Below are three tips we found helpful to defend your business’s reputation  from the American Express Open Forum. For the full article and all six tips click here.

Join the conversation
Get your side of the story out by responding to a negative review publicly, keeping in mind, maintain a professional tone.

Highlight the positive
Review sites, like Yelp, run submissions through an algorithm designed to determine their legitimacy. Suspect reviews—negative or positive—are hidden in the “Filter” section at the bottom of each page. Unfortunately, it is possible for legitimate, positive reviews to not make it past the filter. In your public response make sure to draw attention to all positive feedback that is currently hidden.

Develop a strategy for responding to threats
It is not too far-fetched to come up against a customer threatening to post damaging reviews if free work isn’t provided to them. It is important to plan for this. Sometimes it may make more sense to acquiesce to the customer’s demands than take legal action.

Below are 6 tips on how to utilize your personal twitter to your advantage, to see the full article from American Express’s Open Forum and all 12 tips, click here openforum.com.

Infuse personality into your profile

People trust people, not default images. Upload a real picture of yourself and add some personality to your “about me” section. These simple first steps will encourage more followers and if they relate to you passion they will keep an eye out for your tweets and be more likely to retweet.

Be the first one to break the news

Chose a topic (or a few) that interest you and position yourself as an expert. By doing this, your followers will come to you for valuable information. If you are on top of your game – be the first to break news to your followers as you get it, this will increase the number of retweets you get and spark conversation around what you have to say.

Tweet consistently, leave space
Openforum.com recommends tweeting consistently. However, tweeting too often can be overwhelming to your followers so stick to one tweet every hour or half hour.

Ask and answer questions
You want to engage your followers and keep them interested – the best way to do this is to ask them questions and answer their questions in return.

Be generous, promote others
Take notice of your most passionate followers and reward them by retweeting them, and recommending them by using #recommend and #FF (follow Friday).

Ask for a retweet
Ask and you shall receive! Followers are more likely to retweet you when you prompt them – start adding “please RT” to your tweets.

The following are our top 5.

1. Maintaining a blog can do a lot for your business. They bring traffic to your website, stir discussion and keep the public interested.  Blogging is as easy as creating a free account on Blogger.com or Wordpress.com. If you already have a Website, your Webmaster or marketing firm can create a blog as part of your site.  Once the blogging tool is installed, just log in and start writing.

1. Don’t hesitate to register with a business-listing site.  Websites like Bing, Yahoo, Yelp and Google can help your business with website traffic through search engine optimization (SEO), and help increase the amount of times you are seen online.

1. Paying attention to key words helps with SEO.  The more precise your wording, the higher the probability of increasing traffic to your website, and prospectively more clients.  You can also use the Google Keywords Tool which allows you to check for searches that describe your business and will notify you with successful and unsuccessful keywords that resulted from the search.

1. Watching your analytics also helps with your online presence.  You can register with Google Analytics and search your blog posts to see which are faring well on your site and what specific keywords were used to accomplish it. This helps see which keywords work best and what types of information are read frequently on your website.

1. Adding social media tools should be a priority in today’s society.  Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare and Linked in are just a few of the names we hear on a daily basis in public relations.  These social media sites are very popular and effective tools in creating website presence.

To read more helpful tips, visit Open Forum’s website.

By peppering your business with a little holiday spirit, you can revamp your brand image and inspire some holiday cheer in your customers.

Take Starbucks.

Its holiday marketing campaign, which debuted in November, features seasonal beverages like the “Peppermint Mocha” and “Gingerbread Latte” served up in special edition holiday cups.  This year, Starbucks has gone one step further with the Starbucks Cup Magic App, which allows coffee-drinkers to animate the action on their coffee cups on their smartphone screens.  The object, says VP-Global Digital Marketing for Starbucks, Alexandra Wheeler, is to both “surprise and delight” customers during this holiday season.

So get in the spirit! Here are some things you can do to make the holiday season a catalyst for your business:

-Deck the halls with boughs of holly! But seriously, some easy, simple decorations can go a long way.  By creating a fun, holiday atmosphere, your employees and customers alike will relish in the spirit of the season.

-Learn the holiday news cycle. To avoid missing out on an opportunity for your product or service in a publication, make sure you’re up to date on the editorial calendars well in advance to see what specific topics the media outlets will focus on during this holiday cycle.

-Wish your social media following a happy holidays. A simple tweet or Facebook post spreading the spirit will bring you back into sight and into mind.  Keeping up a rapport with those in the digital world (and continuing to maintain your online presence) is extremely important, especially now!

