Firms need to stop viewing social media as a marketing “cyber utopia”, an Australian internet expert says, after Woolworths and Westpac became the latest victims of an online backlash.

Facebook users took the opportunity to slam Woolworths this weekend after the supermarket giant called for its readers to complete a sentence.

“Happy weekend everyone! Finish this sentence: this weekend, I can’t wait to: ————,” Woolworths wrote in a post on Friday afternoon.

The responses included: “Throw out the fruit and veg I bought at woolworths only 3 days ago that goes off so much more quickly than the green grocers”, “see a rat running along the back of the shelves … So fresh it’s still running around” and “do grocery shopping wearing a hazmat suit because apparently using deodorant and working at Woolworths isn’s a requirement”.

Not all the comments about Woolworths were negative, with some people criticising the “whingers” posting on the page.

On Westpac’s Facebook page, a post explaining the bank’s decision to increase interest rates on Friday night was quickly slammed.

“Westpac are showing its customers who is really important – and its not the customers!” one reader raged, while another wrote: “Stop paying Gail Kelly and other exec’s such a ridiculous salaries and you might not find wholesale funding so difficult!!”

Commenters also complained their negative posts were being deleted.

In the most recent edition of ‘Currency’ magazine, Chief Executive Officer of Aon Risk Services Stephen Cross comments on how social media may be the next ‘Black Swan’ event for some organisations.

Currency provides insight into topical risk and insurance issues. Currency also looks at matters such as market trends, new products and services, best practices and process efficiencies.

CLICK HERE to read the magazine article

SR7, in conjunction with Aon, provides social media risk management and research services.

If your urges to stay connected 24/7 bring you to hyperbolic declarations of powerlessness, you can now leave the hyperbole at the door.

Results of a new study published in the journal Psychological Science confirm what you’ve claimed for years: checking email and social media is more addictive than cigarettes and alcohol.

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However it can’t be denied that, despite its IPO and considerable growth, it’s not evolved that much in the past few years either aesthetically or in terms of actual features, although admittedly we have seen some useful mobile apps emerge for the platform. Bearing in mind the rate at which its peers are evolving, and the likely expectations of future users in terms of features, LinkedIn needs to address this and so here are some ideas of how it could develop.

1: Allow users to include media in their profiles

2: Go down the app integration route – but keep it relevant

3: Sell yourself more as a work-focussed social network than a job focussed one

4: Actively discourage self-promotion and encourage communication in groups

5: Please, just improve the aesthetic!

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When it comes to public safety, forward-thinking government agencies are beginning to look at social media as a support tool for improved situational awareness.

The very nature of social media’s open communication and crowdsourced information provides a powerful tool for public safety agencies. Take, for instance, the Twitter user who unknowingly tweeted in real-time about the Osama Bin Laden raid, or the Florida deputy who used Facebook to negotiate a standoff, or the kidnapper who found time to update his Facebook friends.

A 911 center supervisor recently spoke about the role social media played during a mall shooting. While police units established a perimeter around the mall and assessed the situation, they tried to sift through conflicting reports on the shooter. A 911 dispatcher jumped on Twitter and Flickr, and was actually able to obtain photos of the shooter, posted by witnesses inside the mall. Imagine the value that information provided to the incident commander and tactical operators on the scene.

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Key Benefits
- Gain an introduction to the what, why and how of social media
- Analyse case studies from some of Australia’s leading companies
- Learn tips and pointers you can use immediately
- Understand how this is affecting your industry
- Understand proven and evidenced based approaches to social media

CLICK HERE to find out more

“Journal of Chartered Secretaries Australia Ltd”

Volume 63. No. 11

The internet, and specifically social media, has disrupted the traditional mass media business model, and in doing so, has created vast and wide ranging complications for the modern day executive and board.

On the surface, social media appears to belong solely in the sphere of marketing. However the reality could not be more different. Modern corporate governance must include an understanding of social media and how it is driving change across all industries.

The rush to engage in ‘social media marketing’ has come at the expense of research, planning and gaining an understanding of the implications of embracing this new medium. The modern communications paradigm poses significant risks to businesses in all industries.

To read the full article click below.

Dec_2011_Risk

Businesses have been warned to become aware of the problems associated with maintaining social media profiles after video rental chain Video Ezy has suffered dozens of complaints directed at its Facebook page due to its association with radio operator Austereo.

The company has come under a significant amount of controversy after radio personality Kyle Sandilands made disparaging and insulting comments towards a News.com.au journalist.

Several advertisers dropped their support for the Kyle and Jackie O program – a report from The Australian suggests 60% have left – but Video Ezy has not done the same, leading to a number of complaints on its page.

Read the full article by Patrick Stafford from SmartCompany click HERE

In preparation for the Social Media & Communications Summit, SR7 and Thinque are undertaking a ground-breaking research project into the use of social media in corporate Australia.

The project will identify and analyse the key trends, risks and opportunities shaping social media usage in Australia.

This survey is an opportunity to participate in a landmark study into the use and application of social media by Australian businesses and governments.

The State of Social Media Survey takes only five minutes and your input is critical to providing a greater understanding about social media usage and behaviour in our market.

Please click here to participate in the State of Social Media 2011 survey. The survey closes midday on Thursday 3 November.

About the Social Media and Communications Summit

The Summit is for any business leader who is serious about building successful brands online and offline, taking a holistic view on future business opportunities, and wanting to steer an intelligent course in the constantly shifting social media landscape.

We all understand that social media is an immediate medium where viral messages can spread like wildfire in a matter of minutes. This being noted, however, does not mean that social media strategies and campaigns should be focused on equally short timeframes.

Research conducted by Cornell University has offered ground-breaking evidence that suggests that poorly managed short term forays by companies into the ‘daily deal’ space will have dire consequences when the dust settles.

The paper ‘Daily Deals: Prediction, Social Diffusion, and Reputational Ramifications’ uses in-depth quantitative data captured over an 18 month period to mathematically analyse changes to revenue and social media reputation following businesses’ use of deal-of-the-day sites Groupon and LivingSocial. Research found that businesses’ use of discount based sites resulted in a decline of their reputation by 10% in the following six months.

This article originally appeared on the PRIA website.

CLICK HERE to read it in full.

Written by Anthony Mason (Manager – Digital Research and Analysis)