Brand Management 2.0

5 Lessons from Social Media PR Disasters

Pop quiz for all of you hotshot social media mavens: Your client’s Facebook fan page is overrun by angry protesters. What do you do?

That’s the situation Nestlé found itself in this week, when a Greenpeace campaign targeted the company for its use of palm oil suppliers who are allegedly destroying orangutan-inhabited rainforests. The fight made its way to Facebook, where Nestlé’s fan page was assailed. Nestlé responded by warning users not to use altered versions of its logo and taking a snarky tone with its critics. Then it apologized.

USA Today’s Commitment To Social Media

by Ron Callari

In my previous blog, “Is USA Today’s ‘Social Media Lounge’ A Little Late To The Party?” I talked about how some legacy newspapers like USA Today were in somewhat stalled position as to how best to work with social media. With USA Today’s launch of their Social Media Lounge, I questioned if they were simply ‘testing the waters’ or jumping in with both feet. In a subsequent interview with Alexandra Nicholson, manager and social media strategist for the paper, she clarified some of these points and confirmed the paper’s commitment to social media.

How to Advertise on Facebook

By: Jason Del Rey, Inc. com

Four tips for advertising a small business on social networks.

These days, it seems everyone and his mother has a Facebook page. In the U.S., about 100 million unique visitors flock to the social network every month. Many business owners are among them, using Facebook profiles to promote their companies and create customer communities. For some entrepreneurs, social networks have also become a useful advertising platform. Ellie Sawits, CEO of Frutels, a New York City–based maker of chocolate candies used to treat acne, says ads on Facebook are an affordable alternative to the high pay-per-click rates for acne-related keywords on Google’s AdWords. “For me, the economics of Google just don’t work,” she says. But it’s not easy to make your ad stand out among the Facebook status updates, party photos, and comments. Here are four tips to help you get started.

Eight O’Clock Coffee, The 150-Year Old Social Media Machine

By Ron Callari, InventorSpot.com

If there is one coffee maker that has kept up with the times, it’s Eight O’Clock Coffee. I guess like their slogan, “it’s always 8 o’clock somewhere!” this coffee company feels that social media is as ubiquitous as a cup of Joe.

Wikipedia Will Ruin Your Reputation

In our blog entry entitled “Volunteer Editors Control Your Online Reputation” published August 26, 2009, we attempted to warn readers about the double-edge sword of Wikipedia, and its potentially damaging effect on your reputation.

Viruses That Leave Victims Red in the Facebook

By Brad Stone, The New York Times

SAN FRANCISCO — It used to be that computer viruses attacked only your hard drive. Now they attack your dignity.

Malicious programs are rampaging through Web sites like Facebook and Twitter, spreading themselves by taking over people’s accounts and sending out messages to all of their friends and followers. The result is that people are inadvertently telling their co-workers and loved ones how to raise their I.Q.’s or make money instantly, or urging them to watch an awesome new video in which they star.

Social Media for Dummies

Contrary to the belief of some, social media is not about updating the world on your status in line at Starbucks, whether or not your wife is taking too long to get dressed or who you’re interested in dating.

Read more on Social Media for Dummies…

The Big Money Facebook 50

By TBM Staff, The Big Money

Welcome to The Big Money Facebook 50, a ranking of the brands that are currently making the best use of Facebook. Various metrics—including fan numbers, page growth, frequency of updates, creativity as determined by a panel of judges, and fan engagement—were factored into each page’s score and ultimate rank on the list.

Read more on The Big Money Facebook 50…

Yahoo Adds New Privacy Tool for Users Today, Just as FTC Privacy Hearings Start

Yahoo announced a new consumer tool this morning, called "Ad Interest Manager." BoomTown is going to ignore the could-it-be-duller name for the feature, which–Yahoo (YHOO) said in a press release you can see below–gives users a "central place where Yahoo! visitors can see a concise summary of their online activity and make easy, constructive choices about their exposure to interest-based advertising served from the Yahoo! Ad Network."

Beware Social Media Snake Oil

Hordes of marketing "experts" are promoting the value of wikis, social networks, and blogs. All the hype may obscure the real potential of these online tools