facebook

My Take on Amy’s Baking Company in Scottsdale, AZ

by Joe Manna

This is not a Facebook crisis.
It’s a business owner crisis.

We have a charming restaurant owner in the Phoenix area, Scottsdale, who has issues with being abrasive and insulting with customers. Chef Gordon Ramsay from Kitchen Nightmares had objectively captured and amplified the criticism. So much so, that he could not in good faith complete the episode. This is a huge statement in and of itself since his television series is about saving failing restaurants and turning them around. And trust me, he has worked with some restaurants that arguably might not have been worth saving – but he finds the way.

Amy and her husband Sam run a bakery that also serves Italian food in Scottsdale, AZ. They permitted Ramsay and team to film their show in their restaurant. During the first day where Ramsay closely observes the operations and feedback from patrons, disaster strikes. It was discovered that “fresh ravioli” was in fact frozen and then later cooked. Then, a young server was confirming the dish choice to the owner (Amy), which was followed by her immediate termination. Finally, it was revealed that the owners were pocketing the tips that patrons intended for the server. All throughout the episode, Amy and Sam denied responsibility and refused to accept that they needed to adjust their menu, operations and decisions. The second day, Ramsay and the owners met the following morning — and what could have been a moment of ‘clarity’ was more of the same. So much so, that Ramsay had decided that it was not worth his time, nor the owners’, if he continued with the show.

If this was any other restaurant owner, then I think the story would end there and there wouldn’t be any vitriolic controversy to talk about.

But this is no ordinary restaurant.

See, the problems for Amy’s Baking Company began three years ago. The alternative, but all-too-accurate publication Phoenix New Times has written about the establishment eight times. The conundrum wasn’t because when the owner didn’t merely defend her decisions, but when she decided to go completely postal on a customer on the consumer review site, Yelp. Little did she know that ‘Yelpers’ tend to take disagreement much more personally than a common business owner. And it continued for three years where she would critique the critics into an endless cycle.

In other words, Kitchen Nightmares accurately captured and portrayed the attitudes shared by the husband and wife business owners. Here’s an account from a Redditor, WordPress pro and friend, Greg Taylor.

At this point, Reddit and other blogs picked up on this episode, the context and they began to voice their opinions. (While I think it’s unfair non-patrons can comment on a business’ Yelp page, I do think it’s fair game to comment on the Facebook Page.) Most of their opinions were based on the episode that was leaked on the web.

True to form, the negativity spewed from the official Amy’s Baking Company Facebook Page. The full, uncensored responses are visible here. The hatred pointed at passersbys was so strong, it was a train wreck. This fueled others to watch, add more fuel to it and watch in complete amazement of how a business could take a bad situation and make it worse. Not by accident, either. As a result of their abusive responses and blanket posts, they caught the attention of media, reporters, bloggers and thousands of others who had to voice their reactions of both the episode as well as the business’ behavior on Facebook.

The next morning, the business made BuzzFeed, Phoenix New Times, Forbes and 23,000 other news sources. From there, it bled into mainstream media and the disaster continued. They deleted their comments and alleged that their Facebook account was hacked and “the authorities” are involved. I, and countless others, don’t buy it. Thousands of comments continued to pour in on this latest decision to lie about their actions.

I think most people who criticized them simply wanted Amy and Sam to accept that their actions were in poor taste, apologize and to accept responsibility.

So, what does this have to do with Facebook? Many others have decried this as a Facebook disaster. It’s not a Facebook, Yelp, Reddit or a cyberbulling disaster.

Consumers have a voice and the owners at Amy’s Baking Company believe if they shout louder, delete comments and publish incendiary statements, they will win. This isn’t platform-specific. This is their attitude. There is nothing that a well-thought Facebook strategy or a PR professional can do it fix this if the business owners don’t listen and change their ways.

A “Facebook crisis” would be if a Facebook promotion went awry, an employee accidentally shared their personal views on a company’s page, or if they invited all their fans to attend a private event and thousands all showed up. See the difference? A Facebook crisis would stem from Facebook and its practical uses.

But, they got 68,000+ Likes! As they say, “Any PR is good PR,” right? Sometimes, but not in this case. While they have access to potentially communicate with more than 68,000 people, they are largely all critics. It will be tough to influence and shift the minds of them who only who Liked their Facebook Page to keep up with the controversy. For all the non-local fans, they will probably grow annoyed when they publish updates about their actual restaurant. Unliking a Page is still a pain on Facebook, so in droves, people will report future updates as spam or hide them … which will negatively influence the reputation of the Page. Solution: Geo-target all future updates to just the Phoenix metro area as that’s where their real customers are located.

