Juan Lopez Valdez's Blogs

After a really nice long weekend in Qualicum Beach and being apart from all kind of media to dedicate a relaxing time to myself, I couldn’t stop thinking about the effects that technologies such as social media and others have over groups of people.

Most people around the world use social media either for leisure or something more serious like businesses. Moreover, it seems to be true we cannot get rid of social media, even for people who are not used to using it, such as the people I went to visit. To live in the country side no longer means that you are not able to use technology.

In this trip I was surrounded by amazing Douglas fir trees, those huge trees are glorious and utterly old. Their age make you think about the big changes that the world has undergone, and how they have been strong enough to survive and share with us a little bit of real history.

Speaking of history and media, I want to go to the point where we think about communication. Yes communication. This word has a lot of sense for humanity and you know it but even that, I’m sure you don’t pay too much attention on it. For a couple of seconds think about how important is this word and its meaning itself. Everything seems to be focused on that, isn’t it? Television, internet, social media, advertisements, technology, you and me.

What used to be the best tool ever for connecting people ten years ago is useless nowadays. However, we are aimed to take advantage of the tools and the technology we have in the present so we can find new ways of developing for the next generations.

Think a little bit about what you used to do ten years ago. Now think about what the children or young people at that same age now have… What a change! But it is a cycle and an evolution that will never stop.

I think nature made feel more philosophical this time or probably the hippie t-shirt I'm wearing now, LOL.

My best desires for this week.

Tackling social media crisis


This is an amazing article written by Aliza Sherman from Gigaom.com teaching us how to tackle social media conversations when these, as she says, "spun out of control."

Seriously, read it!


You may have already experienced social media meltdown: a rapid derailment of your previously neat and tidy social media marketing efforts. Because social media cannot be “controlled,” the very thought of putting marketing messages out into the social web strikes fear in the hearts of many. Without control, how do you avert or manage a crisis that bubbles over and could explode on Twitter, Facebook and the like?

I’ve blogged about social media crisis communications previously; the very first step in social media crisis management is to be prepared. In addition to a good social media marketing plan you also need a strong crisis communications plan that incorporates monitoring and application. Here are six things to consider before you encounter a seemingly out-of-control situation in your social media channels.

1. Contemplate worst cases. Part of your social media crisis communications plan should include playing out scenarios. What are the worst things that could happen if things spun out of control in social media? People would be angry? You’d lose customers? Your brand would be damaged? You’d lose consumer trust? Address each of these issues now and how work to solve these problems.

2. Monitor overtime. Have you noted an a few more dissatisfied customers blogging, tweeting and commenting than usual? Did something happen recently that could qualify as “an incident” that someone got on tape and uploaded onto social media channels? You should have in your plan a monitoring strategy that can be ramped up to 24 hours a day and a communications process to text or call key strategists and spokespeople if something must be addressed immediately.

3. Don’t panic. If you see trouble brewing, don’t let your emotions get the better of you and lead you to acting in a non-strategic fashion. Don’t grasp at straws, don’t respond in a knee-jerk fashion to the tense online conversations, and don’t lose your cool. If you feel anxious about what you’re reading and seeing in your social media channels — particularly if it starts looking like complete anarchy — go back to your plan for grounding.

4. Respond strategically. You have to be agile in a crisis communications situation and often push yourselves past your comfort zone to defuse the situation. Your plan is a good focal point for your communications efforts when things go awry, but you also need to observe any new dynamics that are occurring that you may not have anticipated. Be strategic about any responses you put out there. Most individual questions from a crowd that is demanding answers do not need to be addressed individually. Instead you could compile them into a FAQ to cover broader ground and keep things neutral and even-toned. You will have to make decisions on the fly but keep your strategy in mind.

5. Sit it out. As Kenny Rogers said, “You have to know when to hold ‘em.” Sometimes your voice inserted into the negative social media conversations will have the affect of gasoline on a fire. Not everyone wants to hear you defending yourself or your company. Not everyone needs to hear the desperation — or frustration — in your voice by the words you choose in heated moments. Just wait. If you’ve done a good job of building trust in your social media-hosted communities, your community could actually begin policing itself. Your supporters may respond to the naysayers in positive ways, helping to defuse the situation before you even have to get involved. Some things do work themselves out, but knowing how much to get involved — and what to say when you do — takes experience and finesse.

