Delta Starts a Blog. I’m still Laughing.
August 31, 2007
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I have an odd sense of humor. I find tripping funny. If you take a spill in front of me, I will have to finish laughing before I help you up. Have a piece of toilet paper on your shoe? I might not be able to conjure the words to tell you.
Perhaps I’m easily amused (and a little too into social media) , but I started rolling when I saw Delta’s blog , the company’s formal attempt to “reach out to customers” and “start conversations”.
The comments are what really throw the whole thing over the edge for me. From the first post there are 29 responses, mostly which look like they are written from their own employees. Here’s a sampling of my favorite:
” What a great idea. It’s going to be nice to be able to communicate with the best domestic airline in the sky’s today! Hopefully, you’ll be able to have meat communications and not just use the blog as a marketing tool, but a true communications medium just like some of the most-read blogs out there do.”
“This is why I love working for this airline. I hope that our customers leave meaningful feedback. And please don’t hesitate to accentuate the positive. GO DELTA!”
Is this for real?! Who really says “best domestic airline?”, and why would someone encourage readers to not be afraid to “accentuate the positive?”.
Perhaps an airline that is slightly scared of social media.
After all, that is the only reason I can come up with for Delta writing a post that announces a Delta iMix on iTunes. I still can’t understand why anybody in their right mind would be excited about a boarding music playlist, and why there weren’t any responses that recommended Delta to get bett
er music. And for the post “What’s up with JFK in a good way?! , I can’t be the only person who thinks that there is nothing elite about “JFK’s elite area”? (shown right)
Why is this? Perhaps because the site limits viewers to logging in with user names and passwords to post comments. I’m still waiting on my commenting access so I can tell them what’s on my mind. After this post, I’m not sure I’ll ever receive it.
However, as much as I take humor in this, the reality is that if the blog’s positive employee feedback is the only feedback, and the posts don’t really address real concerns, Delta will ultimately fall flat on its face. So here’s your Friday tip: If you are writing or starting a blog - don’t be scared of negative feedback to the point it limits your discussions. Instead, expect and anticipate this feedback. Write posts that may shake things up a bit. In the long run this will increase your company’s value and credibility.
Comments
6 Responses to “Delta Starts a Blog. I’m still Laughing.”
Got something to say?
Hi Imcneill,
My name is Jacob Morris, and I’m the product manager at delta.com responsible for the implementation of the Delta blog.
I think you’ll be suprised at how serious we are at growing this experience, opening up to our customers, and talking about some of those community realities.
Give it some time, we will get there.
Jacob Morris
Product Manager
delta.com & self-service
Thanks for responding Jacob. I’m very impressed with how in-tune you are to the discussions being made outside your blog. This is a crucial but important step most companies miss when entering social media.
I’m sure that by listening and adapting to your customer’s needs your blog will eventually “get there”. One simple place to start is making it easier to post comments. This would expand your audience and diversify your comments past those made by your employees or faithful fans.
Your blog is a step in the right direction: a much needed communication channel for your customers. Keep on working and improving it and it will surely pay off in the end.
[…] down the walls. Perhaps getting them in the game is a good first start. I suspect that’s what’s happening at Delta with their blog. At this point, it’s not a great blog. But they’ve got their toe in […]
Lisa: I love how you slammed Delta and their blog, and then when the guy at Delta who started the blog pushed back on you, you changed your tune.
Way to stick to your guns…
@Mike - Perhaps you misread my comment - while my tone may have been less strong (because I had already made my points) - I never stated that they had it together. In both, I am still saying that while a blog is a good idea, they still have a LONG way to go.
Irregardless I think that you will find that most companies right now don’t have it all together. While we need to shout at them for it, we also need to guide them with meaningful, actionable steps. At least, that is the business we are in.
[…] what other people do and comment on it. To that end, way back in August, Lisa wrote a post called “Delta starts a blog, I’m still laughing.” At the time, the blog had just a few posts and, well, it was more than a bit lame. So we called […]