I began studying advertising when social media really began dominating, in 2008 our teachers were lecturing on traditional media but I knew we were in the midst of an advertising revolution. I started volunteering to help family friends’ businesses very early on as I believe the benefits of having a social presence far out way the negatives. A major rebuttal to any business having a Facebook Page, Google Maps Account or Linkedin page is negative feedback. I argue that negative comments can be turned into a positive publicity.

I am passionate about social media because it opens the lines of communication between customers, potential customers and businesses, it is a ‘Digital Suggestion Box’. Some may say this is airing dirty laundry, without a proactive plan in place it can be scary.  In previous roles, I’ve had countless clients call in almost crying about a negative review on social media. From this experience, I’ve developed my own plan that I’ve seen work extremely well.

My first piece of advice for anyone who receives a negative review online or offline is to take a deep breath. Please don’t take this remark personally.  I love the culture at Zero Digital, the natural response to any negative comment or message sent through –  is to crowd around the journalist with pats on the back with reassuring comments like “Don’t worry mate, they’re probably having a bad day”. It’s true, I think we’ve all been guilty of letting our bad day affect our behaviour in one way or another. In my eight years of experience in the marketing field, I’d suggest 60% of these reviews are just that – people having a bad day and taking it out on the easiest target. Someone I admire very much, comedian Mr Cian Twomey understands this and had a brilliant way of dealing with such negativity.

Cian’s calculated and marvelous response was admirable, however, it may not be the right response for your business. It does support my argument, negative reviews can be converted into positive marketing for your business. When a customer reviews your business online, you have been presented the opportunity to be included in the conversation. Which is actually better than a customer spreading negative reviews without your knowledge.

My second piece of advice for any receiver of a negative comment is ‘Do they have a valid point? Can we improve our business?’ If I receive fantastic service, I’ll leave a positive review (and a tip, bartenders take note) – if it’s very bad, I’ve been known to leave negative reviews. This is an opportunity and I suggest dealing with it that way. A business (that shall not be named) delivered food to me late and after almost 90 minutes of waiting,  the food tasted like heated up leftovers.  I was much nicer in my review, although their marketing manager didn’t decide to proceed with the same attitude. I was personally attacked in comments that were later deleted. To this day I still see my review gaining likes, with comments commending me for my honesty and maturity compared to said restaurants’ unprofessional manner. If I was their marketing manager, I would have taken a different approach:

• Thanked the commenter for their opinion.
• Offered the potential to change their mind with a voucher or even just a refund.
• Spoken to my team to understand if the comments had merit or if it was simply someone having a bad day.
• If the comments had merit, change the quality of food before the voucher was used.
• Encourage happier clients to post positive reviews to drown out any negative comments.

If this restaurant had followed a similar plan to the above, I would have most likely been their biggest advocate – changing their review to 5 stars. Most importantly it’s not the angry customer, but the many people watching who we want to be on our best behaviour for.

I actually have been in the position of that restaurant in the past, working client side I’ve had to answer countless negative reviews – some having merit and some being completely insane. I treat every response the same, thanking them for taking the time to let us know and trying to rectify the situation. By monitoring our Google Analytics, I noticed a correlation in page views and increase in sales after these conversations take place. Potential customers could see how we handle complaints and I’d say they were impressed with our professional response.

Woolworths faced a similar situation with the infamous Ryan Goodall avocado fiasco-turned-triumph.

Well played Woolworths, well played. We can all take a page out of the Woolworths book of marketing – it would be near impossible to plan such positive publicity.  Keeping avocado’s fresh might be tricky business, but Woolworth’s  seem to

My third piece of advice, NEVER delete comments. I was involved in an incident where an angry customer thought we’d deleted their review (it was still there, she was just technically challenged). The woman went on to notify all of her friends and family, so I was left answering countless reviews from people who didn’t even know our business name. It was a nightmare, to say the least. Once I understood why she was upset, I gave her a freebie and apologised on her review. She was so overjoyed the other reviews soon disappeared. If we had actually deleted her comment, I could only imagine the damage that could have occurred.

Lastly, encourage positive reviews in a creative way. Keep in mind it is illegal to post fake testimonials. Google has algorithms in place to notice anything unnatural meaning 100 5 star reviews isn’t going to look natural. Explain this to your biggest fans and how a positive review can actually increase your SEO and help your business grow. It’s just like helping out an awesome Uber driver.

In conclusion,

• Don’t take these comments to heart, it’s not a personal attack on you – it’s just business.
• Consider the possibility that they may be giving you some constructive criticism. Can your business grow from this advice?
• Don’t begin an online commenting war, it’s not a good look for businesses and you’re better than that.
• Don’t ignore the comment, take some time to write a friendly response that will calm your commenter and look good to anyone watching.
• Encourage clients who you have a good relationship with to post reviews, this will help drown out your negative Nancy.

At the end of the day, “there is no such thing as bad publicity”, as long as you’re smart about it.

