Silencing Customer Reviews Only Backfires on Companies

Today, businesses are at the mercy of their customer reviews online. It is easy and commonplace to review business online (Yahoo, Yelp, Google reviews, etc.) and more and more customers turn to these reviews for an insight into the business before making a purchasing decision. Customers trust other customers; one study concluded, “88% of online consumers say they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. (Anderson, 2014).

So, it seems only natural that with a business’ success depending on customer reviews, instances would occur where businesses attempt to silence negative reviews. It is never appropriate to attempt to silence consumer reviews, instead business should respond to complaints, attempt to repair the damage done, and learn from mistakes made. However, here are some examples of businesses that chose to take the wrong route in dealing with customer reviews.

The $500 Fine

One hotel in New York, the Union Street Guest House, had a policy of charging guests $500 per negative review online (Grandoni, 2014). The hotel had this rule summarized on their website:

Since media sources have published the story, that policy has been removed, and the hotel released a statement saying that this was intended to be a joke and was never enforced by employees. However, several past guests turned to Yelp and other review sites to confirm that they had been threatened with the fine after posting negative reviews, and that they had been told they would not be charged if their reviews were taken down.

After this story went viral, the hotel received over 3,000 1-star reviews on yelp, dropping its overall rating drastically (Langfield, 2014).

EE Limited

EE Limited, a mobile and Internet provider in the UK, caught media attention after dozens of customers began to notice that their complaints against the company on social media platforms were being silenced (Fiveash, 2014). On Facebook, customers are openly asked to take their complaints to private messages, and afterwards their complaints are deleted so that the public may not see. On Twitter, the company also attempts to encourage customers to complain privately, as they are not able to delete the tweets.

 

 

Samsung

Last December, Samsung had a similar scandal. A distraught customer uploaded a video onto YouTube complaining of his Galaxy S4 phone catching fire while charging (Zolfagharifard, 2013). The video, which was generating thousands of views, caught Samsung’s attention and they contacted the customer. However, rather than simply offering to replace his phone, they sent him a letter stating that they will not replace the phone until the video has been taken down, and he is not allowed to disclose the details of this arrangement.

The customer responded to this by posting another video in which he reads Samsung’s letter and shames them for trying to silence him. Due to increased media attention, a video that Samsung initially wanted to cover up actually ended up receiving over 1.4 million views on YouTube. The video regarding Samsung’s letter currently has over 1.5 million views.

Lessons Learned

Companies that respond to complaints, and attempt to rectify the situation, do not need to delete these complaints from public forums. The response shows that the company is listening, and attempting to correct customer service issues. A company that simply deletes and ignores their consumers is only going to attract more negative attention. Listen to customer complaints, attempt to fix the problem, and learn from mistakes made so that they do not repeat themselves in the future.

References

Anderson, M. (2014, July 7). 88% of Consumers Trust Online Reviews as Much as Personal Recommendations. Retrieved December 12, 2014, from Search Engine Land: http://searchengineland.com/88-consumers-trust-online-reviews-much-personal-recommendations-195803

Fiveash, K. (2014, August 27). EE Accused of Silencing Customer Gripes on Social Media Pages. Retrieved December 12, 2014, from The Register: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/08/27/ee_customer_service_complaints_social_media_policy/

Grandoni, D. (2014, August 8). This Hotel’s $500 Fine for Bad Reviews is Backfiring Horribly. Retrieved December 12, 2014, from Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/04/union-street-guest-house-yelp_n_5648082.html

Langfield, A. (2014, August 5). Hotel’s $500 “Joke” Led to 3,000 Bad Reviews. Retrieved December 12, 2014, from Today Money: http://www.today.com/money/union-street-guest-house-500-joke-cost-it-3-000-1D80024902

Zolfagharifard, E. (2013, December 10). Samsung “Attempts” to Silence Report of Galaxy S4 Catching Fire After Angry Customer Uploads youtube Video. Retrieved December 12, 2014, from Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2521284/Samsung-attempts-silence-report-Galaxy-S4-catching-angry-customer-uploads-Youtube-video.html

Social Media and Feminism

2014 has been the year for social media campaigns advocating feminism 

Social media is often associated with selfies, videos of uncanny animal friends, and political rants that lead to arguments and the destruction of virtual friendships. However, social media also holds the power to induct change. For example, during the Egyptian Revolution in 2011, an activist tweeted “We use Facebook to schedule protests, Twitter to coordinate, and YouTube to tell the world” (Ramona, n.d.)