So enjoy this holiday season, and take advantage of the opportunity to enact some timely marketing strategies. Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Here at Boardroom we know the importance of company morale both on and off – line. We use Facebook to interact with each other, our clients and our network of contacts. We post pictures, links to articles, fun facts and tips. One thing you’ll never catch us doing – talking negatively about each other or our work place. With an intimate group of 14, we interact like a family and have no need to lash out on Facebook or other social networking sites.

In a world consumed by social media and technology, few companies can say the same.

A recent Wall Street Journal article highlights employees who are fighting back after being  fired or disciplined for bad-mouthing their employers on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. In recent months, disgruntled employees have started to recognize their rights and are actively seeking to solve their very modern predicament by using the law that kick-started the U.S. labor movement: the National Labor Relations Act of 1935.

This law protects employee’s freedom of speech when complaining about pay, safety and other working conditions. It does NOT protect against simple gossip and griping. The NLRB, a federal agency that enforces the law and decides whether employees’ complaints have merit, has jumped on board to represent these employees.

Of the 113 complaints the NLRB has received from employees regarding social media issues since May, about half have sufficient merit for them to intervene.  Intervene, yes. Overturn the original decision, not so much. There is no guarantee that the NLRB will be able to save your career, below are a few examples of recent employee’s rants on Facebook and their outcome:

A Frito-Lay warehouse employee was fired after writing on Facebook he was ‘a hair away from setting it off in that b—-,’ apparently referring to the warehouse – the NLRB stated that his language was not protected.

A paramedic was fired after calling her supervisor a ‘scumbag’ on Facebook from her home computer – the NLRB stated that this was protected language because the employee was venting during an online discussion among other employees about supervisory action.

A bartender was fired for communications on Facebook with a relative in which he called customers ‘rednecks’ and said he hoped they choked on glass – the NLRB stated that this language was not protected.

While this shows that our freedom of speech is protected to some degree, why let it get to this point?

Keep your Facebook/Twitter professional. Never post anything negative about your workplace on the internet. Not only is there a chance for your current employer to see it and take action, but also future employers and contacts will see your negativity and spiteful behavior.

If something is bothering you to the point where you feel the need to lash out, take a step back, a deep breath and re-evaluate the situation.  Set up a meeting with the Human Resource department, get together with them and find a solution to the problem.

Taking a pro-active approach, rather than a public display of anger will save your career and your reputation.

Even with these statistics, less than half of the top 10,000 websites use this share button on their pages, according to the same firm.  The share button for Twitter, the Facebook “LIKE,” and the “follow” option for both sites are all free tools- why aren’t these websites tapping in?

With these tools, your website can travel from social network to social network, and reach more people through retweets. Twitter and Facebook are no longer just social platforms, but are really becoming business tools. Knowing how to target your Facebook page and Twitter account or website, whether personal or for your business, can help you expand your audience. While the “share” button is of course a great start, there’s much more you can do!

Here at Boardroom Communications- here’s what we’d suggest to help you broaden your online exposure:

• Be smart about your Facebook posts and tweets. You want to keep your information fresh and current, but don’t go overboard!
• If you own a small business, use your personal Facebook page to plug your business, but subtly of course.
• Keep up with those in your social networks that can potentially benefit your business; after all, information is power!
• Always stay up to date with the various apps and tools that can further link you to the social media universe.

With these tools and tips, you’ll be sure to expand your online exposure. It’s all free and there’s absolutely zero risk involved!

BO, our Buddy Ol’ pal, our Best (presiding) Officer— Barack Obama himself tweeting YOU to make a difference and take charge in the debt ceiling issue.

This was just one of the over 100 tweets spewed out from Barack Obama’s twitter account on Friday, August 1, 2011, pleading tweeters of all parties—all 9 million of his followers—to poke and prod at Republican legislators through any and every form of media in hopes of their surrender, and eventual compromise.

According to CBS News, New York Times reporter Brian Stelter said that White House Communications director Dan Pfeiffer truly believes the tweet blitz helped force Congress to come to some form of agreement, Obama lost over 36,000 followers on Twitter, and angry Republicans accused the White House of spamming.

Obama has been a social media maverick all along, using tools like Facebook to capture voters in his presidential campaign before Twitter was even born. Although this tweeting may have influenced the end decision, our buddy BO leaves us with some questions: Is twitter really powerful enough to sway a congressional debate?  And most importantly, does BO use Tweetdeck?

