Today I received an automated response from Senator Marco Rubio thanking me for contacting him about the recent SOPA legislation. It’s not every day you get an email from a senator, so of course I read through it to find out what he had to say. Too bad the marketer in me wanted to grab a red pen and send this one back to the drawing board.
We’re not going to get into politics here, but I’ve got nothing against Rubio, he’s ok in my book (remember that time he swooped in and saved Nancy Reagan?). I was happy to see an email from him telling me thanks and letting me know about his plans for future regulations like SOPA, but I couldn’t get past a few opportunities for improvement (to put it nicely).
Automated emails are a necessary evil. They’re plain text and visually boring, but there are still ways to go beyond basic. If I were on Rubio’s web team, I’d love to suggest some simple automated email improvements:
1. Titles. If you can’t be 100% sure that I’m a male or female, it would be best to remove the title completely. Tonight I found out a female friend of mine received the same email with the same problem, so chances are it happened to even more. You want to make sure your email is personalized and it grabs the recipient’s attention, but you may run into problems when more than a handful of women are addressed as “Mr.” in the greeting. If in doubt, leave it out.
2. Connect. The reply-to email address (Do_Not_Reply@rubio.senate.gov) made it clear that a response may either bounce back or land in a bottomless email pit – and that’s ok. I’ve been the “Contact Us” responder before and I know how much work is involved, but give me somewhere to go. Give me a link to your Facebook Page, Twitter account, the contact form on your website – somewhere I can go to say “thanks for the email Marco!”
3. Keep it moving. Marco finishes his email with “If I can be of any further help to you, please do not hesitate to contact me.” Fantastic, but again, try to make it a little easier for me to get in touch with you. At the very least, give me a list of where you are in the social media world with links and I may click one or two. I might just even leave a comment and become your friend while I’m at it. You never know.
Plain text emails may be ugly and cold, but with a little bit of TLC, they can help you keep the conversation going.
What do you think? Am I being too critical? Could they have done a little better on the email?
So, I may have a phone in my pocket everywhere I go and check in at (almost) every stop I make, but wearing a bracelet that keeps track of my day is just a little too much right now.
Jawbone Up is a bracelet and mobile app that tracks your activity during the day – from how long you sleep to when you eat and how long you exercise. It takes the old idea of making better choices by keeping a journal, adds some awesome technology and an iPhone app to automate all of it.
Do I think it’s cool? Of course, I think it’s awesome. But, do I need something tied to my wrist that tells me to get my butt moving when I’ve been sitting on it too long? Not so much.
Maybe I’m being too old fashioned in thinking that I can remember how long I went to the gym for and what exercised I did, or what I ate for dinner and how it made me feel. Maybe I’m the kind of person who would rather write it down in a $2.99 notebook instead of spending my cash on a fancy $99 bracelet, but that’s just me.
Insiders say more wearable tech is on its way to the masses and I can’t wait to see what they have in store. I’d love to be able to answer my phone on my wrist like 007, but personally, I get hassled enough by friends and family about my social media activity, mainly checking-in and posting photos on Instagram too often. And, I guess in some ways, I still like to leave a little to the imagination.
I’m not convinced yet that I need all of it to be automated. Do you have a Jawbone Up? Would you wear a bracelet like this to help you track your daily activity?
Oh, and by the way, if you want to buy me one for my birthday and convince me I’ve got it all wrong, be my guest. But don’t you dare buy me the scale that tweets my weight.
I’m a web geek by nature and devour dozens of articles online every day, but I still love a real book. Go figure that my husband was the first a NOOK, but I still haven’t made the switch over to an e-reader.
If you love books and believe in the power of reading as much as I do, I’m sure you’ll love this video, too:
Imagine this, you just scored an awesome online deal to a new, hot restaurant in town. You’re not wowed by the service, but you got it at half price and the food was decent. You don’t leave a tip (I know you’re better than that, but just play along with me here) and write about your not-so-stellar dining experience on Yelp. Once at home you find that your photo has been posted to the restaurant’s Facebook page with this message:
Image via UnMarketing
And did you catch that stellar follow-up comment by the restaurant?
Here’s a quick tip for businesses on Facebook: Don’t do this.