In particular, social media is beginning to play a large role in the modern feminist movement. People are using social media to bring attention to issues, begin campaigns, and instill change.

#YesAllWomen

The #YesAllWomen began in response to a tragic killing spree on May 23, 2014 in California, where a gunman killed 6 people and injured 13, because (according to his video manifesto) he felt rejected by women and was jealous of sexually active men. In response to this, the #YesAllWomen social media campaign began, in which women share their stories of sexism and discrimination in their daily lives.

This campaign is still going strong with women sharing their experiences and attempting to draw attention to the dangers women have to deal with because of their gender.

#Why I Stayed / #Why I Left 

After a serious NFL scandal where video footage of football player Ray Rice hitting his girlfriend unconscious emerged in the media, Twitter became a platform for discussions surrounding domestic abuse. As his girlfriend (now wife) was criticized for standing by her abuser, two hashtags emerged: #WhyIStayed and #WhyILeft. These two hashtags went viral as domestic abuse victims shared both sides of the story: their reasons for staying or leaving an abusive relationship. These tweets were shared in the hopes that people would be less quick to judge domestic abuse victims, as the dynamics of the situation are often very complex.

#FreeTheNipple

This hashtag has been used by feminists in a fight to reduce the stigma surrounding breasts. The campaign criticizes that men and women’s bodies should not be treated differently, as men have always been allowed to be topless in public. “Women’s freedom of bodily expression is limited by the FCC, MPAA, social media platforms and, ultimately, a culture that views nipple as inherently explicit” (Duberman, 2014). The #FreetheNipple campaign encourages women to post images of themselves topless on social media sites in order to promote change. Currently, “it is illegal for women to be topless in 35 states in the US, and an exposed nipple in Louisiana can cost a women up to $2,500 in fines” (Duberman, 2014).

#AskHerMore

The social campaign #AskHerMore criticizes the way females are treated on the red carpet. While men are asked about their work, and how they prepared for their roles, etc., women are primarily asked about what they are wearing and what is in their purses. With this hashtag, users tweet out criticisms about this process, and the questions they wish were being asked of these professional women.

All of these campaigns have begun in 2014, and continue to grow. Social media has been a channel for feminist activists to have a larger voice that reaches millions of people at once. It will be interesting to see the impact that these campaigns are able to bring, and what movements will turn to social media next.

References

Bennett, Jessica. (2014, September 10). Behold the Power of #Hashtag Feminism. TIME Magazine. Retrieved December 10, 2014 from http://time.com/3319081/whyistayed-hashtag-feminism-activism/.

Duberman, Amanda. (2014, November 21). “Free the Nipple” Trailer Shows Women Fighting for Equality Through the Right to Bare Chests. Huffington Post. Retrieved December 10, 2014 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/21/free-the-nipple-trailer_n_6199422.html.

Feeney, Nolan. (2014, May 25). The Most Powerful #YesAllWomen Tweets. TIME Magazine. Retrieved December 10, 2014 from http://time.com/114043/yesallwomen-hashtag-santa-barbara-shooting/.

Kleeman, Sophie. (2014, August 25). #AskHerMore Calls Out the Questions We Wish Reporters Would Ask Women at the Emmys. Identities Mic. Retrieved December 10, 2014 from http://mic.com/articles/97244/askhermore-calls-out-the-questions-we-wish-reporters-would-ask-women-at-the-emmys.

Kundt, Ramona. (n.d.) Conflict Management and Peacebuilding in the Digital Age. Retrieved December 10, 2014 from http://www.paxchristi.net/news/conflict-management-and-peacebuilding-digital-age/3509#sthash.8iZLywXV.dpbs. 

Love de Jesus, Julliane. (2014, May 30). Instagram Closes Account of Bruce Willis’ Daughter Over “Nipple” Protest. Inquirer.net. Retrieved December 10, 2014 from http://entertainment.inquirer.net/143422/instagram-closes-account-of-bruce-willis-daughter-over-nipple-protest/comment-page-2.