Obama’s loss of 36,000 followers is trivial in comparison to his 9 million loyal disciples; but if he keeps churning out tweets thinking he’s Justin Bieber, he could be at risk for losing many more. Though twitter is a new, hip platform: media is media. People don’t like being bombarded with messages from companies about promotions and special features 24/7; they become less special that way.

If Obama, or any firm for that matter, wants to keep up interest, they should send their messages—whether sent via snail mail, an electronic newsletter, Facebook post, or tweet— more sparingly to truly make them count.When using social media,  don’t  over tweet or put out more than one status or email blast a day.  It lessens the importance  of your message and eventually followers might just press delete or take themselves off the mailing list – and your messages will be lost altogether, forever.

It’s important to be strategic about sending out messages regarding your company. For CEOs, partners, and those with something to say, be smart about it. Keep those interested informed without attacking them with news. For Obama, it’s great that you’re using social media- but slow down there Mr. President! And get back to doing more important things, like getting us jobs!

Is your online-self really you, or just an alias? Google Plus seems to think you’re one in the same. That’s why the new social networking site, as an article on CNN Tech reveals in its title, is starting to “boot ‘fake name’ users.”

Though praised by the tech community for its innovative features like Circles and group video chats, Google Plus has instated a policy that users must use their real names “to fight spam and prevent fake profiles.”

The debate is simply whether or not people want to be identified by their image online, and take responsibility for it. Facebook wants you to escape into a parallel universe and care less about the reflection of your online behavior. You can go by a fake name, have a picture of the Lochness monster as your own, and call it a day. Google, on the other hand, truly wants people to be able to find you— the real you— through your Google profile.

A Google spokeswoman said in an email, “By providing your common name, you will be assisting all people you know— friends, family members, classmates, co-workers and other acquaintances— in finding and creating a connection with the right person online.”

But what if you don’t want to be found?

College-bound seniors and job-seeking young adults often change or abbreviate their names on Facebook to preserve their image for future bosses, co-workers, schools and universities. Though Google’s position may be a little strong, it’s important to remember that whether you’re a CEO or 17, you never know who’s watching you online.

If Google sticks to this position, it will be even more important to monitor the information you post and posts about you.

Chris Colfer of Glee reported last week that he found out he was not going to be a cast member for the show’s third season…through Twitter. According to People Magazine, Creator Ryan Murphy took to Twitter before letting Colfer know he got the boot, and of course, thousands tweeted Colfer with their reactions.

“I didn’t necessarily know that it was going to be our last season next year,” he told Access Hollywood. Well, he certainly knows now! And Colfer isn’t the only one that’s gotten the bad news from the media. According to Crushable.com, former American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi found out she’d been expunged via a news article, Fox-News on air commentator Marc Lammot Hill got notified of his expulsion by checking his own Google Alerts, and Alyson Hanigan reportedly heard she had been slayed from Buffy the Vampire Slayer by tuning into a co-star Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Entertainment Weekly interview.

Though this certainly means bad news for Colfer and his fellow ousted co-stars, Lea Michele and Cory Monteith, it could be worse for Fox if they don’t enact some sort of crisis communications plan. Having yet to comment on the incident, Fox needs to address the hurt done unto the three actors as well as the mistake made by the Glee producers.

And most importantly, while media, both social and traditional, is a current craze, some institutions require personal attention. As in, in person! If you’re letting someone go, do so respectfully. Look them in the eye, explain the reasons for your decision, and shake their hand.

What does this mean for your business?

Privacy should always be a one of the top concerns for anyone who goes online.  Frequently checking and updating your privacy settings on any social media is important for maintaining control of your brand.  Do you really want to share everything with everyone?  We’ve written advice on drawing the line between your personal and professional  life on social media, but what should you know about privacy on Google +?

First of all, Google + allows you to add people to circles, but won’t show the person which circle you’ve added them too.   This allows you to share your company’s latest news with coworkers, colleagues and friends in the industry, but not share your kid’s latest preschool award.  Google + also lets you share in extended circles, meaning your update will be shared with your circle and also two degrees outside your circle (so your circles, circle).  This is especially useful when you’re posting something about new business or perhaps looking for a new employee.   You can also share with individuals only, much like a private message on Facebook or a direct message on Twitter.  Google + also allows you to set privacy settings on your account, so you can choose which sections of your profile are visible.

Will Google+ take over Facebook?

Only time will tell.  Google is banking that people want to control their online exposure while Facebook is banking on the fact that people care less and less about their online exposure.   For businesses, it’s important to remember that social media can be a powerful messaging and branding tool, but that like anything online it has to be managed!