Month: April 2013

I had a blast working with my project team in developing a movie that summarized the work we had done thought the year. Given that, and this mainly directed at myself, our group was relatively technologically challenged (ludities, if you will) we were able to come together to overcome our struggles… no matter how corny that sounds.

The video was intended to act as a substitute for a presentation of the findings and conclusions we had made throughout the year. Additionally, while acting as a wrap-up for our year long group project, this video forced us to learn how to use the many technologies available to us in making a digital presentation. In this regard the video was a success. I can confidently say that I have learned the most basic skills required to produce a digital media presentation. Unfortunately, I would have preferred to have presented our findings to our professor, in a traditional oral form. Is this because I struggle to do even the most medial tasks on a computer, like connect to the Internet? Believe it or not, the struggle that was involved in working with my teammates to make a video presentation was challenging yet very much enjoyable. Having said that, there is something in a verbal interaction that cannot be replaced by a digital presentation, and that is… the interaction. Being able to gauge the responses of your audience while you present, and adjust your message accordingly is an invaluably important part of a presentation that is impossible to replace with a video.

Interestingly, this remark is applicable throughout the lessons of our Marketing class. If you are unable to adapt your messages to your audience, they are not nearly as affective.

I am undoubtedly guilty of procrastinating from assignments by wasting time away on Facebook, twitter and variable other forms of social media so I was more than happy to find another example of how Social media can be used to be productive and do good. I stumbled upon this blog post called Beremedy – #GivingTuesday  and was once again struck by the potential Facebook and Twitter have in changing so many things around us.

Beremedy was started when Blake Canterbury realized he really wanted to help people but didn’t know who to help, or how to help them. The idea is that people can use the social network they have built on either Facebook or Twitter to help spread the word about non profit organizations that are lacking the means to promote and publicize their movements.

It is really quite a simple idea that takes advantage a low cost means to spread word about an idea. Take a look:

https://vimeo.com/61057296

While this example might not be known too well, the use of social media to help CHEAPLY promote and idea or product is beginning to be used more and more widely. Here’s an example that people will definitely have heard about:

Founded in March of 2006, Twitter was originally intended to act as an SMS service to communicate with a small group of people. While it is impressive to think that for some people (Justin Bieber) that ‘small group of people’ has grown to be up to 36+ million followers, whats more impressive is to try to understand the effect that Twitter has had on some companies and their marketing campaigns. Take Air Canada’s corporate Twitter account for example, which replies to anyone and everyone who tweets at them regardless of the nature of their message. Whether a complaint, compliment or just a regular statement that includes @AirCanada, you can expect a response. This PR has been a huge help in working to maintain a positive public image.

Despite the fact that they are able to carry hundreds of people over thousands of kilometres in a matter of hours, people absolutely hate airlines. Uncomfortably confined seats, delays, layovers, overbooked flights, and baggage fees. These things all upset customers and Air Canada is no exception to this sentiment. By responding to customer tweets, Air Canada attempts to add an element of personableness to an otherwise faceless multibillion dollar corporation that’s seen as trying to maximize profits by taking advantage of customers. When someone complains about their flight and the complaint is dealt with in a matter of minutes, suddenly this customer feels a whole lot more important.

Having said all that, people who have just had their flight delayed for  hours might not be as taken by this Twitter account as I am. Unfortunate realities of the airline business are that flights get delayed, baggage gets misplaced, and customers become unhappy. While Air Canada is by no means able to solve every customer’s complaint, it is able to quickly explain its side of the problem and take ownership for any mistakes that may have been made by the employees.

Air Canada has used Twitter as a platform to speed up and personalize the management of complaints they receive. Previously, customers would receive the same answers they now receive via twitter, only after waiting on the hold for hours on end. The problems in customer service that face all airlines might be near impossible to fix, however the PR that Air Canada does on Twitter is successful in mitigating public disgruntlement.