Ticketmaster Ireland and it's Social Media flaws

Ticketmaster is a worldwide ticket seller operating in over 20 countries. In this blog we will look only at Ticketmaster Ireland and there apparent failure to connect with it's public recently on social media. This became particulalry apparent during the recent Coldplay ticket scandal. Coldplay announced a show in Croke Park Dublin for July 2017, The venue which has a capacity reaching over eighty thousand was expected to sell all the tickets but not as fast as they did. When the tickets went on sale many people were left dismayed when they sold out seemingly in seconds only to find that many of the tickets for the show had popped up on Ticketmaster's reselling site Seatwave.

On Seatwave tickets can be resold at double and sometimes tripple the price of the original face value. The Tickets were originally on sale on Ticketmaster for 69.50 only to appear moments later on Seatwave with prices ranging from 200 to 800 euros

Naturally people were extremely angry and the first place they vented there anger was Facebook. The page  was bombarded with negative comments slating the company for tricking the public, being dishonest and for having a lack of transparency with the public

after racking up so many complaints you would expect an organisation to respond but no response ever came from the company, not one. In the times we live in where connectivity and and communication is easier then ever there really is no good excuse for a company not to respond to queries and concerns pointed out to them on Social media. To this day Ticketmaster has failed to provide any kind of solid explanation as to why so many tickets were instantly available on its re sale site and to many thats viewed as being PR Suicide. Ticketmaster's Facebook page is its main link to it's audience on social media the page itself has over 125,000 likes and there failure to even release a statement to the public on the matter is astonishing it's seams very much like Ticketmaster is trying to gloss over the fact it essentially runs a touting operation through Seatwave. The company also has a Facebook page for Seatwave which only has a bit over 20,000 likes and it seams like there social media flaws are once again shown through this page

 
You will notice the page has not got the blue verification tick that most "Official" page's would have. As Seatwave is a entity that a lot of people resent you would think that Ticketmaster would do more to soften its image and a small step on that road would be getting the page verified, Most people dont accept an un-verified page as being official. The lack of communication and clarity across Ticketmaster's social media networks shows a distinct flaw in how it presents itself online and they have to fix these flaws if they ever hope to regain the public's trust for the future. The Seatwave account also must be verified if only to go someway into tying to repair the companies now tarnished image. Doing this along with engaging more with its public online will surely help Ticketmaster go some way in winning  back the trust of some of its audience.

References:

 https://www.facebook.com/TicketmasterIE/?fref=ts

https://www.facebook.com/seatwave/?fref=ts

http://www.ticketmaster.ie/

http://www.seatwave.ie/?cid=pa20117851&gclid=CjwKEAiAjvrBBRDxm_nRusW3q1QSJAAzRI1t3ggtak6BK-sZKgOHA439WdUOSEStRuxuTksdHfw-yRoCGiDw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CO3g6efM0NACFY6m7Qod6vsG5A

How Social media can be of benefit in crisis PR

The life of a PR practitioner can be an extremely stressful one especially during a crisis. In an age where we are striving to use technology to make our lives easier surely there is a way to make the life of a PR practitoner a bit easier even if not any less stressful. When a crisis strikes an organisation the press office will go into overdrive the first thing that people will want is clear and concise information regarding the incident or crisis and failure to deliver this information will result in frustration and resentment towards the organisation especially if the crisis is impacting on the public directly. Now in the days before the internet information would be slow leaving an organisation and it could take days for them to get the corrrect information out but these days PR practitoneres have the benefit of the internet and information can be released as soon as its gotten. 

A good recent example is Samsung who ran into trouble with one of there smartphone models, The Galaxy Note 7. The phone has a fault which causes the battery to explode which is extremely dangerous as the batteries contain acid. Samsung's press office relied heavily on social media particulalry on Twitter to release information in a quick and timely fasion

Twitter is a great tool for an organisation in crisis due to it's ease of access to the public and how quickly the message can be spread. People were demanding answers from Samsung over this fault and by using Twitter they were able to respond giving information in quick snappy updates. Before Twitter this would have been a much more difficult and drawn out process and would have taken a lot more time to spread the message you wanted.

This is just one example of how social media can be of benefit to an organisation during a crisis. There are many more and they all show us the same example and that is that it is no longer acceptable to be slow or unreliable in the publishing of important information especially in a crisis, The tools of communication are there for all to use and when something goes wrong, especially in a scenario where public safety is effected eg. The Samsung case, organisations have the power to reach a lot of people who may be effected very quickly and its fair to say there is no longer an excuse for slow communication.