Ramsey, Franchesca. (n.d.) 14 Tweets Answer “Wh I Stayed,” 1 Broke My Heart, But the Last 3 Gave Me Hope. Upworthy.com. Retrieved December 10, 2014 from http://www.upworthy.com/14-tweets-answer-why-i-stayed-11-broke-my-heart-but-the-last-3-gave-me-hope.

 

 

The Background Check You Don’t Know About

Everyone prepares as best as they can for a job interview: professional clothes, practicing answers to the typical questions, and asking past employers for references. But there is a process more and more employers are adopting that you may be unprepared for. More employers are turning to social media profiles to screen applicants either: after receiving an application, after an interview, or before hiring the person.

What Are The Exact Statistics?

Reppler conducted a survey of over 300 hiring professionals, and came out with these results:

• 91% reported that they use social networking sites to screen prospective employees
• 69% have rejected a candidate because of what was posted on their social media accounts
• During this screening process, respondents reported that they use the following social media platforms to screen employees:
  • 76% Facebook
  • 53% Twitter
  • 48% LinkedIn

The social media platform (LinkedIn) created as a professional platform for potential employers, is used the least in the screening process.

Why Is This An Issue?

This screening process is an issue because social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are deemed to be “personal” social media accounts, and cannot be guaranteed to be a direct reflection of the individual’s professional performance. Often times, people act very differently when in a professional environment compared to when they are with friends or family. Social media profiles are a digital version of “hanging out with peers,” and are not used as a platform to set a professional example by users.

Furthermore, despite the popularity of this screening process, few organizations have adopted company policies on how this process should be conducted. As a result, the hiring manager is left to his or her own discretion in making decisions. There are no guidelines for them to follow, and they get to decide how extensively they can research your accounts, and what is “unacceptable” in their opinion.

The Legal Aspect

So, is screening potential employee’s social media accounts legal? In the United States, states such as California and Illinois, have passed “a law that prohibits employers from requiring applicants and employees to allow them access to social media sites” (CKR Global, 2012.) In Canada, “companies generally cannot screen potential hires, even through social media, if the process will: violate a person’s privacy rights or break employment discrimination laws (CKR Global, 2012.) However, there are grey areas in this sector, and companies can find ways around these legal restrictions, such as not informing candidates that they were screened, in order to avoid legal action against the company.

What Can You Do?

While there are legal and ethical issues with this screening process, the fact of the matter remains that more and more companies are adopting this process. Companies feel that they need to protect themselves, and social media profiles can give them an insight into what a candidate is truly like. The only preventative measures individuals who are applying for jobs can take is: to increase privacy settings on all social media profiles to block out snooping hiring managers, or simply “clean up” your social media accounts to give a more professional impression.

Warning: It Doesn’t Stop After You’ve been Hired 

Getting the job does not guarantee job security. There have been numerous cases of people being fired for social media posts. Companies have a legal right to do this if an employee has damaged the company’s reputation, or acted in a way that would negatively impact the company, or have admitted on their social media accounts to not doing their job.

• Several teachers have been fired for inappropriate social media posts throughout the world. Teachers are public figures that are in a position of authority, and are highly influential in their students’ lives. As a result, they are expected to act appropriately even when outside of school. A teacher from Denver was fired after she tweeted about her student’s being “hot” and about how she likes to smoke weed.
• A city clerk in Washington quit after she was reprimanded for tweeting during official city meetings rather than keeping track of the meeting minutes.
• An employee of a Detroit power company posted a Facebook rant swearing at her customers, and was consequentially fired.

Social media profiles are not private, and it is considered social media etiquette to monitor your public posts to be considerate and non-offensive.

References:

Broderick, Ryan. (2013, June 6). “10 People Who Learned Social Media Can Get You 

      Fired.” CNN.com. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/06/living/buzzfeed-

social-media-fired/.

CKR Global. (2012, October 25). “Social Media Can Be a Legal Minefield When Screening

Job Applicants. CKR Global. Retrieved from https://ckrglobal.com/social-media-can-

be-legal-minefield-when-screening-job-applicants/.

