Volkswagen have attracted criticism after breaking one of the unwritten rules of social media engagement. The German car manufacturer posted a call to action on their Facebook page, asking users to post suggestions and New Year’s resolutions for 2012, but then received a large number of responses that they didn’t like. Rather than engaging with users who posted these comments, Volkswagen proceeded to ignore and even delete comments. </p> <p>Lobbying Against Climate Laws<br /> Much of the negative comment directed at Volkswagen centred around criticism of the company’s environmental track record, specifically the “lobbying against climate laws.” When it became apparent that posts were being deleted, this act became the another priority for the complaining masses. Whether or not the company disputed these claims, the decent thing to do on social media is grasp the nettle, and respond to the criticism levelled from users. Although it seems that the post may well have been hijacked by environmental campaigners, rather than being taken in the way Volkswagen intended, users of social media expect interaction, especially when it follows a call to action.</p> <p>Turning Around a Negative<br /> In time, most companies who use social media to engage with customers will encounter users complaining about their product or services. Volkswagen has drawn no small amount of criticism for censoring those who used the platform to question its policies. Ensure your business does not fall into the same trap by using social media to connect in an open and honest manner with your customers.

As media attention intensifies towards the London Olympics, the news that volunteers have been given a comprehensive set of guidelines regarding the use of social media sites has been met with mixed reactions. The 70,000 volunteers, known as Games Makers have been issued with instructions stating that they must not share any specifics regarding their roles on social media sites, nor post any pictures from “backstage” areas. Likewise, they must not leak any news about athletes or discuss the games in any unofficial forum or group.</p> <p>Getting Involved<br /> Some commentators have branded this stance as difficult to police, and indeed contrary to the spirit of the games. The Olympics has been touted as “the party that everyone is invited to” according to Kevin Jackson, an event manager, “what better way of creating national buzz than social media?” It has been speculated that the policy will be “maybe enforceable for Facebook, certainly not for Twitter” by agency head Alan Calzari. </p> <p>Staying Safe<br /> Although some see it as a burden, LOCOG has a responsibility to the athletes, spectators, VIPs and volunteers that attend the games. Carefree and thoughtless posting to social networks about the exact location of VIPs could lead to security alerts, and the last thing the organising committee needs is news of any glitches behind the scenes becoming public knowledge. Ultimately, the regulations are in place to try to ensure the games runs as smoothly as possible, and those involved know what they can and can’t say on social media sites.

Following last week’s launch of Google’s “search, plus your world” initiative, Facebook have entered into a war of words with the search engine giant. Search, plus your world aims to integrate information taken from its new social media platform, Google+ into searches on Google.com. Facebook have taken umbrage at the fact that Google proceeded to launch the feature in light of the stalling of talks between the two companies.</p> <p>Nothing from Facebook and Twitter<br /> Many have seen the move from Google is a ruse to boost the usage of Google+, which despite having attracted a healthy number of users since launch is not capturing the imagination in the same way Twitter and Facebook have. A major stumbling block in the negotiations between Facebook and Google came when common ground could not be reached over user data. Google have attested that Facebook and Twitter have both refused to provide sufficient data to use the search service.</p> <p>Privacy Concerns<br /> Although Facebook have an agreement with Microsoft over a similar feature on their Bing search engine, it remains to be seen whether collaboration with Google will be possible. “The only reason Facebook has a Bing integration and not a Google integration is that Bing agreed to terms for protecting user privacy that Google would not,” a source from Facebook commented. Google refute these claims, stating that they did not want to make “private data public.”

The Chief Technology Officer of a major US company has been singing the praises of using social media as part of a marketing strategy. Jon Callas of Entrust believes that the use of social networking sites is “inevitable” amongst businesses looking to promote and grow their brands. Organisations of all sizes can benefit from the popularity of sites such as Facebook and Twitter, who between them reach a massive proportion of those connected to the internet.</p> <p>Encouraged to Post</p> <p>Callas’s comments come hot on the heels of a survey by DLA Piper, who found that staff members are encouraged to use social media for work purposes in 65% of businesses. Facebook tops the list for being the most used sites for businesses, with 86% of respondents having their own profile on the site. This is seen as a key tool for promoting the brand on the internet.</p> <p>Building Rapport Through Social Media</p> <p>Callas is clear that businesses can use social media to gain a greater understanding of their marketing through using social media, as it gives them a greater degree of control over their message. “Social media is a good and effective way to get messages out, it’s a good way to build rapport among the company.” Caution is urged for companies using social media for their marketing, as it is suggested that 34% of those surveyed are more at risk of sensitive information being posted by unwitting staff members.

When using social media on behalf of a company it is important to sound like the human voice of your business, whilst posting with the detachment required. If you’re in direct control of the messages for your company, it is vital to remember that you are talking on behalf of “the company”, and that you are not “the company.”</p> <p>Getting the Basics Right<br /> Given that social media is a new, exciting and interesting platform, on which you can market your business there is a new set of expectations over the language used. Unlike many other avenues on which you can promote your business, the best advice on social media is to “write like you talk” according to social media guru Martha Barnette. This approach generates a level of authenticity that standard English or “marketese” can’t provide. Writing like you talk ensures that you don’t respond to scathing criticism with a standard “thanks for your feedback!” reply, or copy and paste a dry press release to your Facebook page.</p> <p>A Massive Cocktail Party<br /> Dave Kerpen, head of Likeable Media has likened the explosion of social media to the “world’s largest cocktail party, only without the drinking and at incredible scale.” Quite simply put, at a networking meet and greet, you wouldn’t introduce yourself saying, “hi, I’m Peter, I’m doing a BOGOF on shoes”, instead asking questions and finding common ground with people before angling for business. Social media is no different, apart from the sheer size of the cocktail party.