References:

https://www.newswhip.com/2016/11/respond-pr-crisis-social-media/

https://twitter.com/SamsungMobile?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

How News has adapted to social media

Over the last ten years we have seen the rise of social media around the globe. This rise has, in some cases, revolutionised industries maybe none so much as the industry i'm about to talk about, The news industry. We consume a lot of news on a daily basis and traditionaly we would consueme it in a few different ways. Radio bulletin's, TV and print media were the main resources for people who wanted the hear the news and if we think of it that was only up to about ten years ago, But a lot of change has heppend within that ten years and I would like to take you through some of the most common methods of consuming news today (2016). 

Most of us these days have mobile phones or to be more precise smartphones. Smartphones have in my opinion replaced Newspapers and other forms of print media

Its now possible to carry around a huge amount of news and information in your pocket there are countless news apps ranging from major outlets like Sky News, RTE, RT, BBC and CNN to smaller independent outlets like The News Network, World News and Breaking News.ie. If you have any or all of these apps you are pretty much carrying arount digital newspapers and the convience of that is one of the reasons why print media has been on such a dramatic decline as of late. TV broadcasts have also been effected but not as much as print media. TV news stations have had to adapt to this new way of consuming news and in many cases they have embraced it and have encouraged users to use there Facebook, Twitter or instagram apps. One thing the TV channels have going for them is control, They can limit the content released online in a more controled way then a newspaper for example, They want people to still tune in so they limit what appears on Podcasts and online and will often use tweets to get people to tune in .

Radio news has also had to adapt 

Before TV and long before the Internet and social media the main method for people getting news was radio bulletin's. Many people would have a radio on in there house's and at certain times of the day the news would be read, while this still happnes and is still popular the way and the place's that this happens have changed. Most of us will only listen to the radio while we are in the car and we very often lsiten anywhere else. The radio companies know this and there are now radio channels that deal primarily in reporting the news and talking and analysing the news , A good example of that would be Newstalk which is an Irish news radio station.

So the digital age is most definitly upon us and just like in many other industries it's forcing news outlets to change and to come up with new ways of delivering the news in an ever changing enviroment.

References:

http://www.journalism.org/2016/05/26/news-use-across-social-media-platforms-2016/

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/09/24/how-social-media-is-reshaping-news/

How the Police use Social media

In the modern day, the succesful running of an organisation depends on many different factors. Increasingly social media is also becoming one of the major factors in how the public precieve an organisation. Thats especially true when you are running a police department. Modern police departments are beginning to rely more on more on social media for a variety of different reasons. One of the main reasons is the psychological factors tied to social media , By maintaing a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Youtube the police department becomes humanised. It also allows a police force to connect more freely with the public and converse with the public, It can also help with general police work, Forces use social media to respond to tips and to stay up to date with whats going on in the locality in which the police force operates.

Social media and police work can work hand in hand , In a 2013 survey it was found that over 96% of police forces in the US use social media in some form and over 80% of those have said that the use of social media has assited in the solving of crimes in there locality and 73% said that it helped build relations between the poilce force and the public.Like many things social media can be a double edged sword and with a job as responcible as police work forces need to know how to use social media in a  responcible ethical matter. Many questions have been risen over what a police force can publish online and what they cant. Prince Gerorge county police in , Maryland in the US caused controversy when they planned to live tweet a sting operation , The sting operation was to target men soliciting prostitituion and concerns were raised over the privacy infringement that would be imposed upon those who are apprehended in the raid.

On the other hand the NYPD took to the streets of New York to inspire people to have there photos taken with officers of the NYPD. The photos, which were uploaded to Facebook and Twitter under the hashtag #myNYPD were taken to help strengthen the bond between the department and the people of New York which had become frayed over time due to allegations of Police brutality in the past , This goodwill mission was moderately successful however other outlets saw it as being a huge failure due to a continuation of negative press following the campaign and te continuing unrest over allegations of police brutality in the states.

Police forces dont just use Facebook and Twitter however, Mountain View PD used Pinterest as a lost and found and posted up items that were handed in, in an effort to quickly and efficiently reunite people with there lost property.

