The Right Way to do Social Media

Click above to Enlarge
by Braden Kelley

Unfortunately, more often than not I see examples of social media strategy gone wrong. So, it stands out when I see a company like Lufthansa doing social media the right way - at least with their MySkyStatus site. Let's look briefly at why this is a good execution of a social media strategy:

1. Easy to use


2. Gives the customer something of value with minimal effort


3. The value is something that people naturally want to share


4. Works just as well with the competition's product as with their own


5. Gives customer a visual idea of what they are going to get before they invest any time or effort


6. Brand impression is minimal, and no fear of mentioning the competition


7. It gives the user a choice of how much information they want to disclose

Now if we can convince the airlines that charging people for extra bags and other pointless fees are a bad idea (like Delta Airlines charging me $50 for the "privilege" of standing by for an earlier flight with open seats), then the world will be a better place.


What other examples of well-executed social media campaigns would people like to share?

---

Braden Kelley is the editor of Blogging Innovation and founder of Business Strategy Innovation, a consultancy focusing on innovation and marketing strategy. Braden is also @innovate on Twitter.

Tomorrow - Bright Idea Birds of a Feather 2.0 - Innovation Conference

Tomorrow I will be lucky enough to attend an international innovation conference via Cisco's TelePresence solution. Brightidea, the software provider behind the successful Cisco I-Prize, is sponsoring the conference with Cisco tomorrow, February 2, 2009.

This Innovation Birds of a Feather conference will bring together innovation leaders both online and via Cisco TelePresence locations in Seattle, London, Silicon Valley, New York, and New Jersey.

The Brightidea Innovation Leaders "Birds of a Feather" Conference is a peer to peer discussion on innovation management among innovation executives and managers at top global corporations. It promises to provide a forum to exchange ideas and best practices on implementing innovation in large organizations.

Companies represented will include: American Express, Astra Zeneca, Safeway, Unilever, Travelers, Merrill Lynch, and more.

The conference will also feature three authors including:

- Mike Kanazawa - "Big Ideas to Big Results"
- Gregg Fraley - "Jack's Notebook"
- Joe Wheeler - "The Ownership Quotient"

I'll try and report on some high level takeaways after the event.

Braden Kelley
@innovate
Blogging Innovation