At some point, back-peddling is no longer a viable damage control option. We’d say that point comes somewhere between screaming obscenities in all caps at critics via Facebook, and hurling vague threats while claiming to be a superhero backed by God himself.

Yeah, that happened.

After Gordon Ramsay of reality show “Kitchen Nightmares” declared Arizona restaurant Amy’s Baking Company Bakery Boutique & Bistro so horrible that even he couldn’t help the owners rescue their establishment, those owners, Amy and Sammy, took to social media to bite back at critics. Here are a few of the most…um…interesting Facebook posts (if you’re offended by the F word, you should probably stop reading):

Read more

Every brand on Earth is chomping at the bit to place official ads on the rapidly growing Instagram, but parent company Facebook continues to proceed with extreme caution.

While Mark Zuckerberg says he is very encouraged by the expansion of the image-sharing network, he clearly does not plan to open the commercial floodgates until he’s good and ready. In his own words, Instagram must first focus on “build[ing] community” before determining how best to use its considerable potential as an ad/marketing forum. We can see why Zuckerberg prefers to take low-risk baby steps, no matter how impatient advertisers may be.

In the meantime, brands and their social media teams should be quite happy to learn that they do have more promotional options on Instagram thanks to the newly introduced function “photos of you,” which allows users to tag any other existing account—be it a friend, a celebrity, a local business, or a big-name brand—in their own pics. Amateur lensmen and brand managers alike will receive notifications when others tag them, and they can then choose whether to display these images on their own public feeds.

Can you say “pre-approved user generated content?”

Read more

Much of life is figuring out what, exactly, we as people are responsible for: ourselves, our communities, our social media accounts… At least this is how Twitter wants the public and private companies to handle their Twitter profiles.

With the recent hacking of the AP’s Twitter account and subsequent drop in the Stock Exchange, the world took notice of the power harnessed by a single tweet. Immediately, everyone began pointing fingers, setting into motion a public relations crisis for Twitter.

Customers clamored for better security features on Twitter, specifically a two-step authentication system that would block “spear-phishing” attacks and prevent hackers from gaining access to customer accounts. Twitter knows this will take time to develop and implement, and may also impede speedy access to accounts, which is critical to a social media platform dependent on immediacy. So Twitter isn’t keen on this additional security idea. It has a different plan.

Twitter is asking its customers to take more responsibility for their own security. That’s right. Twitter is pointing its finger back at the public and saying, “Hey, people, this is your responsibility.” And we have to admit, Twitter does have a point. Sort of.

As much as we hate it, complicated passwords and restricted access are responses to the realities of the world we inhabit, much like taking off our shoes is now part of air travel. Cutting corners only leads to trouble. We have to be responsible for ourselves. Read more

Ever feel like you’re living in The Truman Show and every ad you see is geared directly at you? While we know that this is becoming more and more true with targeted online ads, it still never fails to freak me out when I am merrily going about my business, and suddenly the promoted tweet at the top of my feed is for something I desperately need at that very moment.

As a lifelong migraine-sufferer, a recent tweet from Excedrin had me looking over my shoulder for the candid camera.

Knowing I had a headache coming on, I decided to get all of my computer-related work out of the way. When I logged into Twitter, the first thing I saw was this:

Vote for “Who Deserves Excedrin the Most?” Sweepstakes on Facebook and enter to win great prizes. Rules apply. #WDETM on.fb.me/YkP8hD

— Excedrin® (@Excedrin) April 17, 2013

“Me,” I thought, “done deal.” But then, in my migraine-induced half-conscious brain fog, I began to over-analyze Excedrin’s question. Why vote for who is most deserving? Sweet merciful heaven, is there a shortage and this is their way of rationing? Or, even worse, is this some sort of Joker-style social experiment to expose the dark underbelly of our society that would label certain people undeserving of pain relief? Fortunately, it was at this point that the rational, as-of-yet-unaffected-by-migraine part of my brain told me it was time to go to bed. 

Once I had emerged from my twelve-hour headache hibernation, I decided to check out (with a clear mind) how migraines could be made into a sweepstakes. Read more

This post was co-written by the author and his wife, Stephanie Coffee. 

Horrific events that shock and captivate entire nations, superseding all other news—tragedies like the Newtown shooting and last week’s Boston Marathon terror attack—are thankfully rare. And yet, as we all know, social media and the 24/7 cable news cycle have intensified the public’s focus on these national crises and their aftermaths.

Now that the Boston case has been resolved with amazing speed by state and local authorities, we can examine the media response to last week’s events from a PR perspective.

As communications professionals, we know that the public doesn’t just demand (accurate) news as it breaks in times of crisis. They also value reassurances and statements of support from sources they follow on social media—sources that include their favorite brands.

At least one brand has already demonstrated the dangers of an inept response. So what should public entities and the people who manage their accounts do?