Guest. (n.d.) How Employers Use Social Media to Screen Applicants. Undercover

Recruiter. Retrieved from http://theundercoverrecruiter.com/infographic-how-

recruiters-use-social-media-screen-applicants/.

Klimas, Liz. (2013, November 22). ” ‘They Got F***** Up’: Energy Company Employee 

     Fired for Facebook Rant Against Those Without Power After Storm.” The Blaze.

Retrieved from http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/11/22/they-got-f-up-energy-

company-employee-fired-for-facebook-rant-against-those-without-power-after-storm/.

Lee, Henry K. (2014, May 20). Tweeting Clerk Quits, Tells Pleasant Hill What She Really 

Thinks. SF Gate. Retrieved from http://blog.sfgate.com/stew/2014/05/20/tweeting-

official-quits-tells-pleasant-hill-what-she-really-thinks/.

Why a “Ghost” Following Isn’t The Right Shortcut for Your Brand

Could there really be a downside to acquiring thousands of followers in a day?

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and many other forms of social media platforms are full of “ghost accounts.” Ghost accounts can refer to either accounts that are inactive or accounts that are created for the purpose of being “fake followers.” In a Digital Trends article, Jam Kotenko states “studies have identified that Twitter has more than 99,000 fake accounts” (Kotenko, 2013).

Celebrities, companies, and individuals are creating a demand for quick followers, and now there is a growing market to supply it. Fake followers can be purchased on specialized websites, such as Buycheapfollowersfast.com, which gives their clients the options of purchasing a selection of Twitter followers, Facebook likes, Instagram followers, or YouTube views.

If you don’t feel comfortable with trusting these sites, you can turn to eBay, with “ghost follower packages” being sold at prices ranging from $10 – $500 depending on the follower count.

Why Would A Brand Do This?

So, why would an organization consider purchasing fake followers? The answer is obvious enough; a large following inspires confidence in the brand. If a company is just starting out, it is much quicker to purchase a following than actually building a real one. Furthermore, a large following attracts more real followers. That is, when a new consumer sees that thousands or millions are already following your brand, they believe that there must be a reason for it, and are more likely to follow you as well.

In the article “The Controversial Case for Buying “Fake” Social Media Followers,” Alex Bentley describes how this fake popularity serves to aid real popularity. “Perceived popularity (as opposed to actual popularity) can sometimes work as a stepping-stone, a short-cut for members of larger or unfamiliar groups, to knowing whether someone is good enough to follow” (Bentley, 2014). Essentially, social media actions are sheep-like, and individuals feel more comfortable following the actions of the masses.

The Downside

Like anything that sounds too good to be true, there can be severe downsides to purchasing your following. This point was clearly illustrated a couple days ago with popular singer Rita Ora. This British singer has 3.9 million followers on Twitter, and on Halloween, she sent out this tweet:

In the following hours, the tweet received only 2,000 retweets despite Rita’s massive following, and as a result the singer proceeded to delete the tweet.

Currently, Rita Ora is claiming that her Twitter account was hacked, and that she never sent out that tweet. Dozens of articles have popped up in the last few days accusing Rita of having a fake Twitter following. According to TwitterAudit.com, Rita Ora has a massive 1.3 million fake Twitter accounts following her.

This incident could easily happen to an organization with a large fake following, and could result in an extremely negative public perception for the brand. In fact, if found out, real followers could be lost.

Don’t Forget the Real Reasons for Followers

More important than the possibility of a high publicity incident such as the one that happened to Rita Ora, is the reason for having followers in the first place. Brands attempt to gain followers so that they may have an open communication channel to contact their consumer base, ask questions, listen to opinions and criticisms, and promote new products or new information to their consumers.

Asking questions, sharing coupons, or sending out opinion polls to a ghost following is just a waste of time. Instead, having a genuine following serves as a two way street for the brand and its consumers to have real-time conversations, and allow for opportunities for the consumers to interact with the brand.

 

In the end, this short cut defeats the purpose of your brand’s reason for having social media accounts. Ghost followers will not retweet or share your information, will not respond to questions, will not purchase items promoted, and will skew consumer data collection results. Just say no to purchasing ghost accounts.

