Since November 2, 2016, Nike has only tweeted twelve times. Nike has also replied to a handful of people, but unless you follow the person they replied to, the tweet is not on your main news feed. The replies are short, only about five words. This makes Nike appear to be not very active on social media and it shows a lack of empathy. "...Empathy consists of three components: reassurance, authenticity, and emotional connection. Empathy goes beyond simply solving a problem. It involves making a customer feel valued" (Parmar, 2015).
Here is a view of Nike's twitter feed:
American Express's message is only towards current customers, not potential customers, making potential customers feel excluded. The twitter account feels almost like a robot is running it, because tweets are supposed to be short, sweet and to the point and American Express posts things like this:
Are you bombarding your audience with advertisements and products or services you are hoping to sell? Instead, focus on engaging your audience; asking them for their opinions, comments, and ideas on how you could make things better for them. Although pertinent data can be gathered from social media platforms, the main focus should be on listening to the customer (2016).American Express, when answering concerned customers tweets a variation of the same message: "Connecting you with @AskAmex to see if they can help you" instead of just jumping in and solving the problem. It makes the customer feel as if they are on hold, and that they need to wait by their phone for a response. Daniel Newman makes a great point in saying "If your employees cannot provide that answer, have them ensure the customer that they are working on it and have them follow-up with the customer via a phone call or email as soon as they have an answer" (2016).
Newman, D. 2016. Social Media Is No Longer A Marketing Channel, It's A Customer Experience. Forbes. Channelhttp://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnewman/2016/01/12/social-media-is-no-longer-a-marketing-channel-its-a-customer-experience-channel/#20e5c1d44967
Parmar, B. 2015. 50 Companies That Get Twitter – and 50 That Don’t. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from ://hbr.org/2015/04/the-best-and-worst-corporate-tweeters
Hello Meredith,
ReplyDeleteYour post was very thoughtful and displayed why having a large number of followers does not make a company successful on social media.
Both Nike and American Express are large companies, well known, and established. This may account for their large following on social sites. As Scott (2015) discusses, marketing and PR goals have to go beyond gaining followers and tweet mentions. As I googled both companies I found many articles that disagree with your view point. Many of these articles felt like both these companies were “killing it” on social media. However, this success was mostly based on number of followers and minimum engagement. Using a push strategy may not make followers unfollow you, but it will lead to less activity and engagement on social pages. “As a way to think about your social activities, I’d suggest you should be doing 85 percent sharing and engaging, 10 percent publishing original content, and only 5 percent or less about what you are trying to promote” (Scott, p. 277). As we’ve learned throughout the week content marketing and authentic engagement are what makes social sites successful. “Brands don’t control the message. They share that message with the millions of customers and potential customers that can at any time make their voice heard” (Barret, 2105). Sharing stories and asking questions from your followers not only engages them, but leads to new followers through likes, mentions, and retweets. Creating authentic content is important to avoid “the robot” like responses, but also to create consistent active engagement.
When answering, consumers concerns or questions through social sites, leaving a vague response is not caring and doesn’t advocate on behalf of the consumer (Kerpen, 2015). With American Express being such a large company it may struggle with creating authentic responses to consumer complaints. American Express can change this by being more genuine in its responses. If it does not immediately know the proper response or solution to the problem they can assure the customer they care about their concern and follow up through direct message or email. It can also improve by giving its Twitter site a more “human” like personality, which will prompt its users “to respond with positivity and appreciate its more personal attitude” (Kerpen, p. 104).
References
Barret, J. (2015, December 15). The Best Social Media Strategy? Authenticity. Retrieved from blog.hootsuite.com: https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-strategy-authenticity/
Kerpen, D. (2015). Likeable Social Media (2nd ed.). McGraw Hill.
Scott, D. M. (2015). The New Rules of Marketing & PR. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
It is interesting that you suggest that American Express does not utilize social media effectively. While I agree with you that the tweets you shared are very difficult to read and understand, they have actually been recognized for their success in social media strategies; more specifically with their OPEN Forum as well as their simple, yet effective, online presence.