What NOT to do: 

• Don’t tie the event into a promotion: Epicurious (which is usually a very good food site) gave us a perfect case study on Monday with its tone-deaf promotional tweet encouraging followers to buy specific Boston-themed products. We won’t go into why it was a terrible idea because that should be painfully obvious. As another example, who can forget Kenneth Cole’s infamous Egypt uprising PR Fail?

If you, like us, were tuned in to Saturday’s Red Sox game (yes, this PRNewser writer is from MA and is a Sox fan — can’t we still be friends, New Yorkers?), you likely saw the rousing speech that David Ortiz gave to a shaken but strengthened Boston crowd. Just one day after the manhunt for the surviving suspect of last week’s bombings at the Boston Marathon shut down the majority of the city, Big Papi had this to say: ““This is our f—ing city! Nobody’s gonna dictate our freedom. Stay strong.” (Note: Video contains explicit language…obviously)

While the crowd roared its approval and the clip went viral on social media, many wondered whether the FCC would be as thrilled with such strong language gracing the airwaves during a family-friendly program. But in response, outgoing head of the FCC Julius Genachowski tweeted the following statement: “David Ortiz spoke from the heart at today’s Red Sox game. I stand with Big Papi and the people of Boston.”

And we, too, speak from the heart when we cheer: Damn f—ing straight! Three cheers for “the fellas at the freakin’ FCC“!

Fast Company recently reported that Pinterest was not only one of the most visited sites in the country, but also that purchases made through the site bring in twice the revenue per order than through Facebook or Twitter. With traffic only showing signs of increasing and the site releasing free analytics tools, there has never been a better time to start using Pinterest to your advantage.

Yet, many marketing and PR pros using the platform say that just posting a pretty photo isn’t enough. For tips on how your client can start pinning with the best of them, read How to Make Pinterest Work for Your Brand.

– Nicholas Braun

The full version of this article is exclusively available to Mediabistro AvantGuild subscribers. If you’re not a member yet, register now for as little as $55 a year for access to hundreds of articles like this one, discounts on Mediabistro seminars and workshops, and all sorts of other bonuses.

Overseeing social media across multiple retail locations for a popular, sometimes controversial food retailer is a complicated proposition. But at least customers’ comments related to crises are usually directed at the corporate, not the local level, according to Natanya Anderson, Whole Foods’ director of social media and digital marketing. She spoke at Ad Age’s Digital Conference in New York on Tuesday.

To make a close connection to the local community, Whole Foods’ local social media encompasses four areas: brand social, city social, functional social (i.e. healthy eating) and store social, Anderson explained. Overall, she said the company has a “big eco-system of 604 social media presences.”

“We have different expectations for local social”, Anderson noted, and they follow a plan:

• The brand acts as the local authority and connects to residents’ lives by featuring local products.
• They focus on creating and curating content. Their new Detroit store will feature different offerings than their east coast stores.
• Local employees are dedicated to customer service. For example, they can snap photos of products that customers request.
• Local staff members often email Anderson before posting on their local social platforms. “We’re adding a local crisis management element”, she said. (Perhaps Whole Foods’ CEO John Mackey should have checked in first before his controversial comments on President Obama’s healthcare program earlier this year.)
• They have dedicated mailing lists to disseminate information to local customers.

Whole Foods has devoted many resources and a large infrastructure to make local social media work, and Anderson claims it has been worthwhile from a number of perspectives:

Read more

Today in No, You’re Not a Company Spokesperson news: last week some gamer blogs let their readers know that the new Microsoft Xbox, scheduled for a reveal in May, will require users to maintain “an active internet connection” at all times. Now get ready for a shocker: some people who own Xboxes do not have access to an “always on” connection — and the geeks voiced their disapproval online.

Now for the PR Fail: This outrage irritated creative director Adam Orth, who took to his personal Twitter feed to let the world know it. This message started a conversation in which Orth told the concerned parties that they were just out of luck:Orth made a couple of mistakes here: first, he commented on a story that his employer had yet to announce publicly. More importantly, he effectively told members of his own fanbase to stop complaining.

Microsoft didn’t care for that one bit, and we’ll let Brad Pitt tell you why:

Read more

Yesterday Ragan’s PR Daily published the results of a study that most PR folks will find interesting: it concerned the current state of social media teams and the changing expectations of brands/firms in the social sphere.

More than 2,000 communications professionals participated in the study, which yielded some unexpected results:

• Only 5% of companies are “very satisfied” with their social campaigns
• Most firms/brands want to measure social ROI more effectively but don’t feel like they have the time or the manpower
• The vast majority (86%) of companies measure the success of social campaigns via likes and followers, not click-through rates or sales bumps

In other words, most brands and firms still don’t feel like they’ve mastered the social equation. And while they seem keen on devoting more time and resources to getting it right, they don’t plan to expand their teams significantly this year. Click through for the full infographic:

Read more