Splash, Then Ripples

On messages and how they are communicated. Digressions into emerging media, especially social media, cultural dynamics, and more.

Do You Need to Address Every Negative Comment Online?

Filed under Engagement, Etiquette, Response to the News, Social Media by Cecilia Pineda Feret

I just read an article in AdAge written by Freddie Laker, Director of Digital Strategy at Sapient. He describes a situation that taunts the most impulsive among us. Those who cannot bear to let an uninformed writer and simply wrong piece of information float around out there in the nethersphere of cyberspace need to: STOP. REFLECT. PONDER.

As Freddie, (I can call you Freddie, can’t I? We’re both in this together here.) points out, sometimes drawing attention to a naysayer plays right into their original intention: drawing even more attention to their comments. His conclusion, in this case, ignore the tweet where a clueless reporter unaware of the role Sapient has played in the development of interactive marketing calls them “complete clowns.”

I can’t think of, immediately anyway, an industry where this kind of situation arises more frequently than in hospitality.

You sleep, you know how a hotel should be run. You eat, so you have every right to dictate how a restaurant should be run, how a dish should be cooked, served. Most people agree on that premise, or else we wouldn’t be witnesses to the success that is and has been Zagat’s and CitySearch and Yelp.

That said, yes, as a guest you have a right to your opinion and are free to post it wherever you can find nowadays, whether it’s Yelp or an up-and-coming I need to add to the list, BooRah.

The problem develops when someone who is talking out of their hat has a clever or funny or distinctly credible way of phrasing things. Then that business’ reputation is at risk from a negative review that may have gone viral, if only in the sense that it influenced subsequent reviewers pushing them to be undeservedly panned to such a degree.

It’s happened to me, in fact, and I am an owner of a restaurant and a consultant to other ones, so I should know better. Sigh.

So, oh wizened readers and writers of AdAge and of Splash, Then Ripples, when then? When do we step in? What are our options to stem the flood of negative comments to our profiles and reputations when in an industry where people naturally turn to community reviews by their fellow guests?

Link Summary

  • Share/Bookmark
, , , , ,
August 30, 2009 at 5:27 pm Comments (0)

12 Questions You Ask Yourself or Your Client Before Starting with Social Media

Filed under Results and Measurement, Social Media by Cecilia Pineda Feret

It’s highly amusing, and also incredibly frustrating, to hear accomplished business professionals claim that they simply DO NOT HAVE TIME for social media. Do they REALLY need it, they ask? They haven’t needed it before!

They are MUCH too busy to devote time to a communications vehicle that is, as far as they are concerned, an unproven method within the business arena, particularly where their industry is concerned . . .whether it is architecture, jewelry making, or even the latest unbeliever, a SOFTWARE COMPANY! I know! Crazy, right? They think, “Ok, if I try this, my sales are supposed to EXPLODE! Or at least that’s what you are telling me, RIGHT???. . .” Ummmm, nooooo . . .

Given the amount of information available on all of these networks, feeders, blog apps, widgets, etc. I think they are just overwhelmed and don’t know where or how to start. Even when they understand the WHY. They are willing to pay a consultant, but there are so many of us out here scrambling to open the eyes of Marketing Managers to entrepreneurs to CIOs to CMOs to CEOs, if given the opportunity.

Sometimes they feel they can try it on their own first and then they fail to make the most effective use of their time, (like the consultant who told me Twitter was useless and overwhelming for her, but had never heard of Tweetdeck . . . insert eyeroll here, hers!!) or they take a chance with someone who claimed to know what to do with Social Media and Networking just because they have been working in marketing for years.

These old media marketers then either denigrate, or otherwise minimize the potential success of an ongoing communications campaign that includes Social Media, or they promise the moon with it. Either way, expectations must be managed realistically, markets must be analyzed as well as the tools to use, and a strategy must be developed.

Then the tactics must be executed to further those objectives. That said many people just jump in and then go from there once they wade around a bit and assess the temperature of the water.

Here’s a quick checklist for businesses to consider:
1. Are their clients human at any level?
2. Are they individual consumers? Or do they only purchase products and services at work?
3. Are their clients online?
4. Do they want their clients to interact?
5. Are they willing to listen and not just post?
6. Are they willing to act as an information resource that covers an industry or even just a niche?
7. Are they willing to wait for results? How long?
8. What results do they expect?
9. Are they going to compare their results to those of others even if they are apples and oranges?
10. Are there specialty networks to address that they may not be aware of?
11. Do they realize that time is money, and if they don’t have money, they need to make the time?
12. And that if they don’t have the time now, do they think they will have MORE time later on when they will have to play catch up once all their competitors have established their brands within social media.

The list is endless . . .what questions would you ask?

This post was inspired by Chris Brogan’s post on the Social Media Life Raft.

I’ll save you the click, HERE’S HIS ORIGINAL POST . . .

Social Media Is Not a Life Raft

January 23, 2009 · 40 comments

US Airways Evacuation. When thinking about what social media is going to do for your business, please be wary of setting it up to be the salvation, the be-all, the life raft. It’s a set of tools, a strategy, and a handful of tactics. It’s not always appropriate. It’s not always the best thing in the world. But it’s not a guaranteed everything.

What we’re doing is changing how some of business communications are being done. And how? We’re looking for ways to rehumanize the web.

Sometimes, that’s not the goal. Sometimes, companies don’t need that service. As social media practitioners, make sure you’re thinking like this all the time. Ask yourself EVERY time whether this is the right fit. Though this isn’t surgery, we need to ask whether every diagnosis ends in an operation. Answer: no.

What’s the checklist for thinking about this? I’ve got my thoughts, but I want to hear yours. How about we think about that some more together? What do you think are the tell-tales for when a company might try social media and when not?

Link Summary

  • Share/Bookmark
, , , , , ,
January 24, 2009 at 4:13 pm Comments (0)