Content Strategy for the Masses

Oh dear. So, earlier today I was alerted to a tweet posted by the clothing design clothing company, Kenneth Cole.

I shouldn’t NEED to explain why this was in poor taste today, less than 24 hours after peaceful protests turned violent. But I just did.

Given the amount of outrage this tweet caused, Kenneth Cole took responsibility for the mistweet in an apology on Twitter and then on the company’s Facebook page.

His damage control was swift:

1. He apologized personally and took responsibility. Though his initial tweet says “we weren’t intending to make light,” he later clarified in a further tweet that his “joke” didn’t come from an employee at Kenneth Cole, but from him personally.

2. His team isn’t countering the negative comments with excuses on why it happened.

Yes, this tweet was in poor taste and some comments even accuse the company of posting something controversial for free publicity (forgetting, of course, this is a fashion company), but there but for the grace of God go I, people. Here are some lessons we can all take away from this:

-  Once you post something online, it never goes away. @kennethcole deleted the original tweet, but I found it easily.

- If you schedule your tweets, it’s probably best to not schedule upcoming posts beyond 24 hours, particularly if your tweet is related to current events.

- If you’ve made an error, take a short break to catch your breath. Then, calmly take responsibility, admit the error, apologize and move on. If you’re the CEO, go on social media yourself, even if the blame lies with an employee.

- You aren’t the first and you won’t be the last company or person to embarrass yourself on social media. I’ve accidentally tweeted DMs, celebrities fight it out with each other on Twitter , and there’s always Kanye to the rescue.

Any other rules for social media to share? Comment!

I ordered my first huge item from the sales website Beyond the Rack a few weeks ago: a really great looking table and set of chairs plus an ultra-cool black lamp for a very decent price. I’ve ordered from this website before, clothing mostly, so I felt confident this delivery would be smooth. Beyond the Rack delivers to Canada, which is a fantastic bonus, and they’ve got amazing communication. Every week, I was emailed with updates on the delivery of these items.

Three weeks after ordering, the package came on Friday (two weeks ahead of schedule!). However, we received the lamp in the wrong colour and most importantly, the table and chairs were delivered damaged. Despite the “fragile” warnings on the box, the corners were smashed in – resulting in chipped and damaged furniture. It’s not Beyond the Rack’s fault the delivery method failed, and it’s unfortunate they seemingly weren’t aware the manufacturer of said furniture decided to protect the goods with just cardboard and tape (nary a piece of padding in sight).

So, on to returning the item. With past deliveries from BTR, I’d get an invoice along with clear instructions on returns. This time, however, nothing – I looked in each box for my invoice, but nothing could be found. I emailed the company to receive a form letter, instructing me to use the Fed Ex return documents. This package, however, was delivered by UPS – which I assume is the company’s Canadian courier.

Getting this response meant I was prepared for the worst – the last thing I wanted was a hassle. But maybe I’m too cynical.

When I reply to tell them I don’t have the return documents, I receive an email the next morning with the documents for me to print out and put on all of the boxes. All I need to do is call up Fed Ex and done. Super easy!

Remember when getting a delivery meant waiting forever for the delivery person to return? Or even when you get home from a shop and notice a defect, you still have to go all the way back out to the store to make a return? While it’s annoying the packages were delivered in bad shape and without necessary paperwork, BTR turned the situation that was honestly beyond their control around and made it easy on me, the customer.* I’d still take shopping online over mall shopping any day.

*Of course, if I don’t get a refund, I’ll be spewing vitriol. Stay tuned!

Today, a start-up company in Toronto called Fab Find decided to hold a sale for $10 iPads. It was an interesting way for the company to stand out amongst its many online coupon competitors such as Groupon. Unfortunately, this may have backfired.

Fab Find says 10 iPads were up for sale for $10, but talk on the very active Facebook group page suggests that number might be lower –  in the single digits. And those who did secure the $10 iPads aren’t owning up to their purchases – save for two: both from local media companies. The fact that few who wanted to could buy their $10 iPad while those who did appear to be from the ‘inside’ is a PR nightmare.

On top of that, the site kept breaking… or did it? Some Twitter comments suggested the site downtime was also part of the stunt as their staging server was working. Others are now contacting their server hosting company asking why there was downtime, making that company answer this PR game as well. Additionally, and for me most importantly, some people claimed to have entered in their credit card information only to be told the product was now sold out, raising sincere ethical questions.

Lots of people are claiming this stunt was a scam and as we all know, the loudest people on social media are those who complain. Between threats of sending this to the Better Business Bureau and claims of never shopping with them ever agin, FabFind.com is doing its best to respond – on Facebook and its Twitter account.

The fact is – I never heard about Fab Find until this sale… and their office is literally down the street from me. They’ll release their analytics tomorrow, but guaranteed they saw more traffic this morning than they have in the last month, at least. Anger about missing out on a $10 iPad may go away, but it’s their actions over the next few days that will speak to the long term success of this start-up. In fact, many of those people who are angrily leaving messages on their social media walls suggest there is wiggle room for Fab Find to make up for “misleading” their customers.

One great suggestion on Twitter – those who wished to buy an iPad for $10 may want to instead donate it to charity.

In the past two months, I’ve made two trips to the States, which as a Canadian means loads of mobile phone data roaming charges. For someone addicted to the location service  Foursquare, this means I’m spending money to use the free service.

Why do I like Foursquare? It’s a social game that takes the conversation offline. I was a doubter at first, but then I became a mayor of a location, which is given to a user who “checks in” the most (plus a bunch of other secret algorithms only Foursquare understands). When I became mayor for the first time, I thought “cool,” but I wasn’t addicted to checking into everywhere I went.  And then someone took the mayoralship away from me. It struck a competitive chord in me. Soon I was challenging coworkers who could become mayor of the workplace, inadvertently stealing the mayorship from my bf at our fave restaurants… so much fun. I later learned it’s also a blast to earn hard-to-get badges.

On vacation, particularly in the States, Foursquare is an amazing recommendation engine. I check into a restaurant and then review the tips written usually by locals who suggest what to order from the menu, where to sit, and what to avoid. Thanks to Foursquare, I ate some amazing sushi, avoided another restaurant and felt like I was in “the know” in a strange land.

Data roaming charges, however, could affect my use of this service in cities outside of my own because of the high roaming fees. I suspect those without a 3G plan are in the same boat – even those who love services such as Facebook or Twitter. Say you’re in a new city on Twitter, your followers will give you advice on where to go – even if you ask for tips or not.

Starbucks’ free Wifi in all of its locations helped people like me get onto their social media where ever we end up. It’s also a fabulous marketing tool for the coffee chain as most people will tell their friends on Twitter or check in to Foursquare that they’re at Starbucks.

But what’s the solution to help location-based services blossom into this potential of tourism check-ins and become the recommendation engines they’re turning into? Should Twitter sponsor more wifi locations? Should locations that want to exploit the Foursquare marketing tool offer wifi? Thoughts?