6. Be respectful. No matter what you end up saying to your social media-based audiences, always take the high road, never say more than you need to, and make sure every sentence you put out there is even-toned and highly respectful of others. Sometimes people just want to hear themselves vent. Other times, people just want to jump on the bandwagon of the frenzy. If someone has a legitimate gripe, quickly and appropriately responding while respecting other people’s feelings is the best approach. Not sure how to start? Why not start with “I understand and respect your feelings in this matter. I hear what you’re saying.” Now calmly provide information that addresses the issue.

How prepared are you for a social media communications crisis?

Thinking about Apps


When you think about apps what is the first image that comes to your mind? Probably you’re thinking right now about an iPod touch, your new iPad or your iPhone and the tens of applications you were testing last night. I can tell, nowadays you have more than one favorite apps. We can’t easily reel off a list of all the Apps available right now but at least I can tell that you can have apps according to your likes.

Sticking to the brief, the point I want to reach today is that as far as I know people do not buy a smart phone just for talking, otherwise they wouldn’t expend so much money (I guess). I want get rid of the fact that having a smart phone is a fashion, I agreed with that but at this stage my opinion is that we are going further. People buy smart phones for the tones of interesting things they can do with them and believe it or not the majority of the funny, interesting, entertaining and useful content comes from the applications.
Now, think about your old iPod and your new iPod touch, can you see the big differences? Yes, I have a “huge iPod” of 30Gb and not an iPod of 32Gb with which I could download games for free or nice applications to know where is the best place to eat in Vancouver or whatever I want to know. Even more, I could surf on the internet and check my facebook, flickr and so on. If I were fan of Sprite I would’ve downloaded the last apps they created.

Apple applications download hit 1 billion in one month. Socialnomics.

As an entrepreneur or a business man you would be thinking about how to create useful apps for your customers. If you have a restaurant you would be able to update your menus to the apps so your customers will now in advance what to order at the time they are in your patio.

Websites are important but nowadays is not enough, get up-to-date and take the plunge for Social Media.

Kiss: Social Media ROI


Looking for good reasons to explain how social media works with the ROI (return-on-investment) I found Olivier Blanchard, an excellent brand builder marketer who has a household name for his ability to understand how to play with these different dimensions. I said dimensions because perhaps it could seem quite confusing to catch the idea of how I can get money from something practically untouchable. However, I want to let you with the wisdom of this well respected man about town.

Enjoy it!


The chatter around ROI seems to be as loud as ever. What would you attribute this to? Are we at a pivotal moment for business proving value for social media activities?

The chatter around social-media ROI is as strong as ever for two reasons: The first is simply because ROI points to one of the most important questions an organization can ask before green-lighting a social-media program: I could spend this budget somewhere else — Why should I spend it on social media? Before any other questions can be asked, you have to start with “why.”

The second is that most social-media “experts” seem incapable of a) being able to define ROI … and b) plug social media into a profit-and-loss statement and actual business objectives. Most social-media marketers, having no true management background. They simply don’t understand how to tie social-media measurement and performance to business measurement and performance. This lack of business-management experience is a major problem in a field where everyone seems to have become an “expert” overnight.

As long as these so called “experts” fail to answer the ROI question, the chatter will continue. Ironically, the question can be answered in about three minutes. All it takes is someone on the social-media side of the table who understands how to plug new communications into a business from the C-suite’s perspective.

Have you noticed a recurring point where businesses and organizations decide to get serious about applying ROI to social activities? Is it based on experience, resources allocated or both?

Every organization is different. Some want to establish upfront measurement practices that include ROI from the very start. These are organizations with a specific focus or clear goals. ROI is based on accomplishing those goals.

Others don’t get around to asking about ROI until 6 to 18 months after a program has begun and budgets need to be reviewed. Trust me, when 10% of your group’s budget is being cut, you start asking hard questions. Social-media programs not clearly in support of specific business objectives had better come up with a good answer when the budget hatchet starts to come down.

Typically, companies that start by identifying ROI before a social-media budget is assigned, people are recruited and the project is even outlined, fare better than their counterparts.

How can those who are in the trenches, but not selling product or services themselves, best justify their social efforts/hours to their bosses and peers?

By aligning their activities and objectives with key business objectives. The fastest way to ensure that your budget is renewed or validated is to show that you play a part in making the P&L positive.

Perhaps your group saves the organization money by using social media. Customer service is an example. Media buying, reach, could show some interesting cost reductions, with social media increasing reach while reducing relative Cost Per Impression. Perhaps your group generates not sales but leads by using social-media channels in insightful ways.

There are dozens of ways to ensure that your program can be shown to contribute to either reducing costs or generating revenue. What you don’t want to be is a “cost center” alone, or worse yet, the project team that can’t articulate its value to the organization. Which happens.