Reference

Bentley, Alex. (2014, September 2). The Controversial Case for Buying “Fake” Social Media Followers. The Guardian. Accessed

November 7, 2014 from http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/sep/02/the-controversial-case-for-buying-fake-social-media-

followers.

Kotenko, Jam. (2013, July 3). Surprise! Twitter is Still Teeming with Fake Accounts. Digital Trends. Accessed November 7, 2014 from

http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/guess-what-twitter-is-still-teeming-with-fake-accounts/.

Linares, Veronica. (2014, November 6). Rita Ora Denies Twitter Promo Fail, Says Her Account Was Hacked. UPI.com. Accessed

November 7, 2014 from http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Music/2014/11/06/Rita-Ora-denies-Twitter-promo-fail-says-

her-account-was-hacked/4731415285163/.

TwitterAudit. (2014). Rita Ora’s Audit. TwitterAudit.com Accessed November 7, 2014 from https://www.twitteraudit.com/ritaora.

Zarell, Rachel. (2014, November 2). Rita Ora Claims She Was “Hacked” After Massive Twitter Fail. Buzzfeed. Accessed November 7,

2014 from  http://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelzarrell/rita-ora-twitter-fail.

Subscription Boxes: A New Type of Online Shopping

Who doesn’t like a monthly surprise delivered to their door?

Online shopping is continuously getting more advanced, with faster deliveries (Amazon’s drones), easier price comparisons between retailers, and coupons being directly emailed to you on a daily basis. So, what is the latest trend in online shopping? Subscription boxes. Consumers subscribe to receive a box every month filled with a variety of products. Choices range from beauty boxes, to health food products, to cookie boxes, or even subscription boxes for your dog!

 

An Effortless Surprise

For most subscription boxes, consumers complete a user profile, and then customized boxes are sent to their door every month. The customer does not choose the products; they just receive a surprise every month directly to their doorstep, without lifting a finger.

 

These boxes can range from $10 – $100+ a month. There are entire blogs dedicated to reviewing the different subscription boxes, such as mysubscriptionaddiction.com. And there are countless websites reviewing and ranking the different types of subscription box services.

YouTube’s Role 

A particularly influential digital medium for subscription boxes so far, has been YouTube. YouTube personas often feature videos where they unbox and review a particular subscription box. For certain channels, the YouTuber will have received the box as a gift from the company, so that they may review the box and give their subscribers a coupon code for the subscription box service at the end of the video.

 

And this medium has proven to be highly effective for the subscription box industry. A search for “subscription boxes” on YouTube yielded “182,000” videos (YouTube, 2014). And the comments on these videos prove how effective this marketing initiative is – viewers feel that the can trust the YouTuber, and feel comforted in visually seeing what to expect from the subscription.

The Industry

In a Forbes article, Marianne Hayes credits subscription box company Birchbox as “put[ting] the subscription box retail trend into motion with its 2010 launch.” (Hayes, 2014.) Birchbox currently has over 800,000 subscribers, which translates into annual sales reaching $96 million (Hayes, 2014). This industry is growing quickly, and can be adopted by most forms of retailers whether it is health food, pet products, beauty products, clothing, shoes or more.

Why does it work so well?

This form of online shopping offers many benefits that appeal to consumers. Firstly, once a month, a box full of surprises arrives at your doorstep. For most consumers, this is seen as exciting and a way of discovering new products that the individual had never heard of.

An article in the Wall Street Journal, entitled “New Ways to Give Yourself a Gift Every Month” states that another important factor is “The perception of value is another part of the equation. The subscription services make sure the boxes are priced well below what the individual contents would cost if purchased separately. The subscription should cost 70% or less of the price of the items sold separately.” (Binkley, 2013.) These subscription box companies are able to purchase the products at discounted prices because they buy them in bulk amounts, and offer the merchandiser the opportunity to introduce their product to a new and large consumer audience directly.

When the subscription box arrives at the consumer’s doorstep, anticipation and excitement take over. Even if the consumer consistently receives one or two products in the box every month that they don’t like or don’t use, they are unlikely to focus on this fact. Instead, they remember all the new products they’ve discovered and loved, and continue to see the service as a worthwhile investment.

