Cain Stumbles

Herman Cain’s campaign has been filled with nothing but gaffes. This recent situation continues to highlight the campaign’s inability to effectively and appropriately handle PR challenges.

As a presidential candidate (who surprisingly ranks high in the political polls), you would think that Herman Cain would be familiar with international relations, but he is not (If you're running for the highest position in the country, international relations should be a priority).

The Cain campaign chose to conduct a news conference to address the issue. Not the most appropriate platform, especially when Cain is still clearly unable answer to the question.



Since Cain is obviously unaware of international issues, there should be someone on his team who is knowledgeable about such topics. Cain should be well informed on international issues daily in order to prevent such mishaps in the future.

BE READY TO ACT WHEN THE SITUATION TURNS RED

 

 In journalism and PR, the importance of acting quickly and tactfully to right a wrong can not be overstated.  Call it the art of turning negatives into positives. I use the term “art” because tact is just as necessary as corrective steps when addressing a crisis.   I can attest to this personally during my 10 years as a reporter for Passaic Valley Today Newspapers in Woodland Park, NJ.

  Needless to say, there been many times when turning negatives into positives put everyone affected back on the plus side. One such incident happened during my early years at the paper. A production error mysteriously made one of my Totowa, NJ, stories disappear.  I remember opening up that Thursday’s edition, only to see blank white space where the article should have been.

  In response, my editor spoke to the article’s interviewees by phone. She explained that a production mistake had occurred. She said the piece would run in next week’s edition.

The story did appear as promised with an editor’s note apologizing for the error.    Everyone wound up happy, and the episode became history.

  This recovery resulted from turning a negative into a positive. Rapid action with diplomacy prevents a problem from becoming a permanent setback. Putting out fires before they become infernos saves you, and other people, from a lot more hell. That’s a lesson that Sarah Palin and Tony Hayward learned the hard way.

   Sarah Palin did not address the Katie Couric interview gaffe, but she could have. How? Palin immediately calls a press conference to answer the questioned she dodged. She cites two or three newspapers and magazines she regularly reads. She follows up by discussing a couple of interesting stories she saw in those publications.  Palin then opens the press conference to questions, takes them, and adroitly answers them.

    Fact is, we never got to see if Palin would make this tactic work.  But I can say the strategy does make sense. If executed well, Palin would have reestablished her credibility with the press. She would have turned a negative into a positive, which would have served to silence her critics.

   I think Tony Hayward is a different story. The BP oil spill is a far more serious misfortune that Palin’s interview mistake. I don’t think Hayward himself could recover from the “I want my life back” bombshell. That statement is especially callous in light of the 11 workers who died in the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion.

    Nevertheless, Hayward could have implemented damage control for BP. How? Hayward publicly apologizes for a grossly inappropriate statement. He states that nothing is more important than compensating the victims’ losses, capping the leaking well, and cleaning up the environmental mess.

   Hayward then appoints a communications savvy American BP official as public relations liaison. This person provides concrete answers about the company’s oil spill clean up strategy and tactics, and damage reimbursement initiatives. And, of course, Hayward resigns as BP chair. After all, the last thing the company needs during a major oil spill catastrophe, or for its public image, is an insensitive corporate head.  And by stepping down, Hayward fulfills his wish to get his life back. 

     Remember, when crisis strikes, you need to mobilize right away and start transforming that negative into a positive. Doing nothing solves nothing, except creating a worse predicament that casts a bigger and longer lasting cloud on your reputation.

       

The revolution of the crowd

It’s a revolution! This was the first time I heard about crowdsourcing, in class with all of you. What’s surprising admittedly, is that I was using the technique before even thinking that there was a name for it.

We all know that with social media, there is no limit - and especially no barrier - to get in touch with our favorite company, brand or blogger. This same way, thanks to social media, it’s become easier for organizations to ask their customers to contribute to product development or collaborate on other creative endeavors. Just like in assignment #6, many of us recommended to create a contest on our company’s Facebook page. This is a crowdsourcing example, asking your audience to participate to the creation process. We are talking about engagement, well this is engagement! Now everyone had the same power to contribute to products and services we consume everyday, it raises awareness! Crowdsourcing offers an opportunity for fans to participate and create some fun, and would you agree with me that when it is fun, why not do it?

I really enjoyed being this week's crowdsourcer. I also realized how social networking, crowdsourcing, and interacting with your fans is the future way to build strong relations with your audience. Can you see how crowdsourcing could be a tremendous opportunity for us, PR and Marketing pros? Let me know your thoughts my dear crowdsourcers.

