It's been a while...

It may be a little early for New Year's resolutions, but I feel like I need one now:

I will regularly update my blog.

I will regularly update my blog.

I will regularly update my blog.

I will regularly update my blog.

I can't believe how long it's been since I've updated this...but I now have my own URL (www.JamieSpafford.com), and it's time to pick it back up again.

So if you're still here and reading this, you should look forward to some regular updates from me soon.

In the meantime, have a very merry Christmas, and an extremely happy New Year!

Thanks

Jamie

When Social Media Just Isn't Enough

My girlfriend has recently been having problems with Vodafone.

She upgraded her contract with them to an iPhone 3gS and has since had no end of troubles trying to get any signal/cellular network.

The obvious outlet for her frustration was via her Twitter feed, where her tweets were picked up by @VodafoneUK who replied to her straight away offering help by means of an email.  The email led to a reply stating they could not help her and she would need to phone.

Fast forward to today where in total there have been 9 phone calls, 1 store visit, 2 new sim cards...and still no working phone.

But every time she or I tweet about Vodafone, we receive a reply saying "Sorry to hear you're still having problems, drop us an email or contact us via the eForum".


It must be frustrating working the Twitter account for Vodafone because they seem keen to help, but they're being let down by the Customer Service call centres...there's nothing else someone on Twitter can do, they have to rely on the one-on-one contact of a phone call or store visit.

Monitoring Twitter for mentions is a fantastic Customer Service aid and really helps customers feel they are being listened to, but make sure the rest of the Customer Service department can match it for use

Rant over.

The Smart way to Tweet

This is something I’ve been meaning to write about for a while, firstly because I thought it was hilarious but also because it really shows how careful companies need to be when sharing content online.

First there was Habitat, more recently there was Vodafone and now it appears that the official Twitter account for the Smart ForTwo has royally screwed up.  On 25^th January, Smart posted this tweet:

How to park a #smartcar - Don't try this at home! http://ow.ly/108us

Nothing too unusual and very in keeping with their previous tweets, but I clicked through to the video to see that it was actually a viral ad that was produced prior to the launch of the Toyota iQ.  If you watch the video, you will see that it shows two Toyota iQ’s handbrake turning into very small parking spaces.  That’s right, Toyota iQ...the Smart ForTwo’s main competitor.

Now, for general members of the public this probably isn’t a massive issue...it’s a fun video with small cars, small parking spaces etc etc and they’re probably not going to notice the difference between the cars.

But for the official Twitter account to make such a mistake is just horrific.  They are directing their customers/fans/followers to a viral video promoting their main competitor...it would have been more subtle if they came out and said the iQ was a better car than the ForTwo!

SmartfortwoUK has 469 followers, now if this video gets passed on (in the way viral ads are supposed to), who’s to say how many people could have seen it? Well looking at the Youtube video, it’s had over 5,000 views!  How many impressions is that?  It all adds up you know! 

So how could this happen?  Well the video is labelled on Youtube as a Smart ForTwo, which leads me to say that someone has lazily searched for Smart videos and come up with that one, not checked it through properly and posted it.  Brilliant, they’re the kind of people you want working on your brand!

After I realised their mistake, I pointed it out to @smartfortwouk who’s reply was “@JamieSpafford - Well spotted! We love the video anyway, this is probably NOT how we recommend you park a #smartcar”

Well, no...because it’s not a Smart Car!

And another thing...The tweet is still up there.  Even after they’ve admitted the mistake, they’ve left it there.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH SOME PEOPLE?!?!

It’s been said before, but although social media should be quick and reactive, it should also be right.  If you make a mistake, correct it...don’t leave it there for the World to see.

Or even better, don’t make the mistake in the first place.  Social media is a lot more casual than official communications, but it doesn’t mean the approval process should be any less stringent, so get Smart!

Footballers Tweet No More...

I know I'm making more of an effort to blog this year, but even I still can't believe Iv'e reached as low as tweeting about Football...oh well!

Companies ban their employees from using social networking sites, we all know it happens…You get into work one day and suddenly realise can’t get on Facebook, but you don’t want to ask anyone about it because you know you shouldn’t be using it in the first place, so quiet rumours go around the office until somebody confirms that Facebook has definitely been blocked.
   

So there’s nothing unusual about Manchester United blocking social networking site for their players either.  Except that they’ve completely blocked the players from using social media in their own time (which, let’s be honest makes up most of their time!).

There is a definite logic behind this, looking back over the last year or so there’s been a couple of incidents with players venting their frustration at managers through the powers of Twitter, first there was Darren Bent prior to his move to Sunderland who went on a complete tirade, really showing his feelings.  More recently, Liverpool player Ryan Babel let his frustration show when Benitez didn’t play him.

The issue I see is, where in a player’s contract does it say they are not allowed to use social media?

It is completely understandable that there should be a clause saying something along the lines of “you must not slag off the club or any of its employees”, and that’s fine, but Man U are saying that their players can’t use social media under any circumstances.

In my opinion this is a big mistake.  With the correct restrictions in place (see above) Twitter can be a great way for fans to relate to their football idols, improving the relationship between player and fan.  It’s not different to a company using Twitter.  It’s about the relationship, the conversation, and footballers are a brand in their own rights.  That’s why sponsors pump so much money into them.

If I was a sponsor, I would want the footballer to be talking about our brand through any means possible, not just in pre-arranged press conferences.

So ultimately, although Man U have good reason to restrict what players say, I really don’t think it’s right to ban them completely. 

Red Card.

Who's Turning The Apple Rumour Mill?

I can't believe it.  It's the 19th January and I still haven't updated the blog this year.  It's a disgrace, and I need to make it right.  So here goes....

Apple.  Probably the most respected, most blogged, tweeted and talked about company going.  Everyday there is a new rumour about one of their products.  Whether it's the iPhone 4.0 or the iTablet/iSlate, everywhere you look there are rumours surrounding Apple.

I just can't work out where the rumours comes from.  We all know that car manufacturers leak images of upcoming vehicles or accidentally happen to tell car photographers where they might be testing the new heavily disguised bland-mobile, but is this what happens in the technology world as well?

I'm sure there is some truth to the rumours about new Apple products, but when Apple haven't even confirmed there's definitely going to be a Tablet-like product, where are the rumours coming from?  Where do videos like this iTablet Video come from?!


It would be naive to think that Apple's PR department doesn't have some sort of hand on the stirring spoon, but I believe there's more to be found out by looking at the overall branding.

Apple = passionate people


That's what the brand breathes. The customers know Apple put their all into their products, so they like to give their all back.  The high level of technology, classy simple design and ease of use mean that the Apple brand stands for everything that techy, classy and designer people want.  Therefore the public get excited about new product launches.  Obviously it's the people that want Apple products who are blogging, tweeting etc, and Apple appear to have realised this and seem to release small bits of information into the public domain, sit back and watch their customers do all their PR work for them, as it explodes into a full news story.

So Apple's success appears to balance between clever, guarded branding mixed with passionate and knowledgeable customers who want the newest technology now.

Clever, especially compared to their competition....By the way, how did your Windows 7 launch party go down? FAIL