Brad Nelson He's Our Man

In 2008 Starbucks experienced declines in sales for the first time in history. In turn, MyStarbucksIdea.com was launched for customers to post suggestions, ask questions, complain, you have it. Starbucks also has about 6 million Facebook fans and 775,000 Twitter followers.

VP of Starbucks says these social medias helped re-boost business because they were “not [built as a] marketing channel, but as a consumer relationship-building environment.” Starbucks’ Twitter page, w about 775,000 followers, is run by the Brad Nelson, a 28 year old barista. Every day he engages in conversations with Starbucks customers about their frustrations, offerings, and casual chit-chat. Starbucks has just seen its first US same-store sales gain in two years! Wow, you go Starbucks! How can other companies use social media to boost sales?

Reference: York, Emily Bryson. “STARBUCKS GETS ITS BUSINESS BREWING AGAIN WITH SOCIAL MEDIA.” Advertising Age 22 Feb. 2010: 34 Vol. 81, Issue 8

Facebook Tops Google

A sad day for googlaholics.

Since September 2007, Google has been the number one most visited site in the US. Last week, Facebook received more traffic than Google for the first time in about three years. Facebook accounted for 7.07% of U.S. Web traffic, while Google received 7.03%. What does this indicate about the way Americans are beginning to search for content?

Reference: Pepitone, Julianne. "Facebook Traffic Tops Google for the Week." CNNMoney.com. Cable News Network, 16 Mar. 2010. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/16/technology/facebook_most_visited/>

What's next after Facebook?

Let's face it, if you're not on Facebook, you don't have a face [in society].

A recent survey by Business.com studied 1,700 small-businesses leaders on their social media usage. Findings show that every respondent used at least one form of social media in their day-to-day job. Although social media has proven to be a useful business resource, where will we turn when these resources become so conventional to the point that every company has a [Facebook] account, making one no more influential than the other? Do you think that will even happen?

Reference: Quick Study: Social Media in Small Business; Readers' News Story Preferences; Best Brand Equity; 500 Finds Twitter. Publication. 10th ed. Vol. 66. Pontomac: PR News, 2010. ProQuest. Web. 24 Mar. 2010.

I'm in a Locationship w my BlackBerry Smartphone

Location, Location, Location! I think this will be many marketers' motto in the near future, as more and more people become emotionally attached to their handheld computers. Foursquare.com is gaining increasing popularity, a service that lets you publicize your location so friends can see where you are, and [PLUS!] businesses can aim advertising at you! Many other services similar to Foursquare are being developed as we cyberspeak. I personally rather not publicize my every second whereabouts, but I'm a sucker for coupons...so if I can get a free coffee at the local Starbucks by checking into Foursquare, I'm all for it. In times of economic crisis, I'm sure you're lovin' the coupons as well :) Do you think location based services will be the next new thing? Yes? No? Why?

iPad 

The much anticipated iPad will come out on the 3rd of April, 2010. The day when all online/offline digital services morph into one. New media is pervading much [all] of our day-to-day lives. Who needs a computer AND a television, when they could very easily be the same device? Books? Psh, I don't need to be bothered by flipping pages (although I doubt an iPad smells as good as a library book). My roommates don't understand that last comment-confirming my assumption that no one reads books anymore. Anyways, what does this rapid conversion of media mean for the business/marketing world?

Tweet-a-leet

I am proud to say that CultureCritic's Twitter account brought 200 new visitors to the website this week! I know this thanks to the data visualization site, HootSuite.com. It's incredible how I can observe the activity happening on Twitter and on CultureCritic.co.uk with these new technologies. What would I ever do without them?

I think I post some pretty brilliant Tweets throughout the day. Some of my recent favorites include:

• Who's in the mood for ELECTRO :D http://ow.ly/1tE5x
• Try 2 wrap ur head around #Gonjasufi - A Sufi and a Killer: made by and for those with a penchant for elicit herbshttp://ow.ly/1tabw
• I want to know Where the #God of #Love Hangs Out...http://ow.ly/1qOZN

However my handy HootSuite tells me that my most popular (received most clicks) recent tweet was:

• What's your favorite film nowadays? I think this one is in my top five for sure... http://ow.ly/1tBTs

What is that supposed to mean?

Love Never Dies

I recently saw a preview showing of Love Never Dies, and although I left the theatre speechless, there were some major technical difficulties. In fact, they even had to stop the show within the first ten minutes in order to fix these technical difficulties.

Nevertheless, I was still blown away by the performance, and gave them some slack considering it was preview week. However, other Phantom fans were not so understanding. A recent Times article expressed Andrew Lloyd Webber's concern with the large volume of negative reviews being posted on online forums. This is an obstacle that directors, producers, and companies in general never had to face before the emergence of the digital age and the increasing popularity of blogs.

In a study by Nakee Park & Kwan M Lee, it was found that even one negative comment on an online news forum can have significant negative impacts on corporate reputation. This suggests the power of online communities, and the importance of managing negative opinions about one's company.

Is there any way for business to avoid this negative feedback, or use it to work in their favor?

References:

-Park, Namkee, and Kwan M. Lee. "Effects of Online News Forum on Corporate Reputation." Public Relations Review 33.2 (2007): 346-48. EbscoHost. Web. 25 Mar. 2010.

-Hoyle, Ben. "Lloyd Webber Sequel Incurs Scorn of Online ‘phans’." TimesOnline. Times Newspapers Ltd., 5 Mar. 2010. Web. 10 Mar. 2010.