Singapore Airlines Discovers Itself on Social Media

It is clear at the point that social media isn’t going anywhere soon. With that said, it is more important than ever to have a plan in place in regards to how you will deal with social media. I found the article about Singapore Airlines a little humorous because I cannot imagine a major airline simply not being in anyway engaged in social media. They were even unaware that they DID have a Twitter account and Facebook page, both of which had quite a few followers. Because the accounts were run by some guy who just happened to be a fan, lots of questions, comments and complaints that where aired on the sites went unanswered and unaddressed.

In the end, everything seemed to have worked out for Singapore Airlines. The original creator of the accounts turned them over to Singapore Airlines without hesitation so that the airline didn’t have to start over since they had already accrued a large amount of fans and followers. The pages were reworked to fit more to the image of the airline and posts now get answered. Now, they have a plan in place to address any social media issues.

Singapore Airlines was lucky. The outcome could have been much different if there was ever any kind of emergency or the original creator of the pages was ill intentioned, since the pages were believed to be the official accounts. People and organizations need to have a plan in place and be vigilant of what is going around social media about themselves.

http://adage.com/article/global-news/singapore-airlines-finally-discovers-facebook-twitter/229625/

Personal Branding and Social Media

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/social-media-personal-branding/id293704873?i=63208070

Personal branding through social media is one of the perks that normal, average citizens gained when sites like Facebook, Twitter and others exploded. For CEO’s and others who are charged with running companies, social networking allows opportunities to gain publicity for your company through giving the general public access to the higher-ups. In a recent webcast I watched about social media and personal branding, Brian Flatow, director of branding and marketing at AdStore talked about how he established a personal brand using social media. He explained that to him, social media is to be used to provide a sense of transparency. He said that his Tweets are not necessarily about his professional life, but rather his personal life. He added that because there is an overflow between the two, you are about to promote your business through Tweeting about personal experiences or just the normal routine of your day. Flatow cited Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, as another professional who used Twitter to promote himself as a brand through Twitter.

Flatow gave several pieces of advice for using social media for personal branding.  What I found most interesting was his advice about Twitter. I have always been unsure and apprehensive about using Twitter because I don’t really know what to do with it, or what to say, or who to follow, or how often to Tweet. It seems kind of strange to me that I should just Tweet about something I saw or heard or want to say. Flatow compared being on Twitter to being at a cocktail party. You don’t need to jump in right away and dominate conversations. Rather, it is best to wait until you are comfortable and then start talking … or Tweeting.