HC+T Update: February 1, 2013

From: "HC+T Update" <shel@holtz.com>

Subject: HC+T Update: February 1, 2013

Date: February 1st 2013

February 1, 2013
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Here it is: Possibly the only email newsletter you'll get this week with no reference to the Super Bowl. (Oh, wait. That just was a Super Bowl reference, wasn't it?)

Items from the Holtz.com blog published during the last week:

Think you can keep a layoff secret? HMV proves otherwise

British music retailer HMV is on the ropes, so it laid off 160 employees, including a social media planner who used her access to the company's official, verified Twitter account to tweet the event, including a director's clueless appeal for instructions to "shut down Twitter." These days, transparency around layoffs is the only way to avoid a social media debacle. Read more

Five ways to deliver content your customers want

The distaste most people have for corporate blogs might lead you to think they just don't work. To succeed with content, you have to start by thinking about what your customers will want to read, not what you want them to know. Read more

A summary of the items appearing in this week's Friday Wrap

Call centers served best by social media for damage control

A study reveals that call centers are morphing into contact centers, taking customer inquiries and complaints not only by phone but also the Web, email and social media outlets like Facebook. What's more, customer satisfaction and purchase decisions are greater among those who get responses via social channels. Read more

Small businesses favor linkedIn, see little value in Twitter

LinkedIn ranks first among small business owners, 60% of whom see social media as important to their business. But only 3% find Twitter to be of much use. It'll be interesting to see if those numbers rise as Twitter embarks on an effort to demonstrate its value to SMBs. Read more

QR codes gain favor with 18-34 demographic

Pitney Bowes has released a study showing that 15% of consumers overall have used QR codes, but the numbers leap to 27% of consumers in the 18-34 segment. the codes are also more popular in the U.S. than in Europe. Read more.

The Atlantic may be a trend-setter with native ad guidelines

The Atlantic was the target of severe criticism for a sponsored story it ran, paid for by the Church of Scientology. Now, the publication has released new guidelines it hopes will improve reader perceptions of native ads. The guidelines call for better review of content, more prominent labeling of a story as paid content, and unbiased content moderation. Read more

Serena Software uses Web miniseries in B-to-B marketing effort

How do you get the attention of prospective buyers when your company isn't well known and your products are complicated? How about a five-part dramatic video series delivered over the Web? That's the approach Serena Software has taken with a five-part miniseries featuring a fictional CIO whose company is under assault from a more technologically-sophisticated competitor. Read more

Airline that doesn't care what customers think shrugs off social media

The new head of communications at Ryanair won't devote time to social media because, he says, it would require additional staff to handle the replies customers would expect to get. This should come as no surprise, since Ryanair traditionally insults its customers. Read more

I'm presenting two sessions at Ragan's 6th Annual Social Media for PR and Corporate Communications Conference, set for next Wednesday through Friday at the Walt Disney World Resort. On February 6, I'll present a three-hour pre-conference session on content marketing. Then, on February 7, I'm co-presenting with Sprint's Sara Folkerts on how to build a brand ambassador program that trains employees to represent the company online. The conference line-up looks stellar, including speakers from Disney Parks, Google, Southwest Airlines, ESPN, Whole Foods, Marvel, Microsoft, and the Phoenix Suns.Conference details
I'm conducting a webinar for Vocus on February 20. The theme: PR's opportunities in the shift to mobile content access. I'll have details when they're available from Vocus.
On February 21, I'm presenting a session on how to deal with customer complaints delivered via social media for the California Patient Relations Association.
On March 5 and 6, I'll be presenting at Ragan's 2013 Best Practices in Internal Communications Summit at the Gleacher Center in downtown Chicago. The preconference session on March 6 will cover ambassador programs. Then, on March 7, I'll present a session on the internal communications role during a crisis. Conference details

Digital and social media training you can actually use

One of my routine activities is conducting training for PR and communication staffs. If your team needs to be brought up to date on the trends they need to be thinking about and how to apply them strategically, give me a call. All of my training sessions are custom-developed to meet the needs of the participants based on their current levels of understanding, the industry in which they work and the unique characteristics of their business.

Since 1996, HC+T has helped organizations communicate effectively in the emerging online space using intranets to reach employees and various dimensions of the Internet to communicate with other stakeholder audiences.

HC+T provides a full range of services for large organizations, from speaking and training to communication audits and strategic plan development.

Visit us at Holtz.com.

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