Like your typical PR professional he’s a fan of caffeine and is very specific with how he needs it. If you’re going to ask him to coffee remember to get him one of the following: Tim Horton’ english coffee cappuccino, Dunkin Donuts coconut coffee light and sweet, and Coffee Beanery’s crème brulee. So sit tight because this is a long one but I promise the golden nuggets of information make it completely worth the procrastination at work .

As director of global social media for General Motors’s, I’m going to assume you receive resistance but would you say it’s changed?

The resistance today is definitely different than it used to be before the crash last summer. It was mostly people refusing to take it seriously and not believing that blogs, YouTube or Facebook were important. However that doesn’t happen anymore, to be honest. Now we see an opposite kind of resistance. So many people in every part of the company recognize the power of these platforms and want to participate without understanding the space. The resistance I see now is along the lines of “What do you mean you don’t want me putting our new commercial on YouTube or our Facebook page?” or “What do you mean, I’m doing it wrong? Aren’t you the one who’s always said that there’s no hard and fast playbook or template for social media?”

I’ve gone from wishing my phone calls inside the company would get answered more often, to not being able to answer all the phone calls we get from other GMers, to now wishing they’d call a little more often when planning things in the social web. You know, when I set the goal of getting everyone inside GM attuned to the social web and active within it, maybe someone should have told me ‘be careful what you wish for.’ (j/k)

Where does it still come from?

I don’t want this to be a blanket indictment of the entire function, because that would not be fair. But some of the bigger challenges come from people in marketing. I think they largely understand that the social web is a series of important channels with hundreds of millions of viewers/members. But many of them are still intimidated by the idea of actually interacting with an audience; they prefer to just put one-way messages up. We do hear the criticisms within the company that there’s no strategy in SM. It’s all tactics. I respond by telling them that there is in fact a strategy and it works. But they don’t recognize it as one because it doesn’t include many of the familiar or comfortable marketing tactics they’re used to seeing.

On the other hand, some of the most innovative people we have inside GM on social are in marketing. So it really just depends on the individual.

The legal department has been remarkably cooperative. They’ve evolved from being threatened by the nature of the social web, to their first thought being yes. If they ever say no, they always offer up alternatives to help us achieve what we’re setting out to do.

And how do you combat it?
I find brute force and the removal of limbs or appendages to be most effective. But seriously folks, you need a few things to combat the resistance you’ll run into.

First, it really helps to have an executive champion backing you. You’d be amazed how many people suddenly “get it” when the boss or someone with a “C” in their title think what you’re doing is smart and innovative. What personally helped me is having success to build upon. Successes don’t need to be Mashable-headline level wins; the little ones count too. It’s having a tangible example to show that it works. It’s a great arrow to have in your quiver.

If that doesn’t work, scare the bosses. Compare your company with competitors who are involved in SM and ask if they want to be behind the curve. Point out how many people use the social web regularly. Ask them if they can afford to ignore hundreds of millions of opportunities to engage the buying public?

The GM Facebook page has over 90,000 some odd fans and the Twitter account is also impressive. How big is the social media team?

We fluctuate. During summer of 2009 when we had our big crisis, we had five people plus me. That decreased from December through March of this year to just me. Currently, I work with three great people has a team maintaining our social media presence. Plus my boss is very active in the space as well.

Where we’ve really been able to make an impact is increasing the associates within General Motors to see social media as part of their job. Right now, most of the communications people and even some marketing folks are starting to see it as the direction to head regardless if social media is in their title. Buick reaches out to bloggers every time they have a new vehicle launch; Chevrolet invites bloggers and Facebook fans for major auto shows; Cadillac manages their own Facebook and Twitter presence with only occasional guidance from me. My team still counsels and comes up with ideas, but almost everyone’s begun getting involved.

That said, there are four of us with direct responsibility for maintaining the “General Motors” Facebook page, and six of us who, on occasion, tweet from the @GMBlogs Twitter account.

What’s the next platform that GM plans to use and why?

