Page 79 - Social Media Marketing for Dummies

the very same social platform that was responsible for the propagation of the PR
crisis. The runway fiasco, as it came to be known, was when passengers were kept
in planes on the runway for hours on end during a winter storm. Using the social
platforms to apologize made a difference, and it helped even more when the CEO
announced a passenger bill of rights. These actions showed that he was engaging
with his current and prospective customers on their own terms and on their social
platforms of choice (he engaged with the angry customers on Twitter, too).

There are hundreds of examples of brands facing online firestorms, often due to
something stupid that a company did. Table 3-1 highlights some of the more
notable firestorms. Also listed are whether these online difficulties had offline
ripples in the mainstream media.

TABLE 3-1 Notable Online Firestorms
Controversy Online Noise Levels Offline

Nivea’s racially insensitive ad High High
American Airlines removes Alec Baldwin from plane for not High High
turning off his phone when requested
Gilbert Gottfried’s firing by AFLAC for insensitive remarks High Moderate
about the Japan earthquake
Dunkin’ Donuts/Rachael Ray wears keffiyeh High Moderate
Burger King employee bathes in sink Moderate Low

Motrin moms High Low
#amazonfail High None
SpongeBob SquareButt Moderate Low

Deepening Your SMM Relationship

After your customers are at the loyalty stage, can you do anything more to deepen the
relationship? SMM gives you the opportunity to stay in contact with your customers
and help them in ways they don’t anticipate. Delight is a strong element in grow-
ing your bond. Following are some areas of SMM that help you extend that trust.

SMM for customer service

After customers found that they could quickly get a company’s attention on social
media platforms, the notion of customer service changed forever. Previously, the

CHAPTER 3 Getting in the Social Media Marketing Frame of Mind 63