Tag Archives: social media

January 10, 2011 · 12:24 pm

The Fifteen Most Hated American Companies Of 2010 – 24/7 Wall St.

Think a company’s reputation doesn’t matter?  A look at these 15 companies and why they made the list will show consumers demand trust.  In 2010, some companies broke their trust, others are un-trustworthy, while others have consumers trusting that they are up to no good.

The actions of a brand and the promises they break speak volumes on how the public perceives the brand.  It’s also worth noting there are several brands on here that have highly publicized and admired social media program.  Two ways to look at this: either social media does nothing to improve reputation or these companies have such an acceptance of their poor reputation that they will pull all the stops to right the ship.

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October 23, 2010 · 1:28 am

Here’s to a Pretty Good Week

Sometimes things just fall into place. Personally, professionally and otherwise.  I was fortunate that this was one of those weeks.  Lots of very cool highlights professionally. And, the best part is I got to come home to a wonderful family each day.  This was a week that was not without a little drama, but it ended by hearing from dear friends and learning that a little seed planted years ago in my past “life” will soon receive national attention. More on that later. :)

So without further rambling. Here are the hits!

Applied Materials was featured on the homepage of Wired.com. Way cool.

Applied CEO was on Fox Business and I met anchor Liz Claman in person.

Applied placed #8 on Newsweek’s 2010 Green Rankings.

AND…the new and improved appliedmaterials.com launched. More on this later.

So, that was my week. Not to shabby. Hope you had a great one too. OH! And, one of the highlights from my week as mentioned above…

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February 15, 2010 · 11:32 pm

Promotion and Shameless Promotion

Hey y’all. Sorry I’ve been neglecting the blog…again. I think I have a decent excuse.  I’ve been busy. 

First, there was the holiday shipping season. Then came Haiti. Next came Pandas. And in between all of that I was promoted to Global Communications Manager of Media Relations at FedEx. 

It’s an exciting time. 

So, here’s the shameless promotion, just to get it over with.  :)

Socially challenged

“If you look at social media as a channel instead of a new frontier, it becomes more tangible,” Ceniceros said. “From a media relationship standpoint, the way we talk to print isn’t the same way we talk to broadcast, for example. As the business world becomes more sophisticated in using social media, its special way of being addressed will become more sophisticated as well.”

5 Things FedEx Has Learned about Managing Relationships through Social Media

“As a member of the FedEx media relations team, I tweet and blog, help internal bloggers create and manage posts, and handle other elements of our social media activities. I’d like to share five key points we’ve learned about managing relationships through social media, because I think the lessons are applicable to companies of any size.”

Until next time…

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September 28, 2009 · 10:44 pm

Looking at What’s Next

fdxmattsmallAs I shared last week, ZDNet’s Jennifer Leggio featured the FedEx social media program as part of her FORTUNE 500 series. Today, Jennifer,  also know as @mediaphyter, has named FedEx as one of ten FORTUNE 500 companies doing social media right.

Throughout the last year I’ve highlighted several Fortune 500 companies who have a smart approach to social media. Writing about the large companies demonstrates that even giants with hundreds of thousands of employees can successfully flex to run solid social programs. I get approached by a lot of different companies for this series but I only select the ones I think are really onto something.

So, the obvious question is…now what.  What’s next.

I’m thinking about building community and further integration of social media into the traditional media relations activities.  There are some cool things tee’d up and I can’t wait to get them rocking.

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September 26, 2009 · 8:57 am

The Social Media Strategy Fallacy

broken_linkWith all the talk about Twitter’s $1 billion valuation and the news that time spent social networking as nearly tripled from last year, companies, pundits and experts are shouting louder than ever for a need to build strategy around social media.

Here’s the problem with that: social media activities should map to business strategy.

Social Media is  Just another Channel

Do you want a social media strategy?  Show me your broadcast media strategy first. Then your print strategy. Why not your long-lead magazine strategy.  What? You don’t have strategies for each medium? You say they are part of a larger media strategy and you tailor your message to fit the medium.  Social Media is no different.  It’s just another way to get your message out to your audiences.

Checkers not Chess

If you do a google image search for strategy, you’ll get a dozen or so images of a chess board.  Chess is a great analogy for strategy because the current move impacts a move 4 turns later.  However, social media is a game of checkers. It’s a react and reaction game.  Each move dictates the next move based on feedback from the community, insights learned from monitoring or how the community shifts its way of engagement (i.e., twitter, Facebook, online, mobile, etc.,) .

Message Strategy vs. Channel Strategy

I learned long ago in an interpersonal communications class that how something is said is just as important as what’s being said. After key messages have been clearly defined, the next goal is to understand what channels are available to get those messages across.  Messages will have to be tailored to the appropriate channel.  Need to reach a certain audience demographic? Understand what channels they engage in and create or play in that channel with a message that resonates.  As a communicator, I find this to be the most challenging and fun aspect of social media. Having the opportunity to craft and repurpose a single message in so many different ways.

I’m not discounting the need to have strategy. Strategy is good. This post is a call for clarity in understanding where the effort has to be placed.  If social media efforts aren’t tied to business strategy than it’s just noise.