ReplyDeleteIt appears that they actually use this OPEN Forum platform as the main way to reach their consumers online. The OPEN Forum is a website where entrepreneurs can meet other entrepreneurs and share their ideas, questions, and concerns (Nobel, 2014). The idea is that if a business owner utilizes this platform and gains helpful advice on how to make their business more successful under the American Express umbrella, they are more likely to recommend American Express to their friends and family and American Express expands their reach through word-of-mouth marketing (Nobel, 2014). American Express has actually found huge success in this platform and strategy!
They have also been recognized as bringing their social media strategies back to basics by following three simple steps;
1. Always Start with Specific Goals
2. Partner with Other Brands
3. Focus on Your Audience's Needs First (Smith, 2012)
There is always room for improvement on social media and strategies should be ever changing to fit the shifting minds and preferences of consumers however by following the basic steps, a company can definitely be successful!
Nobel, Carmen. (2014, Jun 2). The Secret To A Successful Social Media Strategy. Forbes. Retrieved: http://www.forbes.com/sites/hbsworkingknowledge/2014/06/02/the-secret-to-a-successful-social-media-strategy/#41a1dbfe5ebd
Smith, Brad. (2012, Mar 29). 3 Things American Express Can Teach You About Social Media. Social Media Today. Retrieved: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/3-things-american-express-can-teach-you-about-social-media
Hey Melissa - Thank you so much for your response! I wrote this post about American Expresses twitter account. An account that is used by current and potential card members who are looking for insider news, access to offers and quick fixes. I am an American Express card holder and as a customer, I am disappointed and often consider unfollowing the twitter account because I am bombarded with incoherent tweets that do not really center around a goal or a theme. It appears that there is not a lot of planning because the messaging is all over the place. The account goes from tweeting:
Delete@AmericanExpress: Tweet #AmexCartersOKB get $5 back 1x on purchs totaling $25+ at Carters/OKB w/cnctd AmexCard! RegLtdExp5/8/17 Terms
to a tweet that simply says:
@AmeicanExpress: Winter Weekend Getaway. Where’s your favorite winter getaway spot? - (with a picture of a gold American Express card in the snow)
This twitter account feels like forced conversation and not like an easy flow of content. I was reading about the Open Forum and I agree that that is an awesome way for small business owners and entrepreneurs to succeed. I found a great quote: Mary Ann Fitzmaurice Reilly, SVP of Partnerships & Business Development for American Express OPEN, said, "We already have a large part of the pie so our biggest opportunity is with small business growth—if they grow, we grow" (Neisser, 2010). I think this point of view is an awesome model for a loyalty program. However, since I am a card owner and not a small business owner, I was unaware of this messaging and service that American Express has to offer so my best option to keep up with the company is through it's social media platforms.
Neisser, 2010. The Open Forum. Fast Company. https://www.fastcompany.com/1669407/what-american-expresss-open-can-teach-us-about-social-media
Great post!
ReplyDeleteI am so surprised to see that such huge brands have such a poor social media presence. At first glance, it almost looks like the person running Nike's social media account took the month of December off. I would expect to see tweets about the upcoming holiday season, the ongoing sporting events, and athlete or sneaker promotions. After looking at Nike's replies and interaction, it is nice that they respond to and engage with their audience, which is very large. However, it seems like they have lost sight of the importance of providing content in their own twitter feed.
Kerpen states the "the more valuable content you can share with your fans and followers, the greater the trust and reputation you'll build with them. Share you expertise without expectation or marketing-speak and you'll create an even better name for yourself" (Kerpen, p. 138).
Nike uses a lot of great images and videos when responding to their audience. They could incorporate more of that in their standard tweets.
Kerpen, D. (2015). Likeable Social Media (2nd ed.). McGraw Hill.