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About Tony Hsieh
How did you get to where you are and with the company your with?
My name is [ http://www.zappos.com/bios.zhtml Tony Hsieh] and I'm the CEO of Zappos.com. My bio is available here: http://www.zappos.com/bios.zhtml
What is your favorite part about what you do?
I really like the idea that we are helping redefine what customer service means and building a great company culture at the same time.
Where or from whom do you pull inspiration?
Our employees and our customers are always coming up with great ideas!
What is new and exciting that your working on (can talk about) and want to plug?
We are currently working on launching a new web site, which we are internally calling Zeta. You can take a sneak peek at it here: http://zeta.zappos.com
There is a NEW fad tool coming out every day, but reality is it's just building conversations with your customers. It's not a big new secret, remember 5 years ago email was scary. How do you see these tools transforming and helping you and your industry in the future?
I think that any tool the enables conversations with customers will really
help companies that are interested in talking with their customers. It's
really not anything new. We really embrace the telephone - our 1-800
number is at the top of every single page on our web site. It's not really
anything new, yet most web sites still make it hard to find their phone
number.
How can social media boost your marketing and pr?
We use Twitter a lot at Zappos, but we aren't doing it for marketing or PR
purposes. We are using Twitter as another way to connect on a more
personal level with our employees and our customers.
What mistakes should people avoid in social media? What are some issues to consider when someone embarks on a social media marketing initiative?
People should avoid trying to use tools like Twitter as a way of selling
more or as a way of conveying a fake image. Social media works best when
people are using the tools because they are passionate about them, not
because they are trying to sell something.
How does your company also use social media?
We have over 400 employees that are using Twitter: http://twitter.zappos.com/employees
And we've created a page that aggregates all of the employee tweets
together:
http://twitter.zappos.com/employee_tweets
Do you track your name and your companies name? What are some of your favorite reputation management tools and why? If you do not track social media, why? (this includes search twitter-formerly Summize, radian6, etc.)
Yes, we use a tool we built ourselves:
How has social media impacted you and your company?
It's been great for helping enhance our company culture as well as
connecting in a more personal way with both employees and customers.
What is your favorite networking event that you would recommend to others *(either in your field, the field of marketing, or learning sessions for social media. Including sxsw, Podcamp, social media breakfast, MIMA, AdFed, AMA, Blog World, PRSA etc.)
SXSW Interactive
How can people contact you or your company?
They can call our 1-800 number which is at the top of every page on our
web site. Also, they can follow me (@zappos) on twitter:
Tony Hsieh
moc.soppaz|ynot#moc.soppaz|ynot
Inside Zappos at http://blogs.zappos.com
Follow me at http://twitter.com/zappos
Resources
Articles
External Links
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