 

Actress Kate Hudson chose to use this method to launch her new fitness fashion line. Target has begun to offer its consumers a 5% discount if they sign up for their subscription boxes. The popularity of this industry is growing, and it is highly likely that this new form of online shopping will continue to grow and succeed at an exponential rate.

References

Binkley, Christina. (2013, December 18.) New Ways to GiveYourself a Gift Every Month. The Wall Street Journal.

Retrieved October 30, 2014 from http://online.wsj.com/articles/SB100014240527023039495045792646828515

60234

Bury, Erin. (2014, February 3.) Need Recurring Revenue? Think Subscription Boxes. Financial Post. Retrieved October

30, 2014 from http://business.financialpost.com/2014/02/03/need-recurring-revenue-think-subscription-boxes/?

__lsa=a26a-056f

Fabletics. (2014.) Fabletics. Retrieved October 30, 2014 from http://www.fabletics.com/

Hayes, Marianne. (2014, May 16.) Subscription Boxes: Are They Worth the Money? Forbes Magazine. Retrieved October

30, 2014 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/learnvest/2014/05/16/subscription-boxes-are-they-worth-the-

money/

Mysubscriptionaddiction. (2014.) Mysubscriptionaddiction. Retrieved October 30, 2014, from http://www.mysubscriptio

naddiction.com/

SubscriptionBoxes. (2014.) Subscriptionboxes. Retrieved October 30, 2014, from http://www.subscriptionboxes.com/

YouTube. (2014.) Subscription Boxes. Retrieved October 30, 2014 from http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query

=subscription+box

Does Vancouver Need to Rebrand Itself?

Does Vancouver need to rebrand itself against its popular nickname “No Fun City?”

Branding is an important marketing concept that can be at the core of success for a company, it’s product, or its services. However, branding is not limited to companies; people need to brand themselves, as well as organizations such as universities, and, entities such as cities.

From Location to Destination

In the article “Brand of Gold,” Saba Salman captures the concept of branding a city perfectly, stating that city branding is “turning your city from a location to a destination.” Done correctly, a city’s brand can increase tourism, inspire city pride for its residents, and create a community.

Vancouver’s Worst Hits

The city of Vancouver is a booming tourist destination. According to market research, the annual “overnight visitors” number for 2009 exceeded 8 million people. However, just like a company, it is important for any brand to reflect on itself to see if its public perception continues to be positive. In the last few years, Vancouver, as a brand, has taken some noticeable hits.

The Riots

I know, the riots happened in 2011, and we are all done with hearing about it. But it turns out, the rest of the world isn’t. When travelling this summer, and I mentioned to people that I was from Vancouver, the riot was brought up several times by people. The general perception of Vancouver for the rest of the world: other cities riot over political issues, and Vancouver rights over hockey. On the positive side, at least an ugly stain on our city produced this beautiful photo:

The Nickname

When googling “Vancouver Nicknames,” the well-known nickname “No Fun City” comes up. In writing. That is not good for any city. To make matters worse, this nickname isn’t just used by us Vancouverites, but by visitors too! In a Huffington Post article, Mitch Moxley described his visit to Vancouver accompanied with a 45 minute wait to get into a mediocre bar, concluding that our city’s nickname is more than appropriate.

 

Why this nickname? Explanations cite our cities lack of local music and culture, a small and crowded nightlife scene, strict city laws that close bars down early and restrict selling alcohol after 2am, and the list goes on and on. The fact of the matter is, the nightlife in Vancouver is heavily regulated, leaving both its residents and visitors feeling unsatisfied with their “nights on the town.”

The Documentary

And then there is the documentary that is titled “No Fun City.” This documentary is a critique of Vancouver’s restricted and dying independent music scene. The documentary explores Vancouver’s “war on fun” and cameras record music venues being shutdown and parties raided. Not exactly the best exposure for Vancouver. To make matters worse (worse for Vancouver, but better for the film), the documentary has won several independent film awards, and is relatively widely known.

iHateVan Tumblr

The inspiration for this blog post came from a Tumblr account that was being shared by several people on my Facebook account called iHateVan. This account was shared by both Vancouverites, and by friends of mine who have since moved from Vancouver. For those who had left Vancouver, many shared the blog and mentioned that the blog mentions several of the reasons they left Vancouver themselves. The blog critiques Vancouverites fashion sense (an over-fondness for expensive yoga pants), critiques Vancouver for being overly-vegetarian and vegan friendly, with too many people loving yoga, and the people not being very friendly. As I write this post, almost 1,300 people like the Tumblr account, and the user has begun to sell “iHateVan” merchandise.

