The Social Media Danger Zone!

I have always been, and continue to be, a staunch advocate for the use of social media as a critical element to an integrated marketing plan.

However, I recently witnessed one of the inherent dangers of social media:  The fact that much of what is shared on social media sites is based on opinion, not fact, and accuracy often takes a back seat to personal agendas.

Last week a locally based affiliate of a national nonprofit placed a radio buy on a music station targeting young women.  The charity's goal was simple:  to solicit donations to help people in need.  However, this music station has a sister radio station that carries the Rush Limbaugh program.  The ad buy occurred during the fallout from Limbaugh's regrettable verbal attack on a Georgetown University law student for her position on faith based organizations funding contraception through the Obama health care plan.

After many Limbaugh advertisers began pulling their spots in response to the host's comments, a sudden bank of ad inventory opened up.  The radio station unilaterally decided to fill some of those open slots with spots from other advertisers and nonprofit PSAs.  One of those PSAs was for the charity that had purchased the ad buy on the music station.  Needless to say, hearing a spot for a non-partisan charitable agency on the Rush Limbaugh program at that time was not well received by many listeners.  The anti-Rush legions took to their social networks and began criticizing the charity in spades.  The nonprofit agency was caught completely off guard.  When it learned its ad was running, the charity immediately demanded the radio station pull the spot off the air!  The station complied with the request and apologized for the error in judgment.  However, by this point the damage was done.

Why?  First, because the radio station didn't notify the charity that it intended to run the ad so the charity could decline the offer.  However, that is one of the inherent dangers with running PSAs.  A charity may never know where its ads are going to be placed because radio and TV stations insert PSAs based on available inventory.  And quite honestly had the spot been placed in the Rush Limbaugh program a week before his regrettable comments about the law student, the charity may have even been pleased because of the large number of people who would be hearing its message. 

Even more culpable than the radio station though, in my opinion, were the social media users who didn't bother to ask questions or check facts before telling the world that the charity was "supporting Rush Limbaugh", when in fact the organization had no knowledge that its spot had even run.  The station carrying Rush Limbaugh wasn't even part of the charity's media buy.  That type of rush to judgment in order to further a personal agenda is both irresponsible and dangerous.

The bashing got brutal, the crisis communication plans were pulled from the shelves and the PR team worked overtime. 

When all the dust cleared, the charity was able to salvage its reputation, but not without some collateral damage.  

This is a good organization that helps millions of people, but because some irresponsible social media users didn't fact check before slinging about accusations, not only did they almost do irreparable harm to the the charity's reputation, but also to all the people that the charity helps.

The unique scenario surrounding the recent "Kony 2012" viral video for Invisible Children, is another example of how social media can accomplish great things or do severe damage to an organization's reputation.  While even as a marketer I question the percentage of revenue Invisible Children spends on marketing, if that spending achieves the organization's objectives, is it a waste of money or money well spent?  Who are we to act as judge and jury before all the facts are revealed? 

Even though much social media content is trivial, people still take the "printed word" seriously.  If you use social media for professional or advocacy purposes, please use it responsibly.  Check your facts.  Just because you assume something to be true or really want it to be true, doesn't mean it is.  Learn to hold yourself accountable because words have power.  And if you're not careful, those words can take out innocent victims or sometimes even bite you in your own ass.


*The opinions shared on this blog are solely those of its author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of Goodwill of Greater Washington, its affiliates or supporters.

The Customer Experience Often Begins & Ends Online

Your prices are well researched and fair.  Your product presentation, functionality and distribution strategies are flawless.  You have very talented managers and associates who have been well trained in customer service, and your marketing team believes in the "customer is always right" philosophy.  So now you feel you've addressed all of your customer experience issues and will surely impress, convert and retain customers, right?

Hmmm...not so fast.  In today's digital world far more consumers have their first interaction with a product, service or business online.  They're visiting your website, Facebook page, mobile app, email newsletter or other digital platform before they ever step foot in your store or pick up the phone to call you.  And if they have a bad experience online, it's probably the last interaction they ever have with you. 

According to Neilson, 70% of online social network users shop online.  Digby.com says, "67% of consumers will use their smartphones to find store locations, 59% to compare prices, 51% to obtain product information, 46% to check product availability, 45% to shop online, 41% to find and use coupons, and 40% to scan bar codes".  And the figures are only growing.

Do you make it easy for customers to reach someone who can help them?  Remember, online shoppers aren't confined by brick and mortar hours of operation.  While this might seem elementary to most B2C retailers these days, many are still focused primarily on their websites, but haven't spent much time managing their social media and/or digital channels.  Additionally, more B2B consumers are using social media to research products and services as well. 

According to a recent study by Accenture, "only 8% of B2B companies would describe their social media usage as extensive. This is in contrast to the 65% of respondents who indicated that social media is extremely or very important."