I do find it a bit funny that they would accept the counsel from a PR firm, but not a proven and world-renowned chef. The press release and proposed grand re-opening [did they ever close?] itself is pathetic attempt to curtail the critical comments. I fully expect the spin machine running at full throttle and the PR team to have a roll of duct tape at arm’s length during the event in case Amy decides to go ballistic on a customer.

Now, I do have one last thought on this whole matter.

Tyler Hurst, an influential former Phoenician, shared his point-of-view three years ago in reaction to her behavior on Yelp. I agree with it. We as social media and public relations professionals ask our clients, employers and brands be “open and real” in their communication. We advise “authenticity” over the insincere, bland and corporate speak. Yet, when someone is pushed beyond their psychological limits, we crucify them for speaking their mind (even if it’s offensive). They are just words — it’s not like they are invoking violence against customers (yet).

Even if Amy is crazy and could benefit from some therapy, guidance in marketing, PR and customer service … shouldn’t we just accept her as-is? If we don’t like it, we don’t have to patronize her business. In fact, there are probably hundreds of other willing, capable and caring small businesses and restaurateurs across Phoenix who would appreciate your business and feedback.

What's in a Like?

by Joe Manna

There is more to the surface of ‘Liking’ a brand on Facebook than merely “brand evangelists.” There are a few different reasons why people would Like a company on Facebook and the meaning of that relationship. After seeing so many brands commoditize the Like, I can’t help but share my thoughts on it.

“Like us because you know us, like what we do and want more!”
These are the most natural and loyal type of Likes. If a brand has done their homework and informed their customers about their Facebook presence, they’ll hopefully get droves of people Liking their page. These people respond to a wider variety of content and are generally more engaged than the other types of Likes listed below. The pre-requisite is to provide a great product, deliver fantastic service and actually love your customers.
“Screw it, we’ll bribe you to Like us!”
This type of Like is one that is based on a transaction – not a relationship. Often these take the form of a discount or other “bribe” for the person to interact with the brand. Expect these fans to respond to deals – and they better be good deals – but don’t bother asking for their input on the brand, because they don’t care.
“We can buy you, like sheep, so click Like from this advertisement.”
Using Facebook Ads to encourage people to Like a brand’s page is really an act of desperation. People might like a brand’s page to learn more, but they sure as hell aren’t loyal. The strategy of acquiring fans this way is best reserved for well-known brands like Coach, Coke Zero, Red Bull, etc. Often, this strategy is much more complementary to their brand awareness campaigns and works.
“Like us to get this amazing content!”
This type of Like is used a lot on brands to entice more likes in exchange for delivering some type of marketing collateral. Often, these marketing pieces are sub-standard and not worth they Like they were exchanged for. However, they perform well if the brand is laser-focused on their fan-gated promotion.
“Like us … then follow us … then subscribe to us …”
These Likes aren’t exclusive; meaning, fans feel no sense of exclusivity for Liking the brand. Facebook offers a level of interaction not seen on Twitter or Blogs, so wasting it is an obvious sign the brand doesn’t know how to engage there. These likes are “average;” they might engage, they might not.
“Like us because we care (but really, we don’t)!”
These types of Likes are more loyal than others, and often people will Like a brand’s page with the intention of connecting with the brand’s leaders. But when every piece of content is to generate leads and fails to solicit meaningful feedback, what does that show? This performs well short term, but requires a corporate commitment to deliver amazing service through Facebook. Failing to show you truly care about your fans will result in unlikes, being hidden from their coveted Newsfeed and ultimately a slimmer chance for other fans seeing the brand’s updates.

I think the Tweet from Tyler Hurst sums up how I feel on this subject:

Giveaways for new followers or fans is akin to buying friends. You realize they don’t really like you, right?less than a minute ago via HootSuite Favorite Retweet ReplyTyler Hurst
tdhurst

What should a brand do on Facebook to get more likes? Deliver amazing service, share compelling content and respect the audience’s interests. That’s it. It takes effort to build a brand that millions of people Like – using cheesy offers on Facebook to get there isn’t going to do it.

It’s my belief that 5 fans are better than a bullshit 500 fans. Earn it.

With this said, I am proud to have over 4500 amazing fans at Infusionsoft. We have a lead-gen offer, but it’s not fan-gated and people get it via email instantly. For newcomers, it’s a great way to learn more about what Infusionsoft is about and how they can improve their own marketing. Is it perfect? No. But it’s something that helps generate value for the company and the (new) fans.

