Social Media Usage Testimony: JOHN HEALD, SENIOR CRUISE DIRECTOR, CARNIVAL

Heald is Carnival's senior customer-facing executive. He writes a daily blog about his experiences on cruise ships worldwide.

Personally uses: Facebook, twitter, Facebook Groups, blog


Why do you use social media?
"It's become an essential part of the marketer's tool box. Millions of people are now using social networking as their favourite communications channel, so it's not something that any public-facing company can really afford to ignore."


How have you used the social networking revolution to build your brand & attract customers?
"I first started blogging two years ago as an experiment, but after getting 30,000 hits in the first fortnight it was clear we were onto something worth pursuing. Since then I've been posting on a daily basis and we've had over four million visits to date.

"The key to successful blogging is to avoid being too corporate. It's got to be honest, open and personal or it won't work, so I personally answer 200 questions a week about our cruises via the blog and Facebook.

"We've found that on the occasions when things go wrong and customers are unhappy, engaging them through social media can be a very effective route to settling any issues and keeping the relationship positive."


What social media services don't work for you?
"I'm using twitter as a slimmed-down version of the blog, but am still undecided about its usefulness. A lot of celebrities seem to be exploiting the service to good effect. I'm not sure that everybody could."


Are you surprised that FTSE100 executives are unenthusiastic online networkers?
"I was surprised that a higher proportion of FTSE100 executives haven't embraced the social media. It's not that difficult to do, and it certainly delivers results.

"The internet has changed the way that people want to communicate with companies, and even the FTSE100 has to come to terms with that. Customers have become accustomed to a certain level of transparency and informality in their dealings with business and even large-scale enterprises need to adjust their marketing strategies accordingly."

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