Interesting article in the Chicago Tribune about how big brands are using social media.

One of the examples they use is ConAgra Foods. Stephanie Moritz, director or public relations, said ConAgra has a ton of brands and the company is putting a lot of thought into how to best engage consumers. The company’s site is filled with recipes, games (The Slim Jim half-pipe challenge!) and healthy living tips.

“The site is constantly evolving,” Moritz said. “We are testing constantly.” ConAgra’s approach is to control the message by engaging the visitor with compelling content. Visitors are asked to comment, share tips and get involved. “The brand gets its message out,” she said and ConAgra gets to measure “the conversation footprints.”

It is nice to see a company like ConAgra willing to test and experiment with social media. I wonder how they are measuring  the conservation footprints as this measurement of successful social media efforts is something that a lot of people are struggling with.

The other example was from McDonald’s who are using sites like ClubMom to “engage moms in a dialogue” about its brand, said Heather Oldani, director of U.S. communications. On the chance that someone will post negative comments about your brand: “You have to be willing to take that risk,” Oldani said. “You’re going to get negative comments, but the good tends to outweigh the negative.”

McDonalds also recently launched a site for its “crew members,” called Station M,  where restaurant workers can communicate, share photos and win prizes—hopefully not leftover Happy Meal toys. “The goal is not to make this a corporate site,” she said. “We want the employees to take ownership.” To help, one “crew” member won a contest and has been taken off fryer duty for a year to become the site’s official blogger.

I love the quote about understanding that McDonalds will get negative comments and that is ok. Most companies have a lot of trouble hearing any negative feedback and it is good to see that McDonalds has taken a grown up position on this topic.

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