Why do you Like pages on Facebook? Is it get deals? Is it to get latest company updates? Is it to have your voice heard? Let me know in the comments. Would love to discuss this further.

[Image credit: nerdytshirts]

Social Media for Small Business: Threat or Asset?

by Joe Manna

On the minds of some business owners is the choice to use social media or to abstain from it. I had a conversation with one such business owner who is in a highly competitive, cost-conscious industry and serves customers locally. We discussed many different aspects his social media use, interest to engage and core business needs.

Here were a few questions he posed:

[Discussing social media] “So, I get that I need to be on Twitter and Facebook and all that … but how does that really make a difference to get customers in the door?”

[Discussing content] “So, what’s to stop someone from seeing how I do [service] and not becoming a customer?” Related: “So, I get a video with 90 million views on YouTube, now what?”

[Discussing resources] “I don’t have all day to do social media, so what can I do?”

As you can tell, these were real, valid concerns for business owners. After all, they need customers in order to stay in business. This guy had the mindset (and which isn’t wrong), that advertising is a gamble, and social media just has lower odds. I can’t blame him. You advertise on two or three sites and you get a finite set of customers out of it. As he explained further, those advertising costs far exceed the amount for a FTE to be interactive and social online, let alone paid interns.

So, is a social media a threat for small businesses? For this guy, it very much can be. I didn’t feed him the bullshit that it’s time to “engage” and “collaborate.” I’m not that expensive of a social media professional to suggest that. It’s business and his industry is highly competitive and focused on cost and sharing proprietary knowledge does cost him customers to competition.

We talked a bit more. I suggested for him to view social media as a “controlled threat.” It’s only as transparent and free flowing as he wants it to be. Just as much as he could walk a customer through performing their services, he could just as easy get customer testimonials, performance/benchmark tests and highlight current activities in the office. He doesn’t have to bite off more than he can chew. If that means an hour a week, then so be it. It’s an hour to read, respond and interact with customers and prospects online when right now, there is nothing. Presuming there is a sense of achievement, he could shift that towards 30 minutes daily, possibly an hour a day and so on.

Social media is a time investment. No lie there — even I wonder where my days go and I am a full time social media professional. Start with only few minutes. Weekly, even. Just invest yourself, and then invest your staff when they show they’re interested. While exploitative, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to tap the local college for interns or college kids looking for a job. Go after the communication and PR majors and you could go very far for very little.

It’s also about knowing your positioning. He has the view that he rivals against a well-known, highly publicized company. I asked him more about that, like who’s downstream and upstream competitors – he listed upstream, but not downstream. Surely this guy isn’t all scrappy. He has some downstream competitors. I suggested that it would be a good idea to become the well-known source of providing [services] in Phoenix. Once he has a flow of customers in Phoenix, target all Arizona, then southwest, then western half of the US and so on. Again, he is a specialty, not a novelty so staying focused regionally and locally is prudent.

As an addendum, he explained what makes up the best-fit customers. When asked about the worst-fit customers, he didn’t really have an answer. If there’s one thing I learned at Infusionsoft, it’s this: when you go after everyone, you go after no one. Be something to some people.

Let’s get back to social media.

His upstream competitors have established social media programs. The industry thrives on it. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither are social media programs.

I explained that none – not one – of his competitors in Arizona are doing social media right. It’s piss-poor at best and all about me-me-me. Nobody wants that. He has a real opportunity to be in a leader in [services] locally and be able to field questions from the media, industry peers, customers and prospects. He doesn’t sell to customers in New Jersey – he sells to customers locally, so why not focus on rocking the local social media scene?

And you know what? He can do it. Not all businesses can, but with his wealth of content, skill and ability to communicate with customers professionally, he would really rock at it.

Here are my takeaways from this:

Social media is a controlled threat. When you are the producer of your own content, you can shape the focus of it. Not all social media necessarily steals customers away. Loyal customers are your most profitable and satisfied customers. If they see a YouTube video on how to perform your talents, they will come back because they trust you. Social media only builds that further when you’re actually … social. Keep in mind, before patronizing this guy, I performed extensive of research online among YouTube, forums and blogs — I imagine many of his customers do the same.
Know your ideal customer and your role in the ecosystem. Behind every business, there exists an ecosystem of customers, prospects, suppliers, vendors, events, news, business development and competitors. Think about your ideal, target customer and their needs. Once you’ve established their needs, think about how you’ll service them at multiple times.
Drink some of the inbound marketing Kool-Aid. One-way, broadcaster style of advertising is getting tougher. In a highly competitive market, the highest CPC [marketing budget], wins. Further, you are shown in a sea of competitors in the back of a magazine, you have no differentiation. Be different and start attracting customers to you versus going out and hunting them. (HubSpot has a tons of free resources to learn concepts and practices of inbound marketing.)
Start small then grow big. Don’t fret when you see a 900-lb gorilla. Just realize they’ve got more money — and likely — more overhead, more legal issues and more experience. This can be learned and when you start small, you are agile, nimble, fierce and you have freedom to try whatever you want.
Social media is not just another advertising expense. It’s a customer service, loyalty, marketing, research and development engine. It has many moving pieces and renders most people slightly different results in using it. It’s more than a money-in-money-out formula. It costs money and time and some attitude re-alignment.

