Letting Go and Consequences
One of the aspects of Social Media Marketing (blog marketing, viral, etc) is the issue of the company needing to “let go” on controlling the brand, or rather “share” the brand with its targeted audience base.
In essence, in the realm of Social Media, everyone either becomes a spokesperson or a critic. Amanda Chapel recently declared such a concept foolish (particularly at the internal organization level):
“Among the fundamental flaws in this messianic Me2Revolution hoopla head-up-your-ass Kool-Aid-induced blog fad, probably the worst is that everyone in your organization is now a spokesperson.”
Is she right? I say half-right. You cannot just “let go” without proper preparation, training your internal staff and taking steps to minimize negative responses to a social media campaign .
The OMG WTF Crowd
Engaging Social Media (and allowing everyone to be your spokesperson and critic) has its own issues. Below is the actual headline and description of the recent Microsoft/Edelman Vista campaign with the Acer laptops:
Brian Solis’s posting, “Microsoft PR Sparks a Blogstorm of Support and Outrage“, has a good round-up on discussing the issues and shortcomings surrounding the Vista-Acer campaign. Indeed, there are issues, but these issues does not warrant the Digg.com headline “Microsoft bribing with free high-spec laptops” nor the byline “What The Fuck”. But this is social media, where sensationalist bloggers and writers, what I dub the “OMG WTF” crowd, have a higher say than most online PR folks on a good day.
How do we respond to the “OMG WTF” (Oh My God, What the Fuck) Crowd:
- Assess and Minimize – Strong Execution:
Even the best laid campaign will have its vocal critics. Assess and minimize areas in your campaign that may create tension and critical/negative responses. Do not let sloppiness in execution (as was the case with Vista-Acer Campaign) allow critics further excuses to shoot down your Social Media campaign. Sloppiness allows for misinterpretation (“bribe laptop” versus “review laptop”), rumor and wild speculation. - Prepare and Respond – Does Your Client Know:
You know its coming, so do you know how to respond to your critics when they arrive calling you a “splog”, “briber” etc? What channel will you use? Is your client aware and accept that even the best Social Media campaign carries risks and some amount of negative attention?
Every online PR and Marketing person cannot afford not to interact with the Social Media Space, but it will prove a tougher and more cynical crowd than ever faced before. When the audience speaks back at you, the campaign and your client precaution must be taken to understand the audience as smartly as possible and be able to prepare for any potential minor (or major) crisis management, especially from the sensationalistic “OMG WTF” crowd.
To see another example the “OMG WTF” crowd in action see Chandler Kent’s chronicling of his comment on Digg.com unleashing a torrent of hate mail and even angry phone calls.
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