We’re exploring and learning about geo-location or geo-aware platforms. I think that sometimes in all the “what’s the next big thing” speculation, a more important point can get lost. We all do it but the fact is this space evolves too quickly for us to put all our eggs in a particular basket. When I started at GM in 2007, having a blog was still novel, inviting bloggers to auto shows or drive events was unheard of, and casual observers of social were all drooling over MySpace. By 2008, Facebook was the big thing. By 2009 it was Twitter, and this year everyone’s talking about FourSquare and Gowalla. By next year, it’ll be something else.

Instead of focusing on what’s the next big platform, companies need to know if their organization set up on the back end (or internally) to move nimbly to take advantage of whatever emerges. Do the PR and marketing teams work together efficiently enough to explore the new platforms as they emerge? Is our IT department prepared to support new technologies – both inside and outside the firewall – if we want to start experimenting with them? Does leadership accept that early adoption and leadership in a space means learning lessons – and sometimes making mistakes – in public where people can see us do it? That’s more important to me than which platform comes next.  If the answer to those questions is no, then it doesn’t really matter which platform’s emerging, does it?

Now with social media integrated into communication initiatives, is it possible to over communicate? Can we really hit every platform?

I’ve noticed there can be a tendency people to say, “We’ve already issued our statement on that (question or issue). Let’s just refer people to that statement/press release.” I think it’s a mistake to push a message out once and then let it stand. Issue the press release, make the statement but follow up by answering questions you will receive on Facebook, Twitter, or on your blog. Don’t think because you’ve issued a statement, addressed the issue or blunted potential criticism that people have seen or understand your viewpoint.  Statements and press releases are corporate or organizational behavior; ongoing dialogue is a more human behavior. In a crisis, people need to see your company in human terms.  If you sound and act all corporate, you have little hope of winning people over and getting them to listen to your perspective on the issue.

You have to accept going in that you can’t hit every platform or talk to everybody. But also recognize the scale of the social web. Every time you engage someone on Facebook, your fans see the interaction. Every time you answer a question on Twitter, not only do your followers see the conversation but the people who follow that person you’re talking as well.

The social web makes management more challenging and more effective at the same time. On one hand, it’s so much harder to measure everything, given how many different conversations happen in so many different places. And how much weight should we ascribe to the social web? If 400 people on your fan page “like” one of your posts, how does that compare with a traditional media hit in terms of how effective you are at conveying your message? On the other hand, things like Twitter allow you to more directly see whether you’re moving the needle. If you’ve asked me a question or raised a criticism on Twitter, and I respond, and your follow up Tweets reflect a greater understanding of our perspective, or if you’re even giving us credit where you’d previously been critical, I can point to that shift in your thinking as a direct result of our having interacted on Twitter. I can’t draw that same direct cause and effect from, say, an ad on the back of Time magazine or a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal.

Do you plan on competing with Ford, an automaker that is often cited for its SM strategy?

I don’t. That sounds like a flippant answer, but I’m a firm believer that being innovative and being a leader in the social web means not overly worrying about what your competition is doing. I recognize that because we’re in the same industry and based in the same city, people are going to naturally make the comparison between their efforts and ours.

But really, if I spend too much time worrying about what Ford is doing, then all I am doing is following Ford; I’m not leading or innovating. Look, the social web is a big enough place that more than one company in an industry can be successful in engaging it. One doesn’t usually ask “how do you plan on competing with (your main competitor) in the print media?” You just accept that they’re going to do their thing, and you’re going to do yours – and their landing a big article in the WSJ or BusinessWeek doesn’t mean that you’re not successful or that you can’t land similar articles. I’m not sure why we see social any differently.

So, you stay aware of what any competitor is doing, certainly. But you really ought to focus on your own strengths (in our case, our products are better than they’ve ever been, we have a game-changing electric vehicle coming out by the end of the year, and we have a strong team of people active in social), and build your strategies to leverage those strengths. If you’re creative enough, people will be citing your strategy and leadership as well.

