TD offers a wide range of financial products and services to approximately 20.5 million customers worldwide. With such a large global presence and strong commitment to customer service,  TD has embraced social media as a new way to connect and engage with their customers. While some organizations in the financial service industry have been shy to reach out to customers on social media, the team at TD did their homework, prepared a great strategy for online engagement, and went to work successfully interacting on the social web.

The team at TD believes in being there for their customers, and are pleased to offer extended hours at many of their branches, including weekends and evenings. They also offer customer service on the phone and now on Twitter, blogs and Facebook. For TD it makes perfect sense that they would expand their customer service to the social media channels that their customers like to use. It means they can provide help when other channels of communication that are not available – such as the power outage during Hurricane Irene this past summer. During this situation, TD provided support to their customers via Twitter to share up-to-date information about branch hours and ATM availability.

Take a look at this case study to learn more about TD’s social customer service offerings.

Tell us what you think – would you like to see your bank taking a more active role in social media?

Today’s world has become more connected and more accessible then ever before. Long gone are the days when distance made communications a challenge or struggle. We now live in a world where millions of people carry the Internet in their pocket and staying in touch is as simple as the click of a button. And with this privilege comes the power and the responsibility to help create positive change. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) believes that by working together we can help to eliminate poverty and end hunger, that if we all take one action, we can be a force for change. From this idea their campaign “Take One Action Against Poverty” was born.

The team at the UNDP saw the power and opportunity that social media offered their organization; it was a chance to reach citizens in the over 177 countries and territories. It was a chance to engage citizens, mobilize their supporters and volunteers, and take real steps towards change. Take One Action is a simple concept: if each person were to take one action against poverty, against hunger, against suffering, we could help make a dramatic difference in the lives of so many. The goal was to document these efforts and share them across various social media channels, the hope was that these images would inspire and motivate others.

The results have been remarkable – watch as Silke Von Brockhausen, Social Media Manager for the UNDP, explains the project and how they are using Radian6 to help track their efforts and engage with their supporters around the globe.

And with that, I would like to wish everyone a very happy holidays and as we look towards 2012, consider what is possible for the coming year – what are you capable of achieving this year? What will your one action be? 

Wunderman is a creative agency that truly appreciates and understands the value of relationships. It’s not surprising that they were an early adopter of social media and Radian6, as they have been a leader and innovator in the agency space for the past fifty years. The addition of Radian6 to their tool kit has allowed them to offer their clients real-time, global intelligence collected from the social web. The ability to provide this information for their client, Nokia, a world leader in mobility, has helped the team at Wunderman collect insight into the app developer community. They can see this community’s view of the Nokia’s adoption of the Windows Phone OS platform.

Social media gives Wunderman and Nokia the chance to collect insights and data from all over the world, and it allows them to do this in a timely and cost effective manner. The team at Wunderman is using Radian6 to find conversations across countries and in more than seven different languages. Learn more about this project in our case study and check out this great video, featuring some of the creative minds at Wunderman that helped make this project possible.

House Party makes it easy to have a party in your own home and get exclusive access to awesome products for you and your friends. Their parties are sponsored by the brands consumers love, such as PlayStation, McDonald’s, Kraft Food and Ford. By hosting, you and your guests get to try their products and receive an incredible Party Pack chock full of goodies. And with the use of social media, all you have to do is provide feedback to House Party on the products you had a chance to try.

The team at House Party has been keeping very busy; their clients see the value and benefits of having customers try their products and share that experience with friends and families. And now with the power of social media, party hosts are now able to share their feedback with their social media followers as well. Twitter has given House Party that chance to connect with party hosts, potential hosts and fans. And by using Radian6, the team at House Party is able to organize these conversations, engage with followers, gain additional insight and findings that have proved invaluable for their clients.

Check out our latest case study on how House Party is using Radian6 and social media.

Sarah Carver is Public Relations Manager at Radian6. She is always inspired by great customer stories. Find her on Twitter at @sarahcarver12.

