Ad-Free Ello - Too Good to Be True?

This week we discussed the ins and outs of data mining. I learned it's a thriving industry. At its core, data mining creates a win-win scenario for both businesses and consumers. According to the McKinsey Global Institute, big data can increase profits in the retail sector by 60%. By providing personal data, consumers benefit from greater business efficiencies and new products. This is a result of the consumer making contact with some well-placed ad in a targeted mailer, email, search engine, or promoted post on a given network. So what happens when the ads don't exist?

You get Ello.

Ello is the social network that prides itself on providing an 'ethical' ad-free experience. This article details how they've gone so far as to become a Public Benefits Corporation, legally binding itself to never data mine, make money from selling ads or sell user data. It's all a commitment to "benefit society as a whole, not just make money from its investors." This 'society' it claims to benefit, however, is limited since users can't join without an invite.  (Links to an external site.)

After a year of operation, Ello is still in beta testing. Just last month they were putting final touches on sharing video and audio media (Vimeo, Soundcloud, Dailymotion, etc.) into their posts. Ironically enough, Ello's cannot entirely eradicate ads from their platform... specifically those embedded within YouTube videos. Ello polled their users to find out what their opinions were on the matter. 

You know what they found out? Their users didn't care about the occasional ad - they just wanted to share the content with their friends. I'll admit, I was surprised to read that since this blatantly goes against their no-ads policy (isn't that why the users are there in the first place?!). I just imagine social networks like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram sticking their noses up and saying "I told you so" to Ello for thinking they could truly rid themselves of ads on their site. And who is to say that these other video and audio mediums will not also incorporate embedded ads somewhere down the line? 

Ello was thoughtful enough to further compromise by allowing users to manage their settings - providing the option to toggle off from embedded media - to protect themselves from even accidentally seeing an ad. Perhaps social giants can take a page out of Ello's book and add some of these settings to their own platforms, cutting down on the "noise" that bombards users' timelines. 

My thoughts on Ello's future? It may not be the next Facebook, but it'll work for those who use the platform as well as any other. Robert Wringham says, "(Ello is) superior to its competitor but failing to win popular traction...[but] a social network doesn't need approval from everyone to work." I certainly agree with that. 

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Moderation on Social Media

As social media managers, we know the benefits of engaging with consumers. This engagement, however, may carry a potential risk if it contains defamatory or libelous material, a copyright breach, obscene or intimidating content, or off-topic comments. Therefore, reviewing, approving, and overall moderating of user-generated content is important for brand protection and a better user experience.

Moderation doesn't only mean potentially "unpublishing" offensive content, but explicitly guiding and managing user expectations with community guidelines. It means understanding what the community is saying and knowing how to quickly cope with any situation. I'll be exploring how to moderate the following audience/customer comments if left on my organization's Facebook page. 

To a hotel: “I am disgusted about the state of your restaurant on 1467 Justin Kings Way. Empty tables weren’t cleared and full of remains of meals. It makes me wonder what the state of your kitchen is?!!! Gross.”

My reply: "Hi, [insert name here]. I'm terribly sorry to hear about your dining experience at 1467 Justin Kings Way. Please know that the issue has been brought to the attention of our manager and hospitality staff to ensure that this does not happen again. Should you dine again with us in the future, I would love the opportunity to make this up to you. Feel free to ask for Tiffani to discuss this further. We look forward to seeing you soon!"

To a mainstream news network: “Your reporting on the Middle East is biased in the extreme. You gave almost all your air time to spokespeople for the Israelis last night and there was no right to reply for the Palestinians. The conflict upsets me so much and your reporting of it, saddens me even more and makes me f**king furious.” (Let us assume the reporting was balanced, with equal time to both sides.)

My reply: "Hi, [insert name here]. Thank you for your feedback. As a news organization, our mission is to maintain objectivity and cover events impartially, so we apologize for seeming biased in our reporting. Your viewership is important to us, and as such we've forwarded your message to our team manager to avoid this in the future. If you have any further questions or concerns, feel free to reach us at socialmedia@newsnetwork.com."

In both instances, I kept a cool, calm and collected tone. Thanking these users for their feedback, addressing their issues and apologizing for their unsatisfactory experience is critical for the user to feel understood. The best way to handle these types of events is to take the conversation away from the site. Not only is this good customer service, but it shows other customers that you are actively and effectively correcting these issues. 

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The Home Depot Doesn't Monkey Around with its Reputation

We learned that a business’ reputation is essential to survival this week. The use of social media leaves businesses at the mercy of their consumers since anything posted can go viral.
The Home Depot had their reputation put at risk in November 2013, after an outside agency posted from their official Twitter account for ESPN show “College Game Day” (which Home Depot sponsors). The rogue tweet featured a photo of two African-American men and a man in a gorilla costume playing the drums and read, “Which drummer is not like the others?”

 Yikes.

The post was reported immediately, but not before screen shots of it circulated on social media, in addition to being picked up by NBC and CNBC. Virality at its finest.

Thankfully, Home Depot acted swiftly to remove the post and issue a public apology:

Understandably, they fired the person and severed ties with the Landor Associates branding firm that produced the picture. I was most impressed with Home Depot’s initiative to reply to individual tweets:

I found this especially commendable – they could have left it alone after issuing the public apology. This course of action helped followers and customers feel confident again. Home Depot obviously cares about their public image and understands the importance of maintaining goodwill with them.

Home Depot’s spokesman, Stephen Holmes, made a statement that the company is closely reviewing its social media procedures to determine “how this could have happened, and how to ensure it never happens again.” This mishap now serves as a case study of what NOT to do on social media. It’s unfortunate, but social media is really a trial by fire.

I think the way in which Home Depot handled the event went well and I would have reacted the same way. They were responsive and resolved the mistake. I'd work to establish a 1-to-1 communication with users who were offended by the tweet just as they had. I wouldn't hide from criticism and publicly address/apologize for the mishap. But this crisis is the perfect example why companies cannot afford to treat social media as an afterthought. People need to think before they tweet. Their reputation and profitability depends on it.

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