply does not “want to live in a society that does these sort of things.”

This has sparked a huge debate among American citizens. Is PRISM an intrusion on our Constitutional rights or is it simply a new measure that our government has to take to keep our nation safe in this internet age?

Which side of the debate do you fall on? We want to know!

For more information on PRISM and the whistleblower, read these articles.

Fakery on Facebook

Recently, the New York Times released an article about a hospital in North Carolina that became a victim of a pseudo Facebook Page. In October, a ‘fake’ page popped up and discussed the negative effects of “Obamacare”. The page quickly gained hundreds of followers, and the anti-Obama campaign picked up immeasurable number ‘likes’. Officials at the hospital attempted to take control of the situation, but as quickly as the page appeared, it disappeared. The article goes on to discuss fakery all over the internet, including Facebook.

Gaston Memorial’s experience is a lesson in the problem of fakery on Facebook. As the world’s largest social network, it is an acute problem, because it calls into question the very basis of the site. Facebook has sought to be viewed as the community where people use their real identities. The appearance of fraudulent accounts makes Facebook’s mission impossible and could cause users to question Facebook’s reliability.

Facebook says they are taking the problem very seriously and have recently stepped up their efforts to terminate ‘fake’ and fraudulent accounts. However, the problem has become almost impossible to manage. Hundreds of these fraudulent sites can pop up simultaneously and some even contain malware and other viruses. Additionally, ‘fake’ coupons form meals and other items are appearing on Facebook news feeds, aimed at tricking individuals into revealing their personal information.

Facebook says they first noticed an increase in the creation of fraudulent sites when pages were beginning to decrease in the monthly amount of likes. Additionally, the election season seems to have increased with this reported activity.

One public relations implication of the rise of fraudulent Facebook accounts is the declining opinion of the public. Fraudulent ‘likes’ damage the trust of advertisers, who want clicks from real people they can sell to and whom Facebook now relies on to make money. 'Fakery' also lowers the credibility of Facebook itself.  If users no longer feel secure or believe Facebook is reliable, the site may see a decrease in users and a lowering of stock prices.

We Are the Twenty Percent!

In the world of business, ROI is everything. In order to increase your ROI, you need to ensure you are delivering the right message, to the right audience, through the correct channel.

Online, there are seven types of audiences: altruists, selectives, passionates, connectors, trendspotters, provocateurs, and careerists.Of these consumers, only 20% are high sharers, active users, like us, whom generally create original content and whom are loyal to online brands, and the other 80% are considered low sharers, consumers not loyal to a specific brand and whom are not very active on social media. In general, campaigns should be tailored to your company's or organization's high sharers. Below, I will highlight the characteristics of each type of high share consumer and how to cater to them.

1. Altruists account for the largest percentage of social consumers. They re-tweet, post and share because of a desire to help others. Altruists are especially important to focus on for non-profits and fundraising endeavors. The most effective way to engage altruists is through Facebook and email.
2.  Selectives make up the second highest percentage of social consumers. They strategically share information and content with specific users. These consumers use email most frequently to share content.
3. Passionates share content and information because of a common passion they share with their followers and friends. They can be frequently found on Facebook and on customer review sites.
4. Connectors share information in order to create opportunities. They generally will link multiple account to optimize their social experience. They are most commonly found and can be reached on Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr and Facebook.
5. Trendspotters want to be in and let others know they are in the know. They attempt to increase their credibility via multiple social channels and can be found on YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, foursquare, Flickr, Facebook and Delicious. 
6. Provocateurs are always looking to get a reaction. Bloggers are generally included in the this category and can be reached on YouTube, Wordpress/Blogger, Twitter, LinkedIn, foursqare, Flickr and Delicious. 
7. Careerists general use social sites for business and networking purposes. In general, Careerists utilize YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr and Facebook.

The number of followers and analytics of your company's page are no longer an appropriate measure of a campaign's success. Targeting high share consumers to generate recommondations and inspire creation of content is the appropriate means to increase engagement, brand loyalty, and ROI.

This post is based on the Huffington post article written by Jennifer Nagy,  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-nagy/social-media-marketing_b_1695186.html 

Don't Over Feed!

As aspiring public relations professionals and young adults, many of us are constantly "plugged in". Throughout the day we are on social media sites commenting, re-tweeting and posting not only on our personal accounts but also for our internships and places of employment. We know it's sometimes unhealthy but some of us have trouble "shutting off". While feeding my addiction on Pinterest, I found this funny and cautionary warning.

The new motto, "Don't over feed". Sorry, Drake.