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• 10 September 2010 : Why Customers Don’t Care About Your Corporate Values
• 9 September 2010 : One Year Gone…
• 8 September 2010 : Judgment Day: Clients vs. Media
• 8 September 2010 : The C-level/Value Debate
• 7 September 2010 : SM 102: Social Media for (UNC) Jocks

As early as 2006, Starbucks was developing ways for consumers to interact directly with its brand online and extending the experience beyond its thousands of retail locations.  In this astoundingly early year, the company signed up for its first official Twitter account, which now boasts more than 887,000 followers.  In an effort to take its social media activities even further, in 2008 it developed My Starbucks Idea, which ReadWriteWeb described as “a socially driven marketplace for Starbucks-related ideas that will help the company reinvent itself”.  On MSI, which also has its own Twitter account, consumers can literally share their ideas for improvement with the company, giving them a virtually unprecedented say in the direction of the brand.
Starbucks has also stayed on the cusp of new social media platforms such as Foursquare and continues to forge innovative partnerships with them like the “Barista” badge.  Coffee-addicts have the chance to be awarded the “Barista” badge and publicly declare their infatuation by checking into five different Starbucks locations.  This was a very smart move, considering how far some Foursquare users will go to obtain an obscure badge.  Starbucks has decided that Foursquare is worth the investment based on last week’s decision to take its involvement with the platform to the next level by announcing the first-ever nationwide mayor special.

Once a user becomes the mayor of an individual Starbucks location, they automatically unlock the Mayor Offer, which the company plans to change-up after an undetermined amount of time.  From now until June 28th, the Mayor Offer is $1 off of a Frappucino.  Yet another intelligent move on behalf of the social media thought-leader, because it is sure to spur intensified competition for the coveted title of mayor.  As someone who considers herself a Foursquare addict, I would without a doubt make an extra trip to Starbucks if it meant that I held onto that honor (although it would more than likely be a Dunkin Donuts instead.)

However, Christina Khoury recently brought up a good point about the new Starbucks offer to my attention.

After checking into a local Starbucks and discovering the deal, she was disappointed to learn that the special was a dollar off a customized Frappucino. She doesn’t like Frappucinos. Coffee addicts don’t drink Frappucinos.  The offer was related to the new special Starbucks has been promoting for its Frappucino happy hour which could suggest that the mayor offer doesn’t target loyal Starbucks customers. She thinks a Starbucks mayor should choose whatever drink he wants to use the special on. True coffee addicts probably won’t be willing to pick a different drink simply because they’ll save a dollar. While the prospect of saving money is tempting, it’s still not enough for her to change her order from a skinny dolce cinnamon latte as it would ruin her morning and most likely, her day. I’m sure she’s not the only one.

I think Starbucks dropped the ball on its mayorship special. I know I’m not the only who thought this way either so I’m curious, what would you like to see Starbucks do in its next social media initiative? What else can they do with Foursquare? Who knows – if we got Betty White on SNL maybe we can get Starbucks to listen to what we have to say too!

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• 10 September 2010 : Why Customers Don’t Care About Your Corporate Values
• 9 September 2010 : One Year Gone…
• 8 September 2010 : Judgment Day: Clients vs. Media
• 8 September 2010 : The C-level/Value Debate
• 7 September 2010 : SM 102: Social Media for (UNC) Jocks

Not the author

It’s no big secret that I am a bigger Dunkin’ Donuts fan than most.  This weekend, in the wake of New Jersey’s monster hurricane, I traveled to three different Dunkin’s just to get hash browns and an iced coffee, and then I went to a fourth one later that night.  Today I somehow found myself in a Starbucks and asked for a medium iced coffee three times before I realized I was supposed to say Grande.  Dunkin’ is sort of always on my brain.

And I’m definitely not the only one.  Last month, Dunkin’ Donuts was named number one in customer loyalty (in the coffee category) for the fourth straight year, which shows just how many people in the United States have made stopping at the infamous chain part of their daily routine.  Of course the question that a study like this raises is, what is it that Dunkin’ Donuts does that inspires such utter devotion among their consumers?