 

As someone who loves Vancouver, the popularity of this Tumblr account disturbed me. While it is important for people to be able to poke fun at themselves (and their city), many of the comments from people on the blog were genuine dislike for some of Vancouver’s attributes.

What Should Be Done?

The conclusion is that Vancouver might, in fact, need a rebranding initiative. The amount of negative publicity could have an impact on the tourism sector, and can discourage residential pride for those of us that live here. A comparison can be made to Portland, which is just 500km away from Vancouver. Portland has embraced its unique and independent image that comes from its indie music scene, green friendly restaurants, and local fashion retailers. The tagline for the city is “Keep Portland Weird,” and can be seen displayed all over the city.

Vancouver has beautiful wineries, mountains to hike in the summer, and ski or snowboard in the winter, film festivals, restaurants of all varieties and ethnicities, beaches, museums, and so much more. These are the attributes that should define Vancouver, rather than its limitations or previous mishaps.

References

Nofuncity. (n.d.) No Fun City. Retrieved October 22, 2014 from http://www.nofuncity.org/

Salman, Saba. (2008, September 30.) Brand of Gold. The Guardian. Retrieved October 22, 2014, from

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2008/oct/01/city.urban.branding

TourismVancouver. (2009.) Historical Overnight Visitor Volume to Metro Vancouver. Retrieved October 22,

2014, from http://www.tourismvancouver.com/media/marketing-research/#vis

Tumblr. (2014.) iHateVan. Retrieved October 22, 2014, from http://ihatevan.tumblr.com

 

 

Does your business really need that app?

Easy to develop and another channel to your consumer base – so what could be the downside?

There is nothing marketers love more than connecting with their consumers online. And this online communication often allows companies to acquire large databases of personal information about their customers, in order to serve and understand them better. As the technology becomes increasingly more user-friendly, many businesses are developing an app for their brands, as it is yet another method of contact with their clientele.

Success is the only option

However, while this choice may seem like an advantage, several factors have to be considered. Firstly, if an app is launched, it is vital that it succeeds. If the company’s app is of an inferior design, potential consumers may see this as a reflection of the company itself. A consumer may make a connection that a poorly designed app equals a poorly designed product. And right there, business is lost before it was even acquired.

Are you prepared to be dedicated?

The most successful apps take time and effort. In the world of business, of course, this means money. An app for your business needs to be developed well, maintaining characteristics of being: user-friendly, attractive, and an impressive extension of your website. All of this takes skilled people (and money) and hours of work (more money.)

Numbers do matter

Next, the app needs to be promoted extensively and efficiently. The simple fact of the matter is that an app’s success is a vicious cycle that is dependent on the number of downloads. Users feel more comfortable downloading an app when they see that it has a large volume of previous downloads, and when it has high ratings. The cruel irony is that it is hard to get to this point of having massive initial success, despite having no downloads or ratings yet.

Reviews matter even more

Once these downloads start to reach a high volume, and users can trust that your app is safe to download, another problem arises. Now, your app’s ratings have to be constantly monitored. A poor app review means that potential new downloaders will hesitate to add your app. As a result, consumer reviews on the issues and complaints of your app have to be reviewed and dealt with continuously.

  

Lastly, an app’s success is dependent on it’s ability to adapt and grow. An app will not thrive if it remains in it’s initial stage. Users expect to be entertained, and impressed. If choosing to develop an app, the business needs to understand that this will be an on-going commitment. Apps, like any other platform used for a company’s online presence, needs to be constantly updated and monitored.

Dedication is all it takes

In conclusion, an app has the potential to expand a company’s success, if done properly. A business should not take on the initiative of developing an app without understanding that it will be a continuous project, that will require plenty of nurturing.