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September 22, 2009 · 10:13 pm

ZDNet Looks at Social Media at FedEx

mattbostonWanted to share a very cool interview that I got to do with ZDNet social media reporter Jennifer Leggio (@mediaphyter) on the social media efforts that I’ve been apart of at FedEx.

Fortune 500 Series: FedEx delivers success through social media

The importance, and purpose, of this series is to show that even goliaths are flexing to social media. Even if their programs might be raw, they are moving to embrace the model. And if a large company with hundreds of thousands of employees can flex, so can a smaller business. Sometimes, it also helps to know how they did it.

One such goliath is FedEx, a household name worldwide. The company began its trip down the social media path two years ago and has begun a phase of rapid growth. From multiple blogs to multiple service-oriented Twitter feeds and even community sponsorship, FedEx has made social media a priority.

I spoke with Matthew Ceniceros of FedEx’s media relations team to find out more about how the giant is reaping the benefits – and staying competitive – with social media.

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August 24, 2009 · 2:38 pm

The Chris Matthews Show – Future of Media

chrismatthewsshowI was up late last night and happened on really good TV. The Chris Matthews Show took a look at the future of media. His guests included Bob Woodward, Washington Post; Tina Brown, Daily Beast; Gloria Borger, CNN and Joe Klein, Time Magazine.

They  discussed where the media environment is and where it’s going.  It’s about 20 minutes long, but full of interesting commentary.  The key items discussed were:

  • Future of investigative journalism
  • Future of newspaper business
  • Grazing and Roaming Eyeballs
  • Emerging Media Business Models
  • The G.W. Bush White House admin begins to write memoir’s; who’s will be the most interesting

I tried to transcribe some of the discussion, but it really doesn’t do it justice.  Watch for 2 minutes and you’ll end up watching the whole thing.

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July 25, 2009 · 7:34 am

My Summer Road Trip

bootsontheroadI’m doing a summer road trip with the new hybrids. This was done as a way to get content for the FedEx Citizenship blog, meet new team members and document the trucks’ journey.  Very cool that the Commercial Appeal wrote about my trip.

FedEx spokesman Matt Ceniceros is blogging his way across the country riding jumpseat in one of the company’s newly converted hybrid-electric walk-in vans.

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July 24, 2009 · 2:47 pm

“Social Media Experts”

geekThis post has been brewing in me for awhile.  Maybe a long road trip was just thing to make me sit down and put it on paper.  The idea that there are social media experts is something I can buy. In fact, I think there are some people that have practiced the tools of social media long enough that their proficiency to communicate, relate and perfect a craft (podcast, vlog, blog, twitter).

However, when a those people start to criticize others on their use, or mis-use, of the medium, I take issue.  Social media is hitting its puberty.  It’s beyond it’s infant stage, stumbled through the toddler years. Several companies and people made the grade and now social media’s face is marked with pimples and a mouth full of braces.  The awkward years are upon us.  Do you remember middle school?  Awkward.

The fact is the trailblazers of the space have written their books, have done the television shows and have helped to justify this space as being a legitimate marketing discipline.  So, all that talking and video work has lead to mainstream America to join the cloud.  The new guys on the street are now making all the same mistakes the visionaries made before…before when no one was paying attention.  Instead of opening the metaphorical wing and embracing the new comers, we’re blasting them. FAIL!!! DIAF!!! URDOINITWRONGOKTHXBYE!!!

Nothing like the cool-nerd crowd to start treating non-nerds like nerds.  And when non-self-proclaimed nerds start using the medium, the community is quick to jump on them.

I see it all this way.  People are scaring people, business and management to believe that social media needs to be taken seriously.  They want to set examples of others to show value.  Guess what? URDOINITWRONG.

Value is proven day-to-day. Value is proven in support of the business.  Value is not inherently funny or cool.  I know it’s not fair, but value was never applied to cool.  Cool is cool. In fact, the only thing cooler than cool is Ice Cold.  And the only thing lamer than lame is a social media “expert” not supporting the community in which they live.

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June 30, 2009 · 10:11 pm

The 140 Character Communicator

frustrationAfter years of creating key messages, proof points–even articulations–I’m finding myself beginning to adopt a new style of writing. Twitter is to blame.

You see my writing has been getting shorter and shorter.  Some might say this is a good thing.  In fact, I’ve been told if your entire email message can’t be seen in the screen of a blackberry, it’s too long.  My emails, my headlines, my day-to-day correspondence has been getting shorter and shorter.  I think it’s because my writing is getting tighter, but I think it’s because the Twitter limit has taken its effect.

If you’ve ever tried to effectively communicate on Twitter, you’ll agree with me that traditional messages just don’t fit. If the message don’t Tweet, You must delete.  The best ideas don’t always fit and so you have to be creative and find different ways to say what you want.

The results. Getting down to the heart of your message.  Speaking like a human. And speaking clearly.

The 140 character communicator is not a proud soul.  It’s a troubled one, but hopefully an effective one.

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