Social media has become a mainstream communications channel
Like it or not, social media has become a mainstream communications channel. What makes it so appealing for consumers is that it’s usually the shortest distance between them and a brand.
We are all aware of the impact that social media has had on PR and Marketing, but is it always good to be so social? It is obviously true that a great social media campaign can go a long way to putting your business on the map and increasing its online presence, but it can also be very damaging to a company’s image if used in the wrong way.
British Gas AskBG Twitter Attack – Backlash on Twitter – Then let’s try Facebook
It is more important than ever for managers to not only run a successful social media campaign for their company but to also keep tabs on what their employees and customers get up to on the sites too.
What can we learn from other companies social media disasters?
- Back to the drawing board – With JPM having been in the news for all the wrong reasons in the recent past, people seemed to be glad to use the #AskJPM opportunity they had been given to ask the bank some pertinent and tough questions
- Rising fuel prices lead to social media attacks – Raising fuel costs is an unpopular decision
- Don’t piggy back ride on natural disaster – Think twice before you try to turn a natural disaster into a promotional opportunity
- Better think twice before posting an answers on social media – A century-old ice cream company came under “fire” after a social media failure
- Twitter hashtag campaign backfires by unhappy customers – What happens when a hashtag campaign backfires?
- Think twice before changing products – As social media grows more and more users are learning how it can be used to group together over a single cause and use “pester power” to fight against companies
- Think twice before increasing prices – Don’t risk a social media attack
Develop a comprehensive social media policy and community management plan
Social media is a great tool for brands to connect on a personal level with their customers. Unfortunately, it’s also a great tool for malcontents to rally negative sentiment about your company. The line of defense in today’s customer-driven world is to develop a comprehensive social media policy and community management plan within your company before any potential PR disasters strike – and quickly respond to any flare-ups.
Short URL & title:
How to avoid social media disasters — http://www.torbenrick.eu/t/r/dvm
Share it:
If you enjoyed this article, please take 5 seconds to share it on your social network. Thanks!
Learning from nightmares is the easy way to avoid these disasters. Torben. Study, read a bit deeper, and simply learn from social media mistakes, so you can avoid the same fate. Smart post!
Interesting and thought provoking post Torben so thank you for sharing it!
A few weeks ago there was a backlash on my favorite hosting company Krystal here in the UK. I been with them a while now and have blogged about them being amazing and having epic customer service!
Their social media is second to none and as good as they are they do connect on a personal level with me and many others — The saying ‘People buy from people they know like and trust’ springs to mind when I am talking about them.
A few weeks ago however there was a backlash when their servers went down which never happens in my opinion and people remember the bad things that happen not the epic service hey! The problem is they rent space for their servers from a company called The Bunker which run a server farm outside of London 25 meters underground in an ex Military nuclear bunker.
So naturally Krystal blamed the downtime to the umbrella company The Bunker who in turn blamed their power suppliers. So my question is what can you do about things out of your control coming back to you like this case in social media!
I still rate them very highly though as they are very helpful and transparent when it comes to their business!
Thanks for sharing…
– PD