Far too often, businesses still judge social media success purely by the direct and immediate impact it has on the bottom line, rather than looking at it as a customer service tool that helps ensure brand loyalty.  It is a point of direct engagement with a consumer or customer and provides a powerful and unique opportunity to show them that you appreciate and value their input and feedback.  Those who aren't viewing social media as a large part of the customer experience are still missing the boat.  But they won't be for long, because if present trends continue, they'll either be forced to adopt or forced to close shop.

So, how is your online customer experience?

PASSION! Do your customers have it?

Passion...

According to Webster's Dictionary, passion means, "an intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction".

We all experience passion from time to time.  Some of us more often and more intensely than others.  Sometimes passion is a good thing; other times...not so good.  It can cause us to act with emotion rather than logic or reason.  It can lead to unimaginable achievement, or unmitigated failure.  Whether good or bad, passion generates action.

We've all heard the phrase, "Love me or hate me, but spare me your indifference".  In business, the worst reaction you want to your brand is indifference.  It will be the death of you.  So building passion for your product should be the first step in establishing brand loyalty.

According to a recent study by SAY Media, TRU and ComScore, brands, especially those using using social media, need to find "passionate voices" more than ever.

- Consumers who identify themselves as 'very interested' [or passionate] about a category follow at least 10 "voices" [brand advocates and brand devotees] in that category.

- 83% of these followers tell friends or family about products/brands they like

But how do you build that passion within your customers?  That's a difficult question to answer because passion is driven by any number of personal and very subjective factors.  Passion can come from consumer emphasis on cost, convenience, comfort, ease, taste, quality...the list goes on and on.  However, the simple and all encompassing answer is "value", or more specifically, "significant value". 

In order to provide significant value, businesses need to place greater emphasis on the consumer end of the demand chain. Identify how your customers define significant value.  Don't just find out why they buy your product/service; find out why they LOVE your product/service (or what would result in them loving your product or service) and then give it to them in spades. 

Social media is a great tool for identifying where the passion lies with your customers and who those "passionate voices" are. Your advocates are out there.  How often do you converse with them?  Find those voices, follow them, cultivate them and support their efforts to advocate on your behalf.  Geo-social platforms like Foursquare or Places are great channels for rewarding your "passionate voices", but simple customer engagement is a passion builder as well.  Let them know their voices are being heard.  Loyalty isn't always established through rewards.  It's just as often built through appreciation and trust.  A combination can create a passionate voice that will never go silent.

What are you doing to generate passion?

Why don't banks embrace social media? What are they afraid of?

The other day I went on Facebook to try and find the fan page for a very well known bank, which I won’t identify.

I found it odd that the bank wasn't on Facebook. There were a few community pages dedicated to the bank, though they offered very little information.

I then decided to scour the internet for a blog written on behalf of the bank. I had no luck, other than finding a blog written by an angry customer.  What an opportunity missed here!

I began to scratch my head, as I have become so accustomed to big B2C companies using social media platforms, that I just assumed my bank would be using one as well. My assumption felt as safe as a sunrise.

Just for fun, I decided to search for Facebook pages for several other large financial institutions. Out of the four additional banks I looked up, only ONE had a Facebook page, and it was the smallest bank of the four.  My subsequent search on Twitter was only a little more fruitful, as I located two of the banks I was researching.

According to a recent article in Bank Technology News, "New research from Ovum finds that only six percent of the 150 global banks surveyed use social media to answer customer inquiries, with only one percent planning to do so within the next year."  The article goes on to say, "Twitter and Facebook are only marginally more popular as venues for marketing, with about 14 respondents using the channels for this purpose, and 12 percent planning to make a move in the next 12 months."

I can appreciate why a bank would approach the use of social media very cautiously. It provides a global platform for criticism. And let's be honest, financial institutions aren't on many Christmas card lists these days.  To be fair, as one of the comments below so eloquently points out, there are also several regulatory issues that banks must address if they use social media. Though obviously some banks have overcome those barriers, so I'm willing to bet that concern over negative feedback is at least part of the equation.

The primary strengths of social media from a business’ perspective are consumer engagement and community building. Yes, corporate blogs and Facebook pages may invite negative commentary, but they also give a company the opportunity to address consumer concerns, offer factual data that may change negative perceptions, and improve the quality of customer care. In the banking world, social media can provide a measure of transparency where many consumers believe none exists.

Unfortunately, a myopic view of social media is not limited to the financial services industry.  Many large and small businesses haven't yet figured out the strength of social media and the competitive advantage it can provide in a rapidly expanding global economy.  Some businesses simply don't have the resources to dedicate to social media (which is a discussion for another day), but others have simply made the strategic decision not to adopt it as a communication and customer service platform. 

It's time for businesses to recognize that they can't live in protective bubbles anymore.  The world is watching and talking about them whether they like it or not.  Therefore, they might as well be a part of the conversation.