Emily's Social Media + Marketing Communication Blog

Social Media Monitoring (cont'd.) & Brand Recommendations Since they  announced the end of their lifetime return policy , L.L. Bean has entered some rocky terrain with their fan base. The legendary policy -- a guarantee that the company would accept any item, at any time, for a full refund with no questions asked -- was once a trademark of the company. After all, it's been in place since its founding in 1912. Many loyal customers are not pleased, threatening to never wear their Bean Boots again. Fortunately for these folks, Bean's new policy is a liberal one; customers may return an item for a full refund up to one year after purchase, and defective items can be returned at any point. What the Groundswell Has to Say Still, fans are upset. If you've read my previous post monitoring L.L. Bean, you'll know I've been closely following the company's main  Instagram page. Why Instagram? Because this is where L.L. Bean is currently investing their ti

In chapters 9 through 12 of Groundswell , Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff explore what happens once a company embraces the groundswell with arms wide open. As expected, the benefits are pretty vast and varied. Embracing your customer base is the gift that just keeps on giving. To get this gift, however, companies need to understand customer engagement. Just get your customers talking and start listening. It doesn't matter if you target your most technically knowledgeable customer base  (think: SalesForce's idea exchange ) or keep it simple like Credit Mutuel did with their Si J'etais Banquier campaign. The groundswell likes to talk, especially about your business. Li and Bernoff challenge us to think uniquely -- how can our businesses tap into these voices in a meaningful way, that is as unique as the services we provide?  For Rent the Runway , engaging the groundswell means something very different than their competitors . Rent the Runway is a company founded in 20

In Li and Bernoff’s Groundswell , we’ve explored how corporations large and small are engaging their customers via social media and group forums. We know that businesses will go great lengths to engage and energize the public, and for good reason. One such company is Disney, the 34 billion dollar entertainment giant founded in 1923. For years, Disney has reigned supreme in the entertainment industry. The company's trademark, Mickey Mouse, is widely known and loved across all generations; remarkable as it seems, the cartoon character hasn't yet become irrelevant or outdated. And Disney's reach is not just in the U.S. but in other countries too -- most notably China, India, Germany, Russia, the U.K. (I could go on). But even international giants like Disney can run into unexpected situations. Enter the Groundswell: #GiveElsaAGirlfriend In 2017, Disney’s followers began tossing a hashtag back and forth on Twitter . What they're tossing around is a complet

It's an interesting time to be L.L. Bean is a century-old outdoors company based in Freeport, Maine. It is most famous for its signature "Bean Boot"  and forgiving return policy. So what's so exciting about 2018, of all of L.L. Bean's years in business? Well, on February 9, 2018, L.L. Bean announced that it would be scrapping the lifetime return policy  that its customers raved about. Closing the doors on this policy was a bold move on the company's part, but according to the Associated Press, over the last five years L.L. Bean has lost  upwards of $250 million USD on merchandise returned to the store. Even worse is that monetary loss was only captures how many items were so damaged and worn beyond repair that the company couldn't recycle scraps for new products or donate them. For anyone who can empathize with the company's financial situation from a distance, the news is easy to swallow. But how are L.L. Bean's loyal following taking the

The topics covered in Li and Bernoff's Groundswell , from Chapters 5 through 8, outline how any business can tap into the groundswell. They focus on five critical activities: listening, talking, energizing and fostering support. The tricky part about this is that none of these activities are mutually exclusive; to be successful, a business needs to engage in all five activities at once and continue to maintain this over time. "So where Camaro owners might talk about their car's power and Lexus owners about their car's luxurious styling, Mini owners would rather see themselves as members of an exclusive club f people who belonged together. As the first buyers of this odd little car, they bonded with each other. they identified themselves -- and each other -- as Mini owners." (Li, Bernhoff, p. 91). I found it interesting that Li and Bernhoff described Mini owners as if they were already an exclusive group, just because of their groupthink that extended beyond

Every morning when I wake up and scroll through my Facebook feed, I'm reminded that everyone is a critic nowadays. I can't read a single article -- whether it's from Buzzfeed  or the New York Times -- without becoming entrenched in a sea of thoughts (and arguments) in the comments section.  Did I make this pie chart with no empirical data? Yes. Is it still accurate? Also yes. Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that virtually everyone has a voice online nowadays. True, everyone's had the opportunity be creators and online publishers for decades -- but how much easier is it to speak up now that virtually everything comes with a nifty comments section or "share" button? The comments section is now your go-to place for heated debate and some very strong voices. A satirical article from  Babe.net , playing off the fact that their articles are on the receiving end of many, many comments. But, if you're feeling like vocalizing