Social Media.. Are you in the know?

Social media.. just do it.
Statistics show that companies have began using social media to get their name out into the public eye and I don't blame them.. New media may be a critical step in attracting new customers, while retaining existing customers. Over the past few years, consumers have started consulting the internet at a rapid pace before making any serious purchasing decisions. But wait, it gets even better.. Consumers now have the ability to shop for groceries right in the comfort of their home, and they get delivered to the customer's doorstop. Companies are starting to realize that they have to jump on the bandwagon not only to compete with other companies, but as a means to communicate with their target audience.

And the question that everyone's been waiting to hear.. Does Kraft Tweet?
I wasn't sure whether or not Kraft had a twitter account, so I decided to do a little research. I wasn't a member of twitter, so I went through the process and created a twitter account. It's a little confusing at first; I couldn't tell which posts were by the company itself, and which posts were responses. After playing around on a few twitter pages, I decided to look up Kraft.

I was very surprised, and a little sad to say that Kraft does not tweet.

I assumed that all companies would be on twitter, but sadly this is not the case. I decided to take it a step further.. Does any of Kraft's major brands tweet? I searched a few of Kraft's brands such as Cool Whip, California Pizza Kitchen, Nabisco, Maxwell House, but there was nothing. I decided to do a little googling, and I found out that at least one of Kraft's major brands has a twitter account.

Guess which brand it was... are you tired of guessing yet?! It was.. (drumroll please).. DiGiorno!

And one little ducky said tweet tweet tweet..
I read that one of the main reasons that DiGiorno started a twitter account was because they wanted to include twitter as part of the company's marketing strategy to introduce their new Crispy Flatbread Pizza.

I browsed DiGiorno's twitter, and I didn't see the benefit of having it. Most of the updates on the page are thankyou's and news about unrelated stories. For instance, there was a link to a recap of the Emmy's, a link to an article about Earth pictures, and statuses to watch a few upcoming shows. Here's an example of one of their statuses.

"Get your ovens and TV’s ready: The Office premieres tonight at 9/8c! Pizza and Dwight = excellent."

There was no information about the company, or their new flatbread pizza. To tell you the truth, I thought the page was absolutely useless. I think the only reason a company should use a social media network is if the company has a purpose. If a company can not figure out what their purpose of using a social media outlet is, then the company should either consider revamping it or getting rid of it.

A little bit of this.. A little bit of that..
Here are some things I think DiGiorno should take into consideration if they deicde to make their twitter page more beneficial.

1. DiGiorno should use twitter as a way to disseminate information to their audience. DiGiorno should posts links to press releases, articles about their products, and any news about the brand in general. This would educate consumers about what's going on in the brand, and hopefully create some buzz.

2. DiGiorno should use twitter to give out free coupons and samples. Happy customers will tweet positive comments about their experience for other customers to see.

3. DiGiorno should answer one question a day. Tweeters should have the option to post questions to DiGiorno on subjects such as their products and services. On days that have no questions to be answered, DiGiorno could post their own question and answer response. This can also include nutrition statistics.

Does facebook help you connect and share with the consumers in your life?
After doing my share fair of twittering, I switched over to one of the hottest popular social media applications: facebook!


Again, I began looking for any Kraft related facebook pages. I was pleased to say that Kraft indeed has a facebook! I immediately clicked on the wall, eager to see what Kraft had to say to its public, but the wall was blank. (For all you non-facebook users, a wall lets other users read what the member has to say. Friends of the member can also post comments on it.) There was nothing written on Kraft's wall by Kraft or its users. Kraft must have disabled other users from writing on it.

There were a few different tabs that I clicked on such as information and recipes, which were also blank. The whole reason for creating and using new forms of social media is to engage customers with the company on a whole new level.

In this day and age, you must take advantage of all opportunities.
Dear Kraft,

You need to take step back and analyze the current situation. What was your reason for creating a facebook? What do you want your audience to take away from it? Why did your company decide to use this specific social media networking opportunity, as opposed to others?

Social media networks are great for a number of things such as conducting research, networking, building customer service, creating loyalty, and building your brand. For instance, you could use your facebook page to conduct research by posting a survey on the website. Customers love feeling involved in the company, and it usually makes customers feel good that their voice is being heard.

I realize that the scariest thing might be receiving negative comments from users, but your company can't succeed unless you listen to customer concerns and work out the problems in the company. A media outlet such as facebook allows you to respond back to the initial posts, so that you clear up any problems or misconceptions.

I hope this helps!

Yours Truly,
Me

Broadcast Yourself.
One of the new social media networks that I believe Kraft has truly embraced is YouTube. Again, I searched some of Kraft's larger brands and I found numerous commercials for most. I found a really cute Chips Ahoy commercial. If you're interested, I would also urge you to check out some Kraft Macaroni and Cheese commercials, they truly provoke happy childhood memories.

As a public relations practitioner for Kraft, I would also use YouTube to post podcasts and videocasts from executives within the company. It would be beneficial for customers to hear the company's voice. It would also be a way to keep employees in other states and countries feel more connected within the inner workings of the company.