Nothing is a 100 percent odds these days. Don’t buy into all the hype and FUD you hear. Do your research and approach problems with an open, but calculating mind. I feel this business owner missed out on the honeymoon-phase of social media and will experience even greater challenges adopting in over the next year. It’s only going to get more complex, more dizzying and more fragmented as we move forward. The longer business owners wait on getting into social media, the higher the stakes become. Right now it’s affordable to get in and be social – but what if it won’t be one day?

I feel social media is ultimately as great a threat as it is an asset. I know you’re thinking that was a loaded question, right? But really, doing nothing in social and lying to customers will tarnish your reputation and revenue. Doing something earns you free press and marketing.

Agree? Disagree? Am I way off base or right on? Sound off in the comments and help other small business owners decide between the red or blue pill.

[Image credit: pasukaru76]

Facebook, Minors and Advertising

by Joe Manna

This morning, I was tipped from a PR firm letting me know that Facebook is currently in the midst of a controversy involving minors and their presence in advertising throughout the popular website. I have mixed views on this, but it’s something that marketers and publishers need to consider when they do advertising on the social network. If you advertise to minors, you ought to get a blessing from the lawyers first.

Advertising on Facebook works similarly to how Google displays ads to users in their search interface. Simply, an advertiser would create an advertisement with an image, text and a link. Then they proceed to targeting and can really narrow their ad to a very finite individual based on nearly-limitless criteria. In this process, there is a checkbox that enables the advertiser to use a viewer’s “friends” to support the ad. It increases the cost per click only marginally, and is a great way to encourage more trusted clicks.

If I liked Absolut, my friends would see that ‘Joseph Manna Likes This’. It’s pretty straight-forward. However, when minors are involved it gets sticky.

Today, minors are protected from targeted advertising on the internet with an important piece of regulatory guidelines known as COPPA. The FTC mandates that advertisers (and publishers) must gain parental consent before advertising to minors. From recollection, Xanga, the once-popular blogging network, was slapped with a huge fine because they violated COPPA.

Facebook doesn’t fall far from the tree here. Facebook does a good job ensuring brands that are restricted to minors aren’t accessed or shown to them – like alcohol, tobacco or other adult-oriented services. However, if kids like Justin Bieber (and the record company is owning his page), then where is the line drawn?

Perhaps, it’s because COPPA was never enacted thinking that the web would truly be permission-based. The same argument is being had over the Second Amendment. It’s my view that Facebook isn’t doing anything malicious; rather an oversight and a result of how people now interact with Pages and brands on Facebook.

A philosophical debate can be had over whether a Facebook Page is a product of marketing from a company – or if it’s a general interest from people. I mean, if people like Coke products, why should Facebook or any other authority interfere with expressing their patronage online? The social actions that Facebook facilitates is expressing fact, not necessarily endorsements for a brand – and their trademarked “Like” is a relationship to such pages.

Not everyone feels this way. Dale Carr, CEO of Leadbolt, a digital advertising company, suggests Facebook failed to address the issue. “Facebook is doing exactly what it should be doing: staying closed lip on the topic and lobbying child privacy laws in its own favor.” However, he wrangles with the issue at hand, “In most cases, these ‘advertisements’ are most likely not even considered advertisements, but web content revolving around a product or service.” Carr feels this is an example of how people’s online experiences are evolving — where social ads blur the lines between sharing personal information and commercial ads.“There is a fine line between sharing information and fooling users into thinking that their “friend” is endorsing a product or service, when in actuality it’s the company itself that is spreading the idea on a massive scale. The relationships between Facebook users to promote advertisers messages is akin to word of mouth advertising. If an advertiser want’s to pay for that type of communication and increase it’s pages’ or websites’ visitors it certainly doesn’t cross any lines. That is unless users are unable to see a “sponsored message” [disclosure] next to that unit on Facebook.”