I won’t be so bold as to claim that their activities in Social Media is the sole answer to this question (I mean have you ever had their Coconut Iced Coffee? It’s seriously delicious). However, I do think that they do a particularly fantastic job of taking advantage of all that social media has to offer and using it to reach their customers.  They were one of the first brands that I really started actively following on Twitter and Facebook and I have truly enjoyed keeping up with all of the things that they do.

Aside from their “Create Dunkin’s Next Donut” contest, Dunkin’ doesn’t do a ton of large-scale, media attracting social media initiatives.  It’s the small things that they truly excel at.  They know how to keep consumers engaged and interested on a daily basis and they have a way of making you feel like you’re special, even as just one of their millions of consumers.  They may not make a huge splash by doing ridiculous things that no one has ever heard of, but I would argue that it really doesn’t matter.  By making the consumer the focus of their brand (which goes along perfectly with their “America Runs on Dunkin’” slogan) instead of the brand itself, Dunkin Donuts has ensured that they will stay loyal.

The brand’s Twitter account is a great model for companies looking to try their hand at the service.  Instead of just broadcasting information and deals, “Dunkin’ Dave” makes it a point to respond and talk to the fans that tweet at him.  I’ve been RTed by the account many times and have been reached out to after I tweeted a (semi) complaint.  The level of engagement really made tweeting with a brand FUN to me. And Dave definitely has a fun, witty personality that goes with the vibe of the brand.  I don’t know much about the backstory of Dunkin’ Dave, but I’d be really interested in learning more since it seems his full time job is tweeting (which is a fascinating concept in and of itself).  The Twitter account also hosts frequent promotions like their recent “Twinter Games” where followers can use a certain hashtag to win a number of different prizes.

Dunkin’ Donut’s Facebook account (currently boasting more than 1 million fans) does an even better job at interacting with their consumers.  The page is the site of weekly contests where fans can become the “Fan of the Week” and have their decked out photo featured as the brand’s profile picture.  I can’t think of a better way to keep consumers passionate about the brand than by letting them broadcast their passion to the world.  It’s incredibly entertaining to browse through the crazy pictures that mega-fans have posted on the page.

Not many brands participating in social media can say this, but the brilliance of Dunkin’ Donut’s strategy comes from its simplicity.  I think they are a perfect example of what the standard might one day be for any company that is looking to successfully engage with their customers through social media.

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• 10 September 2010 : Why Customers Don’t Care About Your Corporate Values
• 9 September 2010 : One Year Gone…
• 8 September 2010 : Judgment Day: Clients vs. Media
• 8 September 2010 : The C-level/Value Debate
• 7 September 2010 : SM 102: Social Media for (UNC) Jocks

“Personal branding” is a topic that I really struggle with to be honest. My own professional career path has essentially taught me to never actually “be the story” in any way, shape or form. As a journalist for a number of years, I was taught that the second you become part of the story, you’re not doing your job. There was no room for ego (at least at the time) in the stories I was writing. It was about getting it right, doing it well, and moving on to the next one. In PR I think that the training was much the same before SM came into the picture. You were supposed to be behind the curtain, pulling the strings to get the right kind of results for your clients, and be happy at the end of the day when you were successful. The only pat on the back you were going to get was from your clients or bosses, and that was good enough. But social media has really changed all that, and I would argue not for the better in a lot of ways.

I think that social media has provided a lot of public relations people an outlet to get the credit or the accolades, or just some much needed attention that they never got in the past. I guess that for many, that “fifteen minutes of fame” will never come, so social media fills that void in some ways. Now I don’t think that every PR person is out there touting their own accomplishments and saying “look at me” but in a lot of ways, SM is being abused for personal gain and vindication rather than as a tool to accomplish a goal on behalf of your client or company. I just think that it’s a very fine line to walk between being a thought leader who truly shares knowledge and passion with a broad audience, and someone who’s really just looking for a bevy of virutal handshakes and hugs about how great they are.