The potential of Cyber Monday spans beyond traditional retailers, and Pizza Hut saw this opportunity. Using social media to share a special 20% off promotion, the digital team at Pizza Hut is taking advantage of the increase in online traffic to show customers that ordering online at PizzaHut.com has a lot of great benefits.

In this case study, find out how Relish Gourmet Burgers is using Social Media channels as cost effective, small business alternatives to traditional marketing and media.

Airlines are upping their social media game and becoming increasingly present in online communities. Whether you are hoping to increase the number of passengers on board, provide an additional means of convenient customer service or be prepared to manage a crisis, you can leverage social media to make this plan a reality.

In this ebook, for the airline industry, we go through the steps to discover and implement social media for your airline.

Visit our Social Media for Airlines section to learn more about how Radian6 is helping the industry.

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Frontier Airlines is using social media to reach customers and make it right, a simple idea that makes a huge difference. 

Frontier Airlines is currently in its 18^th year of operation, they have more then 5,500 employees and they operate more then 500 daily flights from Denver International Airport, Milwaukee’s General Mitchell International Airport and Kansas City International Airport. Frontier flies to more than 80 destinations in the US, Mexico and Costa Rica. With that number of daily flights, it means that Frontier has thousands of customers depending on them each day. Read about how social is changing the way they do business, in our case study.

Frontier Airlines is currently in its 18^th year of operation, they have more then 5,500 employees and they operate more than 500 daily flights from Denver International Airport, Milwaukee’s General Mitchell International Airport and Kansas City International Airport. Frontier flies to more than 80 destinations in the US, Mexico and Costa Rica. With that number of daily flights, it means that Frontier has thousands of customers depending on them each day. And this is something that the team at Frontier takes very seriously.

Anyone who has ever traveled understands a few things. It takes a lot of people working together to get you from point A to point B, and there are a number of things that can prevent you from getting to your destination that are beyond anyone’s control, including the weather. Weather has been causing flight delays and cancellations for as long as planes have been in the air, and when weather strikes the airlines have always been left scrambling, trying to alert passengers and help them make other arrangements. It usually meant customers had to stand in a long line at the airline counter or wait on hold to speak with a customer service representative. But for the team at Frontier Airlines those options no longer seemed like enough. They realized that their customers were using their smart phones to access Facebook and Twitter on the go, and Marco Toscano, Sr. Manager Social Media for Frontier, saw a very big opportunity.

Learn more about how Frontier is taking customer service to the social web in our case study here, and please join us on October 20^th, at 2pm EST when we talk with Marco Toscano about how social media is helping Frontier gives their customers the best travel experience possible.

Register for the webinar now

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the United Nations’ global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. The UNDP is on the ground in over 170 countries and territories, working on solutions to global and national development challenges. This means the UNDP has a huge network of supporters and influencers but that can make it challenging to stay connected with all of these people. Trying to share information and encourage support, with such a diverse and wide spread network is a challenge that many organizations face. The UNDP decided to take their conversations online and use the social web to encourage engagement.

Social media has given the team a chance to share information, engage with supporters and help spread awareness. International Women’s Day is a very important day for the UNDP, and it was the perfect opportunity for them to explore and better understand their online community. The results were very impressive, and gave them a great deal of really interesting data to review. From this data the UNDP was able to identify over 17,000 activists on Twitter and answer questions from around the globe. Proving that the social web really is a powerful tool for social change.

Read more about the UNDP story in this case study. And join us on Thursday, September 22nd at 2pm ET when we will be speaking with Sebastian Majewski from the UNDP as he explains how they have used the power of the social web to effect change and expand their network. Register here.

ING Direct is a different kind of bank. It doesn’t have bricks and mortar branches, so it is no surprise that they were quick to embrace social media as a way to listen and engage with their customers. ING Direct used the social web to gain important customer feedback on a new offering, and to learn more about what their customers need from their bank. Check out this case study to discover the details.

How Can Airlines Leverage Social Media

The airline industry is all about forming communities. Many of your travellers are regulars, people who log countless hours in the skies for business or pleasure. The social web is a great place to interact with these frequent flyers, gather their feedback on where you’re succeeding, and where you could stand to make some improvements. Your customers will appreciate your willingness to connect, and putting a customer service agent on the front line ensures you’ll be reacting to situations before they turn into bigger issues.