Measuring Success

When you are launching a social media campaign, one of the important factors you need to keep in mind is measurement. If you don't measure your success, or failure, then you won't know how you can improve in the future. Now, measurement is an idea that is often tossed around. Is simply counting the amount of "likes" you have on Facebook enough? According

to Shonali Burke's "5 steps to a successful measurement program", it goes a little deeper than that.

Identify the business objectives for your program/campaign: Keep in mind what your concrete goals are. If you are trying to increase client traffic, then focus on tactics that will get more people in your door. Your business objective should be what all of your strategies trace back to.

Identify how you will measure the success of these objectives: Set goals for yourself. If you want to increase sales, then by how much? What percentage of your client base should be purchasing your products? Set a timeframe of when you should reach this goal. This is something that the managers at my job do. They tell everyone what each 2 hour goal is, what percentage of customers walking through the door should be purchasing, and their Average Dollar Sale. That way, we will keep this specific goal in mind when ringing customers up so that if a transaction falls a little behind ADS, we can use tactics to encourage them to buy more.

Outline your communication strategy: It's a common mistake when people frame their strategy around the concept of the bandwagon. "Everyone's on Pinterest so we should post everything there!" Keep your audience in mind, if you are targeting men ages 30-55, do you think they'll be on Pinterest? Primarily, no. Post where it makes most sense.

Keep track of your efforts: Google Analytics is great for this purpose, it tracks the number of views on your website and then compares it on several different platforms like visitors, time on page, etc. across any time frame you choose. Bitly will also track the amount of clicks on your link if you are posting on Facebook or Twitter. Watch what you are putting out and what effect it is having on your statistics. Also, keep the time frame you are measuring the same, this will give you a steady, unbiased base to compare to each time.

How are you keeping track of your success? Are you utilizing Google Analytics? Let us know!

Getting Social with your Google Search

Always trying to generate the most relevant search results for users, Google is becoming a more social site. With the introduction of Google+, they have been able to incorporate your personal connections into your search results. Below I have outlined some of Google's recent updates:

• When you are logged into Google+, Personal Results are included in your search. Personal Results are indicated by a blue person icon on the left side of the website. People and pages in your Google+ circles are likely to show up in these results. To switch to non-personalized results, select the globe icon on the right side of the screen, near your login.
• If you are trying to get yourself, or your business page noticed, have a presence on Related People and Pages. Google recommends to show up in these results, your full profile must be filled out and post about favorite topics. These posts will help you gain credibility and show up higher in search results.
  
• Again on the business/company pages, it is imperative to have relevant, high-quality content on your page, so that viewers will +1 you. When posting, use words that pertain to your industry or expertise.

What do you think of Google's social approach?

To read more about Google Social Search and marketing yourself/company click here.

But Mom, I Don't Want to Give you my Password!

Recently I was getting ready for class one morning and I overhead a newscaster giving their opinion concerning parental supervision of their child's social media use. He explained that if a teenager's parent does not have all the passwords to their social media accounts, that they weren't doing their job right.

This struck me as a bold statement, considering back in the day before Facebook and Twitter, my 14-year-old self would be mortified if my parents were able to access my AOL Instant Messenger account. With the popularity of social networking skyrocketing, especially with younger audiences, should it be encouraged that parents monitor their child's social media use?

In November, the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project with the Family Online Safety Institute did a study with findings indicating that 95 percent of all teens age 12 to 17 are online, with 80 percent of them on social media sites.

While many of us have been using social networks for years, it could be beneficial to go back to the basics when learning about online etiquette, especially to educate a younger audience.

• Safety. Even if you're not creeping around in online chat rooms, it is still important to go through your site's privacy settings and to monitor anything said in your emails that could be suspicious.
• Boundaries. Thinking about all the cyber bullying that occurs in younger age groups online, remember treat others as you would like to be treated. Considering that virtually everything posted online is floating around cyberspace, don't post things that are harmful to others or yourself. For older audiences, try to keep opinions out of posts that could come back to bite you in the future.
  
• Be a good role model. If a younger audience could be viewing your profile, set an example! If individuals learn how to have a positive presence online and create useful interactions, it will help them to act responsibly in the future.
  
• Think first! If you wouldn't want a picture or status of yours on the front page of the newspaper, reconsider your post.

Whether it is a teenager on Facebook, a parent looking at their child's MySpace or a professional reading their Twitter feed, it doesn't matter when it comes to learning how to surf the web in a responsible, safe manner. Do you think there should be supervision and/or education for younger users on social media sites?

To read more about parental supervision on social media sites, click here.