References

Kosner, Anthony Wing. (2013, August 11.) Does your business need a mobile 

         app? Forbes Magazine. Retrieved September 23, 2014 from http://www.

         forbes.com/sites/anthonykosner/2013/08/11/does-your-business-need-a-

        mobile-app/

Larizadeh, Avid. (2013, July 19.) Eight Tips for a Successful App. Forbes

         Magazine. Retrieved September 23, 2014 from forbes.com/

         sites/avidlarizadeh/2013/07/19/eight-tips-for-a-successful-app/

 

Let’s Talk About the Ice-Bucket Challenge: “Newsjacking”

Viral Videos, Trends & Reviews

Most successful companies today understand the importance of an online presence, and specifically, a social media presence. In a time of viral videos, trends that last a week, and yahoo reviews that deplete your consumer base, companies struggle to be seen and heard within the sea of information. Why would any consumer spend their time to watch a company’s 2-minute advertisement, when there’s an endless supply of YouTube clips of adorable kids on Ellen? Now, more than ever, companies need to find ways to simultaneously be funny, entertaining, relevant, trendy, and finally, still get their message across. Not an easy task.

Jumping On the Band Wagon

What is the solution for most brands? Why attempt to do the impossible and start a trend, when it is so easy to just jump onto an already thriving one. This is exactly what “newsjacking” is. David Meerman Scott defines this concept as “the process by which you inject your ideas or angles into breaking news, in real time, in order to generate media coverage for yourself or your business.” (Newsjacking.com, 2014.) Used correctly, “newsjacking” can attract thousands of people towards its brand, by understanding what is popular and trending at the right moment.

Source: http://www.newsjacking.com/

John Olivers Does Not Approve

 Last week, on his late night show, hilarious John Oliver made a comment on this new “newsjacking” method that companies have been using. He critiqued several large corporations who have attempted to insert their brands at deplorable times via social media. Using examples of companies who attempt to gain brand exposure through 9/11 speaks for itself – it is improper and will only amount to negative attention for the organization. However, John Oliver’s final conclusion that companies should be quiet and not try to insert themselves into these trends can be debated.

The Proof Is In the Ice Bucket Challenge

At a time when everything is permanently recorded and shared the Internet, we can see errors in every industry. News anchors who swear on television, singers caught lip-synching, and more. While some companies have made grave errors in attempting to insert themselves into “trends,” this does not mean that all companies should stop benefiting from this new form of marketing.

The ALS Foundation’s “Ice Bucket Challenge” is a prime example of this. The not-profit organization has had one of the most publicized campaigns of the summer, all based on a social media trend. Forbes Magazine reported that as of August 2014, the campaign had raised over 100 million. And, several companies have attached themselves to this trend in a positive way. Companies such as Razorsight, At&T, Comcast and Verizon had executives participate in the challenge, and then proceed to challenge their entire organizations and customer base to follow suit. This is a perfect example of brand understanding when and how to insert themselves into a trend, and as a result receiving positive, free exposure.

In conclusion, companies need to understand the appropriate time and context in interjecting themselves into a trend. However, if done correctly, the benefits to the brand can be extensive, and likely to a vast audience.

Bibliography

Diamond, Dan. (2014, August 29). The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Has Raised $100

            Million – And Counting. Retrieved September 19, 2014 from

http://www.forbes.com/sites/dandiamond/2014/08/29/the-als-ice-

bucket-challenge-has-raised-100m-but-its-finally-cooling-off/

 

Kerns, Chris. (2014, September 19). And Now This: A Response to John Oliver’s

            View on Real Time Marketing. Retrieved September 19, 2014 from

http://marketingland.com/now-response-john-olivers-views-real-time-

marketing-100534

 

Market Wired. (2014, August 28). Media Alert: Razorsight Holds Company-Wide ALS

            “Ice Bucket Challenge” and Passes the Challenge to Customers: AT&T, Verizon,

            Comcast. Retrieved September 19, 2014 from http://www.market

            wired.com/press-release/media-alert-razorsight-holds-company-wide-als-ice-bucket-challenge- 

passes-challenge-1942061.htm

 

Newsjacking.com (n.d.) Newsjacking: The Book. Retrieved September 19, 2014 from

http://www.newsjacking.com/

 

YouTube. (2014, September 15). John Oliver – Corporations on Twitter. Retrieved

September 19, 2014 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG_7xur1iRc