Olive Garden on Facebook: How To Not Use Social Media

UPDATE: It appears this is actually a scam.  The official Olive Garden Facebook Fan Page posted such.  Obviously Olive Garden is not behind this nor supports it.  However rather then pull this blog post, I still think it raises some good points around the importance of social media awareness and protecting your brand.  The bigger culprit here is Facebook for making it so easy to facilitate this sort of thing on their platform.

I was so irritated by my recent experience with Olive Garden on Facebook, that I just had to blog about it.  Upon my most recent daily visit, I came across an offer by Olive Garden to “dine on them this week”.  I’m not a huge fan, but a free meal at a relatively decent restaurant was worth the click through.

Once clicking through, it was clear right away that this wasn’t going to be a simple, “Become a fan”, and you’re entitled to a free meal.  That would be a lot of free meals.  I thought maybe, you would have to get 5 friends or so to fan them, or something to that effect.

Nope.  You see for some crazy reason Olive Garden thought it would be a good idea to partner with your traditional spammy outfit that entices people to sign up for INCREDIBLE offers that seem RISK FREE on the surface.   You see to earn your free $100 Olive Garden gift card, you actually not only have to become a fan, but sign up for multiple offers through this 3rd party company.  It’s very confusing, misleading, and certainly it does not end up being “free”, unless in most cases you cancel these trial memberships.

What an awful way to use social media to build buzz and awareness of your brand.  Really?  Olive Garden thought the best way to promote themselves on Facebook was associate itself with this sort of outfit?  Sure, maybe quite a few people will be esctatic initially (if they actually even get the gift cards), but how pissed are people going to be when they forget to cancel all these services they signed up for?

I know it’s entirely possible that this isn’t an Olive Garden fan page per se, but whoever it is certainly would have had to have Olive Garden’s approval to do such an offer and use their branding.  Regardless, in my opinion, bad move all around.  Even if it’s not an official Olive Garden brand, the fact is, most people will associate the offer with it coming from Olive Garden.

There are plenty of more effective ways to use social media then this, and quite frankly I’m surprised a brand so widely known choose or allowed this path.  Of the many restaurant chains out there, I actually find them to be one of the better ones in terms of quality and service.

Shame on you Olive Garden (Shame on Facebook!).  Even I could have steered you in a more effective direction.

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Dave Barnes & Matt Wertz: Music & Social Media Done Right

One of my favorite things to see regarding social media is when one of the products, services or things I enjoy use it effectively.  It’s surprisingly rare, but I’m finding more instances of this happening.  None more so then from 2 of my current favorite recording artists, Dave Barnes and Matt Wertz.

I actually found both artists by accident.  I found Dave’s website a few years ago perusing through a web design gallery, and just happened to take a listen to one of his hit songs “Until You”.  I was an instant fan, and after a few weeks then stumbled across Matt’s music through Dave as they are good friends.  Since then I’ve been following them not only musically, but socially.  Both Matt and Dave do a very effective job of using social media and their websites to build their following.  Both have a nice sized Twitter following, and use Twitter fairly proactively.  I find myself learning quite a bit about their musical journeys, and in most cases it’s the main source for late breaking news with their music endeavors.

In addition they use Facebook (but Twitter is where they really shine), and there websites are slick, and full of useful information.  Most recently, both artists have releases that are dropping in the next few weeks, but what’s really cool is how they used their sites and social media to give their followers early access to purchase the album before the official release.  Both Dave and Matt revamped the front page of their sites to offer exclusive special packages with a variety of goodies along with their digital albums.  It was a great way to reward their fans, and I bet it will help give both of them a boost in album sales and buzz prior to their official release.

If you’re an aspiring musician, both Dave and Matt are great examples of how to use social media and the web to become a successful musician.  Be sure to check them out and have a listen.

Dave Barnes (Website, Twitter, Facebook, iTunes)
Matt Wertz (Website, Twitter, Facebook, iTunes)

Related posts:

1. Olive Garden on Facebook: How To Not Use Social Media
2. 3 Up & Coming Social Media Tactics Every Small Business or Startup Should Consider
3. The Office For Mac Social Media Extravaganza!
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5. 5 Ways To Become Social Media Relevant

Me & Microsoft: Round 2

10 months ago, I had the misfortune of being one of many Microsoft casualties in their rounds of layoffs.  It was a pretty jarring experience losing your job and all.  Especially when the reason you moved across the country was to work for the company.  While I was certainly impacted from a financial perspective along with the worry of what’s next, I actually felt more disappointed that they were letting someone go that had done quite well up to that point and had been a huge advocate for many things Microsoft.  Bottom line, my feelings were hurt.  However, wounds heal.

Now, 10 months later, and what I had predicted the day I walked out has come true.  They would want me back some day.  That day will be March 15th when I start my new role as a Senior MVP Lead for Microsoft Office.  Very much a community management type of role managing the relationships with Microsoft Office MVPs.  It’s an exciting and challenging opportunity that I’m thrilled about.  I always loved working in the halls of Microsoft, and I couldn’t be happier to be aligned with what I can no doubt say is an industry leading product that I love using.  Microsoft certainly has it’s work cut out in many areas, but I do feel like Microsoft Office is and always has been a winner.

A lot of people that were let go were angry, upset, and let their frustrations get in the way for a long time.  If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this whole process, is that it was never personal.  Yes, I think it was a foolish decision really only meant to appease stockholders, because let’s face it, the money never mattered.  But that’s one of the risks of working for a company of that size.  I truly believe that if you work hard, are smart, and treat people well personally and professionally, good things will find there way to you.  My patience and approach paid off for me, and I’m ecstatic to be back.

And to celebrate my new found career, I decided that it was time for me to enjoy my commute a bit more.  So I went and ordered this guy:

New job, new car.  Now I just need a new haircut….oh wait…

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iPhone 101: How To Sync Gmail Contacts Without Using Exchange

I felt compelled to share how to go about synching your Gmail contacts without burning your allotted ONE Exchange account on the iPhone.  Not entirely sure why this limitation is in place, but for the longest time I simply used Google’s simple instructions to use Exchange to sync my email, calendar and contacts in one simple step.  Works like a charm, and never really had any issues.

But after returning to Corporate America, I quickly found that not being able to check my work email easily on my phone became a pain in the butt since I already was using the Exchange account for my personal stuff.  I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out a way to do both, and today I stumbled across a very simple process to accomplish just this.  Quite simply, there’s an app for that.

Sync In A Blink.  Simply put, this $4.99 app does exactly what it says.  It allows you to sync your Gmail contacts with your iPhone using their simple to use app to do such.  Plenty of options to sync in exactly the way that works for you, and after entering your Gmail credentials, it’s a snap to get your contacts on your phone seamlessly.  By using this program, and CALDAV for my calender sync (see here for how to do just this), I can now simply use the Gmail account adder in the mail setup, and free up my Exchange option for my business email.

Yes, it was $4.99, but it was so simple, I feel sometimes it’s worth a few extra bucks to accomplish what it is you need on your devices.  Should Apple just allow for multiple Exchange accounts on the iPhone?  I think so, but for now, my needs are met.

Related posts:

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