Social Media - Highway to Two-Way Communication
Posted on Mar 26, 2010 by Valerie Touchstone
Okay…at this point, we should all know the value of authentic, two-way communication. But, just in case there is someone out there who doesn’t understand how this works, here is the basic concept: two-way communication involves listening in equal proportion to yakking. That is it in a nutshell – theses and books have been written about the subject and entire businesses have been built around helping people understand this idea. It is just not that hard. Or it shouldn’t be.
The core issue is the “listening” part – whether it is your significant other, child or customer – somehow really listening to what others have to say challenges the best of us. In the end, however, honesty and transparency is where real progress and real communication – and in the world of marketing and PR, real loyalty – are created.
Enter social media. For CEO’s and others used to being able to push out the message they want and thinking people will accept it, this new world is a scary place. However, for those who advocate honesty, like to hear real opinions and understand the value of developing a relationship with customers and foes, the new avenues provided by blogs, Facebook, Twitter and more are more akin to nirvana.
It is interesting to me how some major companies are still struggling to come to terms with the new level of openness. I read an article this week in the Ragan Report by Andy Beaupre, the co-founder & CEO of Beaupre that outlines in excellent fashion the tools, the rules – and what happens when you are not on board:
Caroline McCarthy of CNET News shared a post about the Nestle brand crisis, triggered by ticked off consumers on Facebook. Nestle was clueless about the power shift enabled by social media and acted in an old-school authoritarian “we own the brand” way. It not only didn’t work, it backfired.
There are vital lessons from the Nestle debacle for professional communicators advising their execs or clients:
1. Before diving into social media, make sure key decision makers truly “get” how the game is played. It’s not a press release.
2. Make sure they understand how tools like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn aren’t one-way vehicles (where the brand dominates the message), but an invitation to a never ending dance with constantly changing partners, some of whom are never your friend.
3. Don’t use social media unless the brand is willing to take the risk of jumping off the cliff, giving up control to customers and consumers who will express their viewpoints, both positive and negative.
4. If your company or client wants to control the message, then social media isn’t for them. Look at how Nestle tried to tell people not to post their logos. It will incur a wrath not unlike, “It’s not OK for people to use altered versions of your logos but it’s OK for you to alter the face of Indonesian rainforests? Wow!”
5. Creating LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter accounts is just the first step. The goal isn’t to tweet or post, but to build an active community and authentic two-way relationship based on trust. It’s easy to get started in social media, but time consuming and challenging to remain engaged and build a following.
6. Remember that even if your company or client decides not to engage in social media, that won’t stop rants, rebellion and revolution. People will find a way to express themselves and let it be known they’re disturbed, upset, confused or disappointed. The train has left the station—be prepared.
7. As we’ve learned from Nestle (and many others), people don’t want to be scammed, ignored or mistreated. It will come back to bite you. So if your exec or client wants social media to become a positive tool, the brand must be a concerned good listener prepared to take action to correct situations that aren’t right.
Tagged: social media, website, web site, marketing, communications, pr, blogs, blogging, facebook, twitter