As more and more people in the UK are using smartphones, and with anticipated technology advances, Barclays Corporate predicts that by 2021 consumers in Britain will have used their mobile phones to spend £19.6 billion on purchases.</p> <p>According to a report by Barclays Corporate, the current figure is £1.3 billion and the rise is expected to be encouraged by technology such as Near Field Communication and faster transmission of mobile data. The biggest category at the moment is food and groceries, which has seen sales via mobile telephone of nearly £300 million in this year alone.</p> <p>Barclays Corporate's head of retail and wholesale, Richard Lowe, said: "With little new shop space coming into play, the real growth opportunities lie on the virtual high street. Those retailers which are prepared to invest will be at a significant advantage to the competition.”</p> <p>Barclays says that over the next five years, mobile commerce will grow by 55 per cent. Currently, mobile phones are used by slightly more than half of consumers at some point during the purchasing process.</p> <p>In June, Vodafone Group Plc as well as other wireless operators said an agreement had been reached to create a common platform so that the development of additional services using mobile payment systems could be progressed more quickly in the UK. </p> <p>They said a joint venture would be formed by Vodafone, Everything Everywhere and Telefonica SA, designed to help advertisers and banks to access the service. The technology will allow consumers to purchase items such as clothes and groceries simply by swiping their smartphone.<br />

The Chief Technology Officer of a major US company has been singing the praises of using social media as part of a marketing strategy. Jon Callas of Entrust believes that the use of social networking sites is “inevitable” amongst businesses looking to promote and grow their brands. Organisations of all sizes can benefit from the popularity of sites such as Facebook and Twitter, who between them reach a massive proportion of those connected to the internet.</p> <p>Encouraged to Post</p> <p>Callas’s comments come hot on the heels of a survey by DLA Piper, who found that staff members are encouraged to use social media for work purposes in 65% of businesses. Facebook tops the list for being the most used sites for businesses, with 86% of respondents having their own profile on the site. This is seen as a key tool for promoting the brand on the internet.</p> <p>Building Rapport Through Social Media</p> <p>Callas is clear that businesses can use social media to gain a greater understanding of their marketing through using social media, as it gives them a greater degree of control over their message. “Social media is a good and effective way to get messages out, it’s a good way to build rapport among the company.” Caution is urged for companies using social media for their marketing, as it is suggested that 34% of those surveyed are more at risk of sensitive information being posted by unwitting staff members.<br />

A recently published study from business support specialists Sitel has outlined the importance that young consumers put on the use of social media. British consumers are being lead by those under 25 to take to social networks such as Twitter, Google+ and Facebook to search for information, voice complaints or solve problems relating to customer service. Sitel spoke to over 1,000 people from the UK in the 16-24 age bracket and found that 15% would make social media their first port of call for customer service contacts.</p> <p>A Quiet March<br /> This figure is part of an ongoing march towards preferring to use social media for customer service purposes, with 8% of 25-34 year olds agreeing and just 3% of 35-44 year olds. As time progresses and social media comes of age, these figures look set to rise. The importance of these channels was underlined by Sitel’s research, as it seems that a growing number of people will immediately complain about a problem with a product using social media. This would be the case regardless of whether or not the company that was being complained about had a presence on that site.</p> <p>Online Growth<br /> Outside of social media, it seems that people are shying away from hunting for instruction manuals or long lost consumer care numbers, in favour of searching for a solution online for any problems with a product. 57% of the sample group said that their first instinct was to get online to seek help.<br />

Although Google’s recently launched social media site Google+ has become somewhat of a punchline for internet commenters, it has catapulted itself to the forefront of importance for businesses looking to tweak their search engine rankings. Google+ has attracted more than its fair share of criticism for being the social network for the anti social, as many of its users sign up, log in and then go back to Facebook or Twitter. Connecting with Google’s ubiquitous search engine, Google+ could have received the shot in the arm it requires, by changing the way it ranks pages taking into account content posted on Google+.</p> <p>Gaining Massive Importance<br /> Google’s Panda algorithm has put paid to any “shady” SEO practices, with sites ranked based on the quality and frequency of content updates. Previously, creating well written content, containing strategically placed key words has helped to boost the rankings of sites, but the new Google+ model of ranking makes search results more personal. When carrying out a search, items towards the top of a Google+ user’s page are likely to be those liked or commented on by their friends.</p> <p>Rolling out in Time<br /> Whilst this practice is restricted only to users of Google+, plans are in the pipeline that will see Twitter and Facebook included into the mix. Searches will become incredibly personal, with people firstly seeing what is important to those within their network, before shifting to the best of the rest.<br />

As businesses come to embrace the use of social media to promote themselves, it will help them greatly if they take some time to understand the ways and means in which an audience uses these sites. For example, research suggests that more and more people, especially those in the 18-24 age range, are now using their mobile phones to access social media. With average data bundles on mobile phones at around 500MB a month, many users are unwilling to view a myriad of video clips when they are browsing their social media sites. In view of that, uploading hundreds of video clips to YouTube and linking them all to your Facebook page may well be a wasted endeavour.</p> <p>It Only Takes a Minute</p> <p>Many businesses and individuals may be seen as “overachieving” in social media circles, in that they have accrued a massive number of followers in a short space of time. Whether they are the latest reality TV darling, or the subject of a huge news story, or a business with a fairly aggressive marketing strategy, the saying “easy come, easy go” is apt when talking about social media followers. Remember that whilst a user may follow your page because they either like your company, or think they’ll be entertained, it only takes a second for them to “un-follow” you if you stop being entertaining.</p> <p>Why we go Social</p> <p>Most social media users log on to either kill a bit of time or to catch up with their friends. Understanding your audience’s motives for logging on will help you to target them fully with your campaigns.<br />