The most common social media dilemma I hear: ”I can’t control what’s said about my company so I don’t want to give people a place to talk bad about us.” Guess what? If someone wants to say something negative about your company, they will, whether you give them the platform to or not.
When that negative comment is posted, wouldn’t you want it to be on your own site? A site you control? A site where people who love your brand already are? Don’t you think those people will come to your rescue?
Two years ago, I was in a pitch where we demonstrated what I like to call, “The brand advocate rescue.” We went on Facebook, visited the Target fan page and immediately posted:
“Target’s return policy sucks.”
Now I’ve got nothing against Target, let alone their return policy, but people who love Target, their fans, their brand advocates were now against me and my team. Target’s fans responded almost
instantly, within minutes, during the meeting for our audience to see. They posted that Target had improved the return policy, that Target was wonderful to their customers, even the ones returning products, Target is the best company ever … you get the idea. About 90 minutes later, a gentleman saying he was a customer support V.P. was on Facebook thanking us for our concern and letting us know that they not only appreciated the comments, but had heard other comments and were continuing to make improvements on the return policy.
Bravo! Target’s brand is immediately elevated in my mind because of this story.
Let’s look at the other side. Those that don’t listen. Ask Comcast about the whole “Comcast Must Die”, or ask Dominoes Pizza about employees and a camera, or United Airlines about not listening. The United Airlines video below has almost 7,000,000 views!
So what does it all mean? It means that companies who can’t get the phrase “social media” past their legal team without a scowl need to at least be listening. And you tell your legal team that there is nothing wrong with that either. A recent study showed that 60% of companies don’t monitor what is said about them online. At the very least, get a Google Alert set up or call Radian 6 and get a demo. I wouldn’t tell you to go home and not watch t.v., or to tear the radio out of your car or to wince at the very notion of a billboard. Please.
Social media is no different. If you aren’t listening, you don’t know what your customers actually want. As we enter 2010, if you aren’t willing to join the conversation, you should at least try to eavesdrop.
Happy New Year!
Author: Josh Fleming
www.lessingflynn.com
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Just my $0.02….
Thank you! (The next time I’m in DSM, I’m buying you a coffee.) I can’t say this enough in my office; my company needs to be at least listening to the conversation about us. (Thankfully, my mentor agrees.) This goes back to the whole Chevy Volt debacle earlier this month. What’s the point of being in social media if you’re not actively listening to your (potential) customers? Part of it, too, is cultivating a brand that does have a loyal following. What works for Target won’t work for, say, Exxon Mobil or Shell. (Full disclosure: My husband works indirectly for Shell as a contractor.)
How many YouTube videos or Web sites against your brand does it take to make a significant change in your customer service strategy? Is there a disconnect between the less technologically-savvy Boomers in leadership and the Gen-X/millennials in the middle and lower ranks? Is it a corporate culture? Can we convince the general counsel that at least listening to what’s said about the company on the Internet (and responding as needed) is as important as checking to see that your financial figures are accurate?
Great truth. The skill of listening goes beyond social marketing but certainly includes it. Many relationships are are in disarray because of the lack of listening or as pointed out, the lack of response. Too many examples to mention here.
Many people say they are listening but are in reality thinking about what they are going to say next to serve their own needs. Ever notice when you call a company for support that the person seems to have a “prepared” answer that is not helpful to the question. It is because they were never listening, thus they don’t know the question, let alone the answer!
A very important truth for our culture to hear (or should I say, “listen to”).
The big debate is…once you start listening, what do you do with that information? Do you start incorporating it in to your marketing plans or do you ignore it? Sadly, most companies don’t use the information that is plainly visible to them on social media networks until executives become enlightened. I predict that awareness and acceptance is still years away, especially for large companies with twitchy legal departments.
Control? We never had control over what others say about us or our organization, but we can control how we monitor and engage. Great advice for those getting started in social media. Thank you for the shout out!
Lauren Vargas
Community Manager at Radian6
@VargasL