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Up, up and away.

We’re Here to Help

People are continuously using the social web to discuss your airline. They could be tweeting from an airport with questions on flight delays, or maybe using Facebook to celebrate their great experiences with your in-flight crew. Use the social web to reach out to ensure that they’re having the best experience possible each and every time they take to the skies. In much the same way that you turn to Sabre for their expertise in the field of airline solutions, Radian6 is here to help you manoeuvre through the social web.

Monitor Competitor Activity

Listening on the social web won’t only be beneficial when it comes to conversations pertaining to your brand – it’s also helpful for figuring out what people are saying about your competitors. Want to see what’s causing people to sing the praises of a rival airline? Maybe you’re hoping to gain insight into why their last marketing campaign was such a success? Social media monitoring can help you uncover these stories, and more.

Handle a Crisis Situation

Interacting on the social web can be invaluable for connecting with your passengers during those hectic times, especially when the weather is causing delays and cancellations. Check out our case studies section to learn how Air Canada overcame potential weather-related flight cancellations by reaching out to their passengers via Twitter.

Interact with your Passengers

Social media monitoring should not be used only in crisis situations. Tuning into routine passenger conversations is a great way to provide outreach, not to mention stellar customer service. Maybe you’ll discover they’re discussing your in-flight entertainment and suggesting ways to make it better. Perhaps they want to congratulate your team for another job well done. No matter what they’re saying, these are discussions you don’t want to miss out on.

Enhance Customer Loyalty

With your passengers hanging out on the social web, there’s no better place to perform a little customer outreach. Facilitate giveaways, and reward your customers for using check-in services while waiting for their flights. It’s just another way to create a stronger community surrounding your biggest fans.

Get Started

One of the things we are most proud about at Radian6 is our customers. They are always innovating, improving and finding new ways to use our platform. We decided that we wanted to share their success stories with our community, and who better to tell their own story then our customers?

These success stories enable others to learn from innovation and gain insight into what is possible.

We are pleased to present the first in a series of case studies and webinars that feature our customers and their stories. GNC, the world’s largest vitamin and supplement retailer, devoted exclusively to helping its customers live healthy and meet their fitness goals, has generously agreed to share their social media adventures with us. Their Social Media Director, Chris James is somewhat of a veteran in the social media space and was thrilled to join the team at GNC and help expand their social strategy. Chris understands the value of building strong communities online, he saw very early on that health and wellness is a hot topic on the social web and that consumers are looking for information, suggestions and support. And without a strong GNC presence on the social web, they were missing the chance to engage with these consumers and help them achieve their goals.

Armed with a winning social strategy and a fantastic leader, GNC has been able to build a strong community of customers, thought leaders and fitness professionals. The results have been truly inspirational. I invite you to learn more about what GNC has been doing and how they have been successful, in our most recent GNC Case Study.

And please join me on August 23rd at 2pm EDT when I chat with Chris in our live webinar about GNC’s social media successes, some unexpected benefits to listening and what’s next for GNC. Register here!

When it comes to social media success, everyone is looking for the magic elixir. The bad news is there is no magic elixir. However, there are some pretty good examples of what has and hasn’t worked across the social web. That’s right, we’re talking about case studies.

Dictionary.com defines a case study as:

the act or an instance of analyzing one or more particular cases or case histories with a view to making generalizations.

Who doesn’t love a good case study? As tempting as it would be to give you a nice, long, laundry list of case studies and take the easy way out, that certainly wouldn’t be doing you any justice in the long run. Don’t get me wrong though, we’ll give you a few tasty morsels to help you get your creative juices flowing.

Generalizations

Did you notice the mention of the word “generalizations” in that case study definition? Generalizations can be an issue. If you’re looking to create a campaign that will take things to the next level or you’re planning your social media strategy based on someone else’s case study, keep those generalizations in mind.  In other words, case studies, as helpful as they can be, should not be followed literally. Why? Because more often than not, much of the information that went into building that case study is not shared. It’s also important to remember that every company has different corporate cultures and business practices which will, without a doubt, affect the outcome of a case study. Noted? Perfect. Let’s move forward.

