Did I Hear Someone Say Free Advertising?
Case Study: Domino's
I can see the expressions on the PR folks faces. Here they are, barely employed by an ailing company limping along, bleeding out quickly. The were desperate, they needed a gamble that would pay off, big time. They were Domino's employees. Recently had not been good. In fact it had been downright horrible. So they did would any logical person would do, they gave up control of their assets to the public. Domino's almost entirely devoted themselves to pleasing their customers. This is a great move on the companies' behalf. But it never would have succeeded without social media!
Domino's owes most of the success of their blitz to Facebook. Every minute they were on there posting replying, pleasing people. They were able to use the platform for maximum involvement by the consumers. And it totally worked. They have been a massive success, somewhat of a comeback kid in their respective field. The crushed it. The plan is so simple it's beautiful and quite ingenious. Take their audience (frankly that's everyone, I've never met a bloke who doesn't like pizza) and focus the entire attention of the company on them. They were there online in people's faces. Domino's became the friendly neighborhood pizza shop that wanted to listen to what you had to say. I can't even imagine the size of their social media staff.
The initial success is only half of the story. They continue to engage, the company continues to pay attention to their followers and loyal customers. Their Facebook page is a veritable cornucopia of games, quizzes, shoutouts, jokes, and general pizza talk. It is actually one of the most fun Facebook business pages I've come across. And they actually listen to you! If I were to send them a picture of a poorly made pie, there's a good chance that they would respond and even offer to compensate me. They have spread this attitude to their TV and print ads as well. The whole deal has made for a very successful engagement with their target audience.
Case Study: Best Buy
Now this hurts me to write. I like Best Buy. I bought the computer that I am typing this on from Best Buy, and it's a hardy piece of machinery. But Best Buy is just a retail outlet, so the quality of the products really has nothing to do with the company or their philosophy. Anyhow, This company has an extremely miserable social media presence. I'm sorry, there is no other way to describe what I am looking at right now. They have taken the marvelous tool of social media and abused it indescribably. This company has taken all of the advantages of the two-way communication paradigm and tossed them in the trash.
First of all, their Facebook page is identical to one of those annoying little advertisement magazines you find crammed inside your Sunday paper. There is almost nothing on their page other than promotional material. There is absolutely no effort to engage the consumers in any manner whatsoever. There are some event postings, but they all seem to be "Come to this Best Buy at X time to meet X important person and get in on this sale!" Other than this type of posting and the occasional contest (with a purchase of course) this site is strictly a big advertisement.
In addition to the supremely disappointing page, the company seems totally content to completely ignore their customers. 90% of the customer post I come across on the Facebook page are people who are downright infuriated with the service they have received form Best Buy. There are posts absolutely ripping the employees, posts begging for some sort of support or assistance, and posts decrying the injustices that these poor folks have suffered at the hands of the corporate arm of Best Buy. I even found a post by a man who claims he was told to "figure it out on his own" when he inquired about the specs of a TV. Frankly, Best Buy has one of the worst social media presences on the internet. Nothing at all would be better than this aberration.
So, the conclusion I have reached is that social media is an investment that can yield quite a beneficial return when used appropriately. When the audience is engaged and a proper plan is carried out, it seems that everybody has a better time. On the other hand, when misused or abused, the opposite effect appears to emerge. The audience can actually be driven away by the improper use of these tools. This is interesting, and it would appear that social media is much more powerful than traditional advertising.