For the most part, I agree. Social actions dominate the platform. Advertising is there, but isn’t the goal for users when they engage this way.

This issue can be complex, but it’s not necessarily difficult. I think this has to be addressed with common sense. Perhaps the feature could be revised (voluntarily) to exclude minors from the social actions on ads. It wouldn’t be a bad idea for Facebook to relax some of the personalization on Facebook for minors. It ripe with opportunity for abuse and Facebook can’t afford any further criticism against their privacy and role in a minor’s internet experience.

[Image credit: antonymayfield]

The Facebook Marketing Book

by Joe Manna

The Facebook Marketing Book written by Dan and Alison Zarrella is effectively a field-guide for marketers who want to tap into Facebook. Admittedly, it’s not for experts, but is an ideal book for people who understand that they need to do more on Facebook and need some direction. I even learned a few things from reading it, so don’t knock it just yet.

First, I wanted to comment about the author – Dan Zarrella. He works for Hubspot and is prominent about disclosing his analytical social media insights, psychographics and shares his conclusions with the world. Be it about blogging, content, webinars, Facebook, Twitter, video, etc., he knows his stuff and comes with a wealth of expertise that he shares throughout the book.

Second, the format of the book is easy to scan and read. Unlike other social media themed books that tend to focus too much on the tactics, or too much on the strategy, The Facebook Marketing Book blends both needs and packages it nicely for readers.

Throughout the book, there are plenty of supporting illustrations and cases that answer the age-old need of, “give me an example.” Like I mentioned earlier, it’s a great field guide so one can refer to it again and again when planning their next marketing campaign. While even some of the book’s images could be dated, the practices and functions of Facebook aren’t.

The book explains in depth the fine differences between Pages, Apps and Groups and creative ways on how to use them to drive business results. I appreciated some of the suggested Facebook Apps to not only boost activity for a brand, but to actually move social activity forward. That’s the point and am glad they hit on that frequently.

The only critical feedback I have is the lack of showing the application of Facebook in a more mature social media strategy. It’s not a major flaw, after all, it’s aptly named “The Facebook Marketing Book” for a reason; but this would result in the book having a meaningful purpose.

Who this book is for:

Marketing Managers
Communications/PR Professionals
Virtual Assistants/Consultants
Entrepreneurs/Business Owners
People looking to understand Facebook for business.

Who this book is not for:

Social Media Strategists/Specialists
Leaders of tech-savvy organizations
Front-line Personnel
People who have nothing to market or sell or just want to make money.

I received an complimentary copy from the publisher, O’Reilly, and was happy to share my thoughts on The Facebook Marketing Book. If you think your book is good and somehow relates to technology or social media, shoot me an email and I’ll check it out.

The Right Way to Promote Your Facebook Page

by Joe Manna

So, you just invested in building your social media presence and having your marketing team running it. Great. Now what? Well, the next logical step is to promote it to your customers. Many brands – even billion dollar brands – don’t even bother with that. I want to share a quick example of a brand doing it … right.

QuickTrip Facebook Promo in the Bathroom

This is a photo I took in the bathroom stall of my local QuikTrip. Not only are they promoting their Facebook, they are adding value to it. My relationship is valued and thus that’s why they spent the dollars on the stickers, the graphics team and the aforementioned discounts on in-store purchases. My only feedback for their Facebook Page itself is to become a little more active. I’ll talk about this later.

I am fairly certain QuikTrip’s marketing department doesn’t rival that of Coco-Cola’s. This shows they know how to properly engage customers into Liking the page. Furthermore, this gives them the editorial flexibility to shove tons of offers in front of people without any retribution.

I call this out because there was (and still remains) many ad campaigns that make social media such a weak call to action. It’s like it was a checkbox on their marketing to-do lists. Macy’s, Victoria’s Secret, PowerAde, Gatorade, NFL, ESPN, etc. You name it, big brands don’t get it and probably won’t anytime soon. It’s not that they have bad brands or Facebook Pages; it’s that they don’t promote them properly.

This falls under Jay Baer’s Social Media Trophy analogy. It’s no longer good enough just to throw a Twitter or Facebook logo on your ad. You need to qualify it with a call to action and a benefit for people to take the 17 seconds to Like a brand on Facebook.

It’s because of how easy it is just to slap a Facebook and Twitter logo on a sticker and call it “done,” I commend QuikTrip for going above to encourage their patrons to Like their page with reason. Hopefully more brands follow this and improve their social media promotion strategy.

Why do you Like pages on Facebook? Knowing this is half the battle. Carry on…