Like in many other walks of life the rise of social media is being embraced by Law Enforcement. They are using it to prevent crime and to build bridges with the communities they protect. By using social media they are making there jobs easier and more efficient and at the same time they are making themselves seem that bit more Human which from a PR point of view is very very important.

 References 

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/233604

http://www.police-foundation.org.uk/publications/briefings/police-use-of-social-media

Red Bull: A brand built on social media

Red Bull is truly a brand that has built itself up using social media. The company has become extremely well known for its audacious pr stunts and it's imposing social media presence. Red Bull maintains a presence across a broad range of social media which powers it's marketing, PR and media endeavours. One of its main social media outlets is its Facebook page

The page which has amassed over 46 million likes does not list Red Bull as being a food/beverage manufacturer like most companies that produce a drink do, rather it lists itself as a news/media outlet. This further proves that by using social media Red Bull has shifted it's business model and even its identity in a dramatic way. It now appears that the drink itself is now a small by product of the over all brand with its media endeavours taken over. This is very evident wen you view It's Facebook page you are hard pressed to actually find a post of a Red Bull can rather the page posts about extreme sports and music Red Bull sponsors

    By doing this Red Bull is seen to be trying to market itself as not just a energy drink manufacturer, but as a lifestyle choice. These posts generate a lot of likes and comments but they dont seem to take the time to respond to them or even moderate them, This could be viewed as being a missed opportunity to gain some very useful customer feedback on there brand.

Red Bull also have a heavy Twitter presence with many different accounts for its different enterprises for example, There are separate accounts for its Music academy and its F1 page with many others too including Red Bull cliff diving.

Its main account has over 2.14 million followers and follows a similar trend to its Facebook page. You are hard pressed to actually find a post containing a photo of a can. The feed generally tweets once or twice a day and these range from links to sponsored athletes to music artists signed to the Red Bull label to promotional videos for some of its many other interests. 

Its clear to see that Red Bull has definitely re invented itself into a huge mass media company and seems to have almost forgotten  that its primarily a drinks manufacturer. I think even though they have boosted themselves to a worldwide brand through social media they have lost there identity along the way. If you didnt already know that Red Bull was an energy drink you would assume it's a sports magazine or a internet media sight from viewing its social media outlets. For some reason I cant shake the feeling that Red Bull is almost ashamed of the fact that at its  core its just a energy drink and there social media presence seems to downright ignore it. Red Bull needs to work harder to bring back its core product into the limelight , as it stands it seems that despite all its clever social media efforts, Rec Bull is a company that has lost it's identity.    

References:

https://econsultancy.com/blog/62178-how-red-bull-uses-facebook-twitter-pinterest-and-google/

https://twitter.com/redbull?lang=en

https://www.facebook.com/redbull/?fref=ts

http://www.wordstream.com/social-media-marketing

Go Pro and Social media

Go Pro is an American camera manuacturer and has become a very well known brand since its inception in 2002. Its known for its small but powerful cameras that have a wide range of applications particulalry in the world of extreme sports. Its also known for its great use of social media. Go Pro has accounts on Instagram, Facebook, Vimeo, Youtube, Twitter and more. Go Pro seeks powerful user content to advertise its cameras essentially turning its social media accounts into very clever digital billboards to showcase itself

Not only does this make for great content accross its platforms that engage a huge amount of people , It also is a great medium for showcasing the quality of the images that a Go Pro can produce. Go Pro's use of its instagram and youtube accounts are arguably the best of any company out there they produce fantastic content that showcases the capabilities of its product better the words ever could

They do this by posting content that was taken by Go Pro users and sharing it across there social media sites. This helps advertise the capabilities of there product in a way words never could. They have in turn become a digital media powerhouse on the back of there versatile use of social media. They have a huge level of engagement on Instagram in particular the below graph shows how engaging the year 2014 was for the company it shows that there social media presence is proving to be extremely effective and due to this the companies sales continue to grow.