After more than 100 comments were posted in response to the update, the restaurant deleted the post and added another: “Trying to stir up the pot, we lost our lid and spilled the beans…”
Then five hours later, a public apology: “Dear, Stephanie S. – We are truly sorry, it was a bonehead move on our part. But more importantly – it was rude to you and an inappropriate use of social media, which has been a driving force for our business because we can’t afford traditional advertising. We rely on word-of-mouth. Your experience was yours to share and not mine to abuse. Boners BBQ is my passion and my life. Please give me the opportunity to serve you again at our expense- if not please allow me to fully refund your money on me, Sincerely, Andrew Capron.”
After another 107 comments, the owner has taken it upon himself to publicly respond to outraged commenters – one by one.
Sounds like slowly, but surely, he may just learn his lesson.
What do you think about the restaurant’s post? Fatal blunder or something to be forgiven?
*Thanks to UnMarketing for posting the original bonehead update on Facebook last night, where I first stumbled upon the fiasco.
“If I could go back and do it all over again…” – that awkward moment when you realize you’re an adult. Well, almost.
Sparked by a recent email from a friend, I pulled together my top pieces of advice for anyone still in school or new graduates looking to jump into a career in communications. Even if you’re not looking for a communications job, these tips may help you strengthen your chances of finding an awesome gig.
Socialize. Get out there and talk to people – in real life, face to face. Join groups in your local area or in the area where you’re looking to relocate. Even if you’re not physically there yet, you can still connect online. I’d recommend joining the local PRSA chapter, connecting with local professional networking groups (see MeetUp), and checking out some Social Media Club meetings.
Socialize. Tell EVERYONE that you’re looking for a job. Send messages to close friends to connect you with anyone they know who could help in your job search. Post it on your Facebook page, ask people to retweet your job hunting message on Twitter – you never know until you ask, right?
Socialize. Set up profiles on major sites and networks. My top two – Facebook and Twitter. Want to get crazy? Get on Google+, Pinterest and Foursquare. Beef up your profiles with as much professional information as you possibly can. Haven’t worked a “real” job? Post volunteer work, clubs you were involved with, major class projects that relate to the job you’re looking for – anything that shows your strengths and abilities. Showing that you understand how to use all of these online platforms and have a strong online network is a big asset that could make you stand out among a group of job candidates, especially when it’s a communications job. Having a strong knowledge of social media and how to use it for business is a nice selling point when you’re looking for a job.
Create a blog. And then post to it, regularly. Even if it’s as simple as Tumblr, or a fully-customized WordPress site, have a presence that presents you as a smart, professional, creative person. Put your URL on your resume, in your Facebook info, Twitter profile and Google account information.
Keep it clean. Go through your photo albums and everything you’re tagged in, making sure they’re something you’d be happy to show to a new boss. Google yourself. Anything show up that you aren’t happy about? Good rule of thumb – don’t post it unless you wouldn’t want it published on the front page of the New York Times.
Final tip, don’t wait to get started on all of this until you graduate. All of these resources are out there and most are free (if not, grab that student discount), so you can start building your network and reputation before you need it. You never know who you’re going to meet or what incredible opportunity could be around the corner.
What are your favorite career-related tips to share with recent college graduates? What are some you would add to my list?
From Siri helping Santa make all of his 3.7 billion appointments to Best Buy “Game On” jabs, the big dude in boots and red jacket is making appearances all over this year’s holiday tech ads. So far, my favorite isn’t actually an ad at all, but a fun song and animated video created by Baltimore-based agency, . . . → Read More: Santa goes social this Christmas
This is one statistic I’m working toward being a part of:
Women in the 21st century are a powerful growth engine for small business America with growth in women-owned businesses actually outpacing national business growth over the past 14 years. An overwhelming 99 percent of businesses run by women are small businesses. With the U.S. Bureau of . . . → Read More: Women-owned businesses kicking butt and taking names in national business growth [infographic]
Last week I had the awesome opportunity to help a group of South Florida nonprofit professionals at PRSA Miami’s yearly nonprofit workshop. Agustina Prigoshin and I teamed up on the workshop to give our group of Miami nonprofit pros a better understanding of the social media tools out there, how to manage content and start thinking . . . → Read More: Social media for nonprofits workshop with PRSA Miami
Know anyone who needs an intervention? A Gmail intervention?
Google has made it oh-so-easy to improve the lives of your friends and family by giving you (the smart Gmail user) the tools to help them kick the archaic-email habit and finally dump their embarrassing, outdated email addresses and make the switch to Gmail.