Give Me The Goodies

We promised to give you some examples that would spark your creative sides. Imagine growing your community 944% – in a day! Clairol, the hair product company did exactly that. They grew their Facebook following by 944% in just one day. The company created a campaign to support the launch of their Nice ‘n Easy Color Blend Foam and gave away 100,000 new bottles over four days. In their case they used a combination of a well-conceived giveaway and blogger outreach. The result was 255,000 new fans. Clairol was smart, in order to keep fans engaged they created a series of how-to videos, featuring product reviews and ratings by users, and they linked to tips from their own hair color experts.

Intuit’s user-community for its TurboTax product is a passionate one; so much so, that the folks at Intuit decided to create a top-notch user feedback community called the Inner Circle. After six years, the Inner Circle has more than 25,000 members and has become an integral part of the TurboTax product updating and improvement plan.

CBS had their eye on the cherished Thursday night block and wanted to breathe new life into their network. They introduced The Big Bang Theory and needed to get 20-somethings to watch it. In 2008, The Big Bang Theory made their presence known at the pop-culture conference Comic-Con. People began to notice and sought out the cast and crew across social networks. The show’s producer Bill Prady and some of the actors from the show had a presence on Twitter. Prady’s feed gave fans an insider’s view. Prady & Co. pinpointed their target audience and built on fans’ passions. In turn, the show soared from a Neilsen rating of 59 in 2008 to a rating of 12 in 2010 due to their social media efforts.

Now imagine what you can do!

Be The Expert

Instead of following your favorite case study examples to the T, consider documenting your own experiences – both good and bad. This is important for several reasons. For one, it is the perfect way to create more resources for your own internal training. You will want to look back on the progress you’ve made, what has worked best for your organization and what did not. Also, if you share what you learn, you will create a wealth of invaluable information that will help you expand your community and create lasting connections. Continue to do this over time and your organization will be well on its way to being looked upon as the thought leader in your industry.

Have you given any thought to creating your own social media case studies? What, if anything, has been holding you back and what information can we provide to help you on your way to becoming a social media success story?

While social media as a corporate communications channel is gaining ground, it’s still seen as a rather new and novel medium. As a result of this, and because there is a level of uncertainty with regards to its benefits, there seems to be a large demand for case studies and practical examples of corporate social media use.

With this in mind we will be sharing a number of case studies on our Blog over the next couple of months. First up, we highlight how we worked with Kellogg’s UK who were looking to roll out a social media strategy across their business.

To begin Kellogg’s sought to understand, in detail, what was being said about their brand and four of their main product groups; Coco Pops, Special K, Crunchy Nut, and Rice Krispies Squares. Working with 6Consulting, Kellogg’s launched a listening and monitoring initiative. The insight gained through this was then used as a basis for future cross departmental social media involvement. (more…)

H&R Block’s goal for social media is to mobilize its massive team of tax preparation experts to start proactively engaging in multiple communication channels across the web. How exactly does an organization this big accomplish such a large task, though? Executive buy-in and a social media hub to thread initiatives are a start.

eROI has been building successful online communities for six years, and the community they built for Wacom Technologies is no exception. With a multi-phase approach, eROI was able to build a thriving brand community that meets the needs of community members, fosters community engagement, and provides valuable customer feedback to the company.

The Red Cross’ involvement in social media seems to be a natural progression for a non-profit centered around outreach and community, and the unprecedented response from people on the organization’s multiple social media channels after the quake in Haiti is proof the Red Cross is doing something very right on the social web.

Learn how Jessica Watson’s family and brand managers have been using social media monitoring tools and channels to monitor and share her journey to become the world’s youngest person to sail around the world by herself, unassisted.

As a leader in Internet infrastructure services, VeriSign has been helping their customers engage in trusted communication with their markets for over a decade. So when they and their agency partner, Voce Communications, decided that they needed to be paying attention to their own online reputation, they turned to Radian6 for help.