   

References: http://trackmaven.com/blog/2015/01/why-you-should-envy-and-emulate-gopros-instagram-strategy/

http://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-networks/gopro-and-3-other-brands-understand-importance-social-media-integration

How Alcohol brands use social media to influence drinking

Like most industries the alcohol industry has been reaping the benefits of the evolving world of social media. Unlike most industries however, The alcohol indsutry has come under fire for using it. The legal age to drink througout the world ranges from 16-21 in most countries and on social media its argued that people who are underage are being exposed to advertisng from some alcohol brands. A recent study carried out by Michigan state university  has found that the advertising of alcohol online can influence young people to engage in underage drinking and can also significantly influence adults to drink. The study found that the advertising of alcohol online had a greater power to entice drinking then a similiar advertiement for water. The Drinks business knows how influencial messages online can be and be it right or wrong they act on it and this is causing concern among parents and guardians that there children are being bombarded with alcohol themed messages online and there have been calls for the advertisment of alcohol to be banned online. There are certain guidelines and rules the drink industry has to abide by to advertise online, They have to make it clear throughout there social media platforms that whoever is accessing there content is of age

if they do this they can legally advertise and promote themselves online this however does not stop minors from accessing the content which is what is causing a high degrees of concern among people. The industry also uses very enticing imagery for there online campaigns to make the product look as enticing as possible

This causes temptation to the viewer and encourages them to go out and buy the product. Some brands also use events promoted online to sell there product, Heineken, in particular uses this method on a regualr basis

By creating events brands can spread there pages to a wider audience and not just anyone who has liked or followed there page. This inturn however can be viewed ny those who are underage and that is the area that causes most controversy. Social media has given these brands an outlet to advertise and promote themsleves in a way that gives them a huge amount of exposure, they however have to be careful online as young, underage people can be exposed to there messages and the companies need to do more to better control themsleves online.

    References 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160526115649.htm

http://alcoholireland.ie/world_news/alcohol-giants-pour-into-social-medias-digital-drinking-spaces/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2016/05/29/alcohol-ads-on-social-media-encourage-drinking-but-whats-an-alcohol-ad-on-social-media/#53e82978449a

Coca Cola and Social Media

Coca-Cola is one of the worlds most instaantly recognisable brands and as you expect it has a large online presence. Coca-Cola uses everything from Facebook to Twitter, Pinterest to Google + and they use them well. The companies facebook page has ammased over 66 million views and 3.2 million followers on Twitter as of November 2016. So, what does Coca-Cola use social media for? . It uses it for Advertising, Marketing, and conncecting with it's audience. On Facebook Coca-Cola can go over a week without posting anything but despite this, the celebrity aspect to the brand means page engagement remains very high. When Coca Cola does post to facebook however they dont post stories per say, There social strategy when it comes to Facebook is much more focuesed and brand awareness and raising awareness of its ad campaigns

For example over Halloween the page was focusing on promoting its Halloween advertising similiarly over christmas we will see much more christmas orientated advertising on the page. They also run polls quite regulalry which helps the page grow its audience and provides important market resarch at the same time. Coca Cola also has a large presence on Twitter and it actually uses a few different Twitter pages for different variations of the drink but we are going to focus on the main page for now. Coca-Cola's main twitter page has over 3.2 million followers and has tweeted over 210,000 times making it an extremely active page. It dosent however use Twitter extensively as a market tool the companie uses it to respond to the publics praise, questions and critisims and @ mentions a huge amount of people everyday

In essence Coca-Cola is using Twitter as a Broadcast facility to connect with its public and hold conversations with customers while promoting the brand. Coca Cola also uses Pinterest,

The photo sharing site is similiar to Instagram and uses posts known as pins to deliver a message. Cokes account is quite intersting as its quite random and does not follow any specific theme in an advertising or marketing sense rather they use it mainly to post pins about old coca-cola merchandise or insperational messages using the coca cola theme.They also seam to like linking up there instagram and pinterst accounts by sometimes reposting content from one platform to another, the social media team seem to like using these two sites to increase there audience and create a shared platform between the too

So coca-cola has definitly used social media in a good way and are one of the leading companies in the world when it comes to social network use. They have embraced this new way of communicating and have managed to reach a larger audience then ever before due to there presence across social media.


                                                                     References
Cashen, C. (2016) Coca-cola Ireland | coca-cola IE. Available at: https://www.coca-cola.ie/ (Accessed: 2 November 2016).

 cola, coca (no date) Pinterest. Available at: https://www.pinterest.com/search/?q=coca+cola (Accessed: 2 November 2016).

 Dainow, B. and Director (2013) How coca-cola uses Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+. Available at: https://econsultancy.com/blog/62548-how-coca-cola-uses-facebook-twitter-pinterest-and-google/ (Accessed: 2 November 2016).