Those that have established themselves as a thought leader who really do educate, listen, and help others are great. I can name a dozen off the top of my head who I respect and am happy to follow. But I think the great ones never have a hint of “look at me” in their day to day activities online. They basically let others do the talking for them – if you like their stuff and what they are saying, they know you’ll likely pass it along. But some really aggressively push their stuff and do everything they can to get eyeballs. That’s the kind of thing that bothers me most of the time.

I personally don’t have a blog (though have thought about starting one, admittedly) and try to give the people who follow me on Twitter a bit of everything – PR, marketing, sports, entertainment, day to day stuff, etc. As for what I would consider my own “personal brand” I guess only the people who follow me can answer that one. I certainly can’t. Really the only perception that I worry about is the one that exists inside the walls of Vistaprint, and I’ll stack the team’s fantastic results up against anyone’s.

I would love to hear what you’re thoughts are on this subject. Do you agree or disagree with Jay? Feel free to answer the question I posed in the comments below.

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• 10 September 2010 : Why Customers Don’t Care About Your Corporate Values
• 9 September 2010 : One Year Gone…
• 8 September 2010 : Judgment Day: Clients vs. Media
• 8 September 2010 : The C-level/Value Debate
• 7 September 2010 : SM 102: Social Media for (UNC) Jocks

Backstory: Remember a few weeks ago, when Starbucks released their new instant coffee? Well, now Nestle’s Taster’s Choice would like to remind you that they’ve been making instant coffee way before that young Turk ever came into the java-slinging world. Here in New York, and in several other cities, Nestle street teams have been handing out little envelopes filled with all sorts of Taster’s Choice instant coffee packets. Copy on these envelopes calls out the Starbucks instant brand as a lot of needless hype.

(I know; the irony of all this is that instant coffee is, as far as I can tell, almost universally reviled. I’m drinking the Nestle samples as I type this and I can tell you I’d much rather drink motor oil. But to be fair, I thought the same of the Starbucks samples that were being given away during their big promotion. Fighting over which brand of instant coffee is best is akin to arguing over what sort of natural disaster one would prefer.)

But here is the copy on the Taster’s Choice envelope that caught my eye.

I’m of two minds when it come to copy like this.

The marketing-y, branding-y, PR-ish part of me knows that Taster’s Choice must have an important social media component to this promotion, and if they didn’t include that piece of copy, they would have missed a huge opportunity. How else are they supposed to convert instant coffee drinkers to their brand? How else will they galvanize their Nestle army into spreading the word?

But the User in me (the part that laughs at xkcd comics) hates this copy. As a consumer, I scrunch my nose at this copy and say O RLY? Roughly translated: “Do you really expect me to sit down at my computer or flip open my smart phone, pull up the Twitter or Facebook homepages, search for NestlecafeUSA, and then follow or fan it?”

“You’ve given me no hyperlink to click!” is what this part of me yells.

I’ve heard whispers of “real-time hyperlinks” coming to at some vague and scary future time. The idea is that with a little applied technology (a barcode for your smartphone to scan, say) non-online promotions could be easily linked to their online counterparts. But until that day comes, directions like this seem to be asking a lot of the audience.

But then that first half of me steps in again and says, “Well, what should they do, genius? Just leave the copy off altogether?”

No, of course not. But there might be a little explanation, a reason for me to go through all the trouble to follow @NescafeUSA. For example, why not: “For updates on more free samples, look for us on Facebook and Twitter”?

Maybe I’m overthinking; what do you guys think about urging people in meatspace to do something online?

• 10 September 2010 : Why Customers Don’t Care About Your Corporate Values
• 9 September 2010 : One Year Gone…
• 8 September 2010 : Judgment Day: Clients vs. Media
• 8 September 2010 : The C-level/Value Debate
• 7 September 2010 : SM 102: Social Media for (UNC) Jocks