From Telegraph to Tweet: Western Union's Social Media Journey

From Telegrams to Twitter:
Introducing Social Media in a Historic Company

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Western Union Confidential
©2010 Western Union Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Western Union: From cutting edge communications…

1851
Western Union was founded in 1851 as
the New York and Mississippi Valley
Printing Telegraph Company

1856
The company changed its name to
Western Union in 1856 to mark the
consolidation of several telegraph lines in
what was then the Western-most
reaches of the American telegraph
system


©2010 Western Union Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 2


1866
In 1866, Western Union introduced the
first stock ticker

1933
In 1933, Western Union delivered the
first singing telegram

1935
Western Union introduced the first inter-
city facsimile service




1974
The first commercial satellite in the U.S.
was introduced by Western Union in
1974




Corporate
Missteps

This 'telephone' has too many
shortcomings to be seriously
considered as a means of
communication. The device is
inherently of no value to us.



… to global financial services

1871
Western Union introduced money transfer
in 1871

1980
In 1980, revenue from the money transfer
service exceeded telegram service
revenue for the first time in Western Union
history



… to global financial services

2009
In 2009, The Western Union Company
handled 196 million consumer-to-
consumer money transfers and nearly
415 million consumer-to-business
transactions

Today
The company’s Agent network includes
approximately 430,000 locations in 200
countries and territories



Our review processes are thorough


In 2006, Western Union became an
independent company again


Broad Internet access can be perceived as risky
in highly regulated companies…

Viruses

Malware Spam

Hackers
Backdoors

While social media is often perceived as
just a waste of time

Networking

Virtual Communities

Instant Messaging


The importance of communication

Investor Relations
Western Union passionately commits to doing business
the right way and we are always looking for new ways
to grow beyond our core business.

Consumers value the services we offer. What we do,
helping people stay connected, brings vitality to
relationships. And thinking responsibly for the company
and the community is the anchor of how we do
business.
Financials
Stock Information
Corporate Governance
Fundamentals
Events & Presentations
Career Center
Email us


Corporate questions and employee guidelines

 Who owns social media?  Be transparent

 Which functions in the company  Be accurate
would benefit most from social  Be judicious
media?
 Write what you know
 Does the benefit of immediate
access to customers outweigh the  Add value
risk of potential missteps or  Your Responsibility: What you
inadvertent disclosures? write is ultimately your
responsibility
 How do we implement a system of
“real-time” checks and balances?  Were you wrong? If you make a
mistake, correct it
 How do we retain a “corporate
voice” if we open up the medium to  If it gives you pause, then don’t
multiple groups or employees? post it


Internal social media at Western Union


Social media and customer engagement


The scale of socialization

Talk to (or at) your stakeholders
Listen to your stakeholders
Respond to your stakeholders
Learn from your stakeholders
Engage with your stakeholders



Social media marketing at Western Union

Blogger
Outreach
Leveraging established audiences

Traffic Driver, aggregator
Social Home on the Web (in place of corporate blog)

YouTube & flickr
Visually compelling showcase


Photos from the “Random Acts of Giving Tour”
were shared through Facebook and Flickr

The “Random Acts of Giving” Tour Bus


Western Union on You Tube

Brand Campaign TVC

How it Works

Foundation Video


Sometimes what you hear is very positive
Sometimes… not so much



While Western Union was concerned with pricing,
consumers were concerned with…

“A 2009 social
media review
found that more
than 35% of
Western Union
mentions were
related to fraud”


Western Union and Facebook teamed to warn
consumers


For Western Union, LinkedIn has become a
customer service tool


Learning from our customers

We have found that a spike in this
type of communication often
coincides with changes in our
systems or procedures



Customer engagement



Foundation Facebook campaign:
key learnings
 Everyone wants to give back
and they want to share their
good deeds with their friends
 The majority of online
discussions around the effort
took place in blogs
 Cross-promotion via the charities involved contributed
greatly to our success
 The campaign saw drop-off during the holidays: any similar
efforts will take place earlier in the year
 Flow for voting and the instructions throughout the
application could be simpler


Western Union is introducing social media
elements designed for its Agents


The next phase of social media

Consumers are demanding that
companies connect with them
where they are. And where they
are is on Facebook, on Twitter
and Foursquare and countless
other sites.



From Telegraph to Tweet: Western Union's Social Media Journey

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From Telegraph to Tweet: Western Union's Social Media Journey