Yoooo I ordered a Pizza & Came with no Toppings on it or anything, Its Just Bread @dominos

— ㅤㅤ (@SadderDre) September 1, 2014

@SadderDre We’re sorry to hear about this! Please let our friends at @dominos_uk know of this so they can help. *EV — Domino’s Pizza (@dominos) September 1, 2014

Never mind, I opened the pizza upside down :/ @dominos @Dominos_UK

— ㅤㅤ (@SadderDre) September 1, 2014

 

Media Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

25 August 2016

Interplay Media is thrilled to announce an extension with publishing technology company, Cognitives to continue to grow sports blogging platform, fansunite.com.au.

Fansunite.com.au, was founded by Justin Cannon and Tom Spencer in 2014, is a professional sports blogging network, hosting over 250 writers and covering every major professional sporting club in Australia.

Cognitives has an extremely rich history in the media industry. Advisor Alan Kohler, is one of Australia’s most experienced journalists.

Kohler is the former editor of the Financial Review and The Age in Melbourne. He was also the founder of the Eureka Report which is Australia’s most successful investment newsletter.

Managing Director of Interplay Media, James Spinks said, “We are looking forward to continuing a joint venture with Cognitives to create a brilliant digital experience for sports fans around the country.”

Campaign Manager is thrilled to announce a partnership with independent rural and regional publishing company McPherson Media Group.

McPherson Media Group’s key publications include Shepparton News, The Riverine Herald (Echuca), Kyabram Free Press, Benalla Ensign, Cobram Courier, Southern Riverina News (Finley) and Country News (Goulburn Valley).

Campaign Managers will be working closely with McPherson Media to ensure its regional Victorian publications are cross platform ready in the digital landscape.

The McPherson family has owned Shepparton News since 1888 and is the oldest family-owned newspaper group in Australasia.

Campaign Mangers is pleased to announce we are expanding our partnership with TheThousands.com.au.

The lifestyle and entertainment network run by Right Angle Studios, features online magazines about food, drinks, music, clothes, books and adventures from several different cities. The site features local writers covering topics from their own city to provide readers with the most expert content.

Campaign Managers is currently undertaking an exciting new project which encompasses retagging the network to ensure the site is optimised for all types of future advertising campaigns.

Improving the ad operations will help the site grow even further and further enhance the reputation of The Thousands online magazines.

Below: Screenshots of Three Thousand; Melbourne’s section of The Thousands online magazine.

 

 

 

 

Top online horse racing website Racing and Sports has undertaken a holistic approach to advertising through the specialised ad operations service provided by Campaign Managers.

We at Campaign Managers have created an advertising solution for the business that covers all aspects of advertising, content creation and social media.

Sister-site Interplay Media are responsible for the advertising sales in the business, with Campaign Managers engaging in all other ad operations for each publisher.

Services to Racing and Sports include creating written content for the website and assisting in the management of social media channels through the creation of a specialised digital strategy.

In addition to this, advertising on the website and app is also integrated, including banner advertising, video applications such Teads and pre-roll functions, and XML odds integration.

As well as these services, Campaign Managers provides ad operations solutions, database management and campaign set up for Racing and Sports eDMs, e-magazine and its weekly newsletter the Good Oil that is served to over 30,000 users.

The largest TV blog in the country has undergone a makeover, with one of Campaign Managers first clients TV Tonight launching its new-look website.

The refreshed website includes new features such as being Responsive to mobile devices, a new logo, a video section and much more.

Readers of the popular website have welcomed the new changes. TV Tonight reader jezlee22 writes – “Congrats on your 8 years. Your site is still one of the most important sites for bringing the news to the people in this rapidly evolving industry and I couldn’t live without it. Thanks for all your hard work David!”

TV Tonight is recognised as the most comprehensive and up-to-date website for news around television, appreciated by both TV viewers and members within the media industry.

The blog was established in 2007 and has published over 35,000 posts since its inception on topics ranging from TV news, reviews, interviews and programming.

All of TV Tonight’s content is developed solely by creator David Knox, a man now recognised as an authority figure on television blogging in Australia.

TV Tonight has been recognised within the media landscape with many accolades including winning the 2012 People’s Choice Award at the Australian Blogging Awards. David’s high-quality and detailed content has featured in publications around the nation.

We at Campaign Managers are excited by TV Tonight’s new-look website, which will integrate a variety of digital campaigns and operations through the services that we offer.

UK marketing website The Drum has identified mobile devices as integral for high engagement rates with native advertising on social networks.

Native advertising, recognised as sponsored posts and videos within social media feeds, is being engaged with via mobile devices by 55 per cent of users in the UK. Businesses such as Domino’s Pizza have seen this growth through their social networks.

“Consumers are moving away from the traditional, both in terms of ad formats and devices,” Francis Turner from Adyoulike UK said.

“The results show that online advertisers looking to engage with tech-savvy, urban, socially-mobile 18-34-year-olds would be well advised to embrace native advertising formats.”

Here at Campaign Managers, we specialise in digital advertising operations and aim to recognise emerging trends to engage with this tech-savvy market.

We offer a service that manages campaigns for publishers including those that utilise native advertising in social media markets, ad serve and work with publishers to drive traffic.

Through recognising this important trend, we will work with our publishers to optimise the use of mobile devices and ensure similar engagement rates with native advertising in the Australian market.

Welcome to our new business! Our business was born on the 1st January 2015 however we’ve been in the digital ad operations industry since the late nineties. Get in touch if you need help with your digital ad operations.