Crisis Classics

There's nothing like adding salt to the wound when you're already trying to dig yourself out of one of the worst examples of  "Crisis Communications Gone Horribly Wrong."

Just ask BP's former CEO Tony Hayward, whose five-word soundbite ultimately cost him his job and made him a media celebrity -- for all the wrong reasons.

Or, what about this from the now-infamous Katie Couric-Sarah Palin interview -- just one of many blunders [from this interview] that kept Palin's team busy with reactive crisis communications.

Let's learn from the blunders this week. Share your own example, and briefly explain your thoughts on how the gaffe could have been fixed with smart crisis communications.

Social Media Tools: Finish Dishwashing Commercial

I just saw this commercial and I thought I'd post it so we could start a discussion about the use of social media or any other topics:

Franklin Diaz Latin Dance Company offers salsa partner work and body movement.  A great emphasis is put on isolations and body control with a focus on letting go, feeling the music, and dancing from the heart.  The business is run by Franklin Diaz, who personally teaches all the classes (which I attend!).  He is a well known Salsero (male salsa dancer) in the salsa community.  Franklin does not have a social media presence, with the exception of a Yelp business and a personal Facebook page. 

Facebook.  Setting up a Facebook business account will make the dance company relevant and raises the word of mouth potential drastically.  A quick search on Yelp resulted in 61 salsa dance schools in NYC and he has to differentiate his from the rest.  

• Video Examples of his movement technique should be included.  Simple instructional videos that are easy to follow will ease the anxiety of potential students because they will see they can do the moves too.  Videos showing advanced dance movement will show what they can achieve with practice and help advanced students practice at home.  The strength of his school compared to others is in his focus on moving your body, not just placing your feet and that needs to be shown. 

• Status Updates should often be in the form of questions. This is how the site becomes interactive. For example, "how do you deal with becoming discouraged in dance class?” is a question people can respond to but they can also read the responses of other students.  That builds a community.  If you create conversation with your students, you will build a relationship and that fosters loyalty.    

• Post at 11am on Wednesdays (according to mashable.com, highest activity on Facebook is 3pm Wednesdays).  If you post by 11am, your post is visible for the 3pm rush.  You want as many people to see your post as possible without over posting and taking over their news feed. 

•  Offer Facebook Promotions Create posts advertising discounts on a “limited time” basis, such as “$5 off Friday’s class if purchased by Wednesday” and include a link to Paypal or “bring a friend day” where a customer brings a friend, who can dance for free.  Just like the workout buddy system, students are more likely to attend classes if they come with a friend.  If you can get their friends to join, then they are more likely to return week after week. 

Franklin Diaz is one of the few dance instructors that has focused on what salsa is all about – Latin rhythm interpreted through your body.  He has a great advantage over schools that simply teach basic steps and choreography.  He has a loyal student base but can now expand that base using social media efforts such as Facebook.      

Spa Belles, a Manhattan based salon offering manicures, pedicures and various spa packages, is one of the most visually recognizable nail salons with 8 locations throughout the city.

While their locations are identifiable and strategically placed in different neighborhoods, Spa Belels lack a social media presence that could boost their clientele and brand recognition. In order to do so, I believe the company should take advantage of their already established facebook page, which has not been updated since March, and become involved with American Express’ second annual “Small Business Saturday”.

If Spa Belles signed up to be a part of Small Business Saturday, they would get $100 worth of Facebook advertising, financed by American Express. The nationwide campaign, Small Business Saturday, was launched in 2010 and has become a huge success through social media efforts (facebook, twitter). Small business Saturday allows independently owned stores to take advantage of holiday sales/increased shopping on Saturdays after Black Friday weekend.

If Spa Belles takes advantage of the national campaign by having special events in their stores and offering discounts or other incentives for clients on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, not only will they bring in new clients, but will increase awareness of the spa’s name for years to come. It will also give them incentive to update their facebook page with free advertising!

Introducing Harlem Lanes.....Now Meet Ping.FM !

 

Harlem Lanes is a small privately owned regional Bowling and Entertainment facility located in Harlem, New York City.  Features include:

• 24 bowling lanes
•  Live DJ and deluxe lounge area
• Café, bar, arcade and private party room
• 24 flat screen televisions
• Daily Promotional Events

Given that this is a small family-owned business, it’s great to see they have basic social media programs underway in the form of a simple page for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Yelp.

One  ‘easy- to- implement’ social media recommendation I outlined was to utilize the functionality of Ping.FM. This free application to will update all social networks status feeds at once, simultaneously.

(Yes - no more logging into separate Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn pages to manually update the individual status - sounds appealing right?)

I believe this small change yields significant results in time management for the co-owners who appear to personally manage their social media programs.