Archive | November, 2011

Using Social Media to Boost Customer Experience

27 Nov

I recently climbed aboard a giant ship the length of three football fields, with 13 decks and over 3,000 people. It was my first Carnival Cruise and with an ear-to-ear smile glued to my face, we were heading south to the eastern Caribbean.

We all do a good job of pumping ourselves up for an exciting vacation. We set countdowns (this Google countdown gadget is my favorite), buy new clothes and get the camera charged and ready (or even buy a new one, as my husband just got this Canon G12 for our trip).

But what if the travel organization was right there with you, planning for the excitement? Wouldn’t that establish a stronger relationship between you and the business? If you booked a vacation, whether it involved a hotel, cruise line, rental car or even a house boat, these organizations know who you are, when you’re traveling and even what you’re planning to do while on the vacation. For me, Carnival Cruise Lines knew this and how to capitalize on it.

From tweets…

Carnival Cruises Social Media Tweet

To email notifications…

Carnival Cruises Email Notification

To a custom web experience…

Manage my Carnival Cruise Webpage

After the cruise, they sought to keep the conversation going with blogging opportunities and photo sharing with other guests. I’ve even tweeted with my (adorable) cruise director Butch.

There are some easy ways to make connections with your customers, especially when you’re selling an exciting product, such as a vacation. Carnival boosted my excitement from a 10 to an 11 and I’ll never forget my experience with them. Have you experienced something similar?

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Weathering a Storm with Social Media

5 Nov

The recent winter storm in the northeast caused more than a thick covering of snow. It resulted in a slew of conversations blanketing the social web.

The reason? First, there was the unlikely event of a major snowstorm in October. Rarely do Halloween decorations, pumpkins and mums need to nestle in snow piles in Connecticut. Moreover, the heavy, wet snow weighed on trees still dressed in colorful leaves. The result was down trees – many on power lines – leaving hundreds of thousands of Connecticut residents in the dark, including myself. The storm was so determintal that as of this morning, a week later, over 200,000 people are still without power.

While there have been plenty of helpful news stories on TV, radio and newspaper, the timing of this information is in the hands of the media. They control when they share, what they share and how they share it. Social media, on the other hand, is serving as an open, ongoing forum for connecting. News updates, opinions, emotions, questions and discussions flourish on the social web, enabling people to get information they need in real time on their terms. It’s no wonder this perfect storm caused this social media monsoon.

How the Utility used Social Media

The Connecticut electric company worked tirelessly to restore power and utilized social media to keep customers in the know. Whether it was news, engagement or tips, it was constant.

Utilities and Social Media

Utilities and Social Media Engagement

Social Media and Utilities News

How the Public used Social Media

The conversations and the emotions were across the board. Surprise for the unexpected snowstorm, excitement for the snow, fear of power outages, anger, frustration, sympathy, hope and camaraderie were just some of the feelings behind the tweets and Facebook posts over the past week.


But in all hard situations, people come together. Here are my top uses of social media from the public.


Offering to help one another.


Public Using Social Media
Public figures delivering information to their town and the positive energy that comes from it.


Public figures using social media


Capturing the damage with Instagram (by ericathas). Despite the result of this down tree, it looks so serene!


Instagram Snow Storm


Creating a website just for the storm…in a very unique way.


Social Media Website


Let’s talk about this one. While I’d give it a PG-13 rating for language, it’s actually using real data to determine a Connecticut town’s power outage status. It also has helpful tips. Notice the 2,000 likes for this week-old site.


No matter if you’re working for a business or using social for personal means, it can serve as a place to connect and get information. It’s constant and increasingly, people are flocking here for answers.


Have you used social media for any storms in your area? How has it helped you? Share your thoughts!


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