October 9, 2014
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Social Media and Business PR
Many may disagree with what I'm about to share. But I think some may find it refreshing.
I do a lot with Autisable and Xanga in regards to Social Media. I've even helped out other companies with their social media as well.
From setting up accounts for businesses, to training the people that use those accounts.
Many people that know me, ask for advice on what should be done in certain situations - from strategy on use of Social Media - to handling tough situations.
Let's just say that after ten years of Blogging and doing Social Media.... I've come across just about everything you can think about... and then some.I still come across new situations - and that's what makes being on Social media interesting.
But that's not what I think some folks may disagree with.... especially people who do social media for a living.
Here's where we may part ways in terms of Business PR and strategy in regards to handling tough situations....
Many companies have taken the stance that when a customer leaves a negative comment thread - to take that thread offline... and delete the thread.
Now, overall I understand that idea. They want to address the customers needs privately, and that's ok. It also shows a lot of positive comments on websites and social media outlets putting a company easily in the best light.The challenge with this is that you get some negative feedback from those who saw the negative thread to begin with. The mumblings of negativity are now under the radar - beyond the reach of corporate view - not allowing for anyone to see what's 'really' going on with a company - or with how the company treats it's customers.
However, what about that negative comment still left on the site - or social media outlet? What really needs to be done with that?
Personally, I say leave it. It's their words, and in my opinion when you delete their comment - it can be akin to censorship. Of course, if there's foul or inappropriate language - then at least you (and everyone that see's that comment) knows how strongly they felt about a situation.
Think about this as well - sometimes negative comments bring traffic to a site and/or a more people to a discussion. Now you can delete the comment thread from your site and/or your social media outlets... or use it as a tool to put your company in the best light.
So let's say you leave the person's negative comment on the site - what should you do?
Address the person directly, listening to their issues, responding appropriately to the situation. Offering to help where you can, and coming to a resolution that both sides can be happy with. Serving a customer may mean a bit of compromise to make them happy. And we all know that a happy customer is a repeat customer... but beyond that... these are people sharing their stories and getting personally involved in your business... so it's really about building a relationship with them.
Who knows, they may have a seriously valid issue on how business is being conducted - and it could be a valuable insight on how to improve your business. No one is perfect, so getting feedback from customers in how things are being handled could be extremely enlightening to those making the decisions. Also, if the discussion is more 'public' - and you are able to handle the situation well - then everyone knows what happened... that the customer was treated with respect to a bad situation - and the company handled it well.
How many times do we see internet meme's with good customer service being handled via chat room screen pics? I know I've seen some good ones. They are good to read, and worth noting on how well bad situations can become a time for a company to shine.
Once the situation is mutually resolved - then ask the person who made the comment to respond to it again - or at least reply back that we've touch base with this customer directly - showing that the business is listening - and responding to as many issues as possible. An attempt at an open and public response should be expected on both sides.
Knowing that a business is listening, even if they are having their own challenges on resolving issues at the moment - is far better than nothing being said by the company. Deleting a comment thread because of a negative response can also be a message to the customer - telling them to 'shut-up'.
Embrace the challenge of building relationships with people who provide their feedback. Their honesty will help you fill the gaps where improvement is needed/required.
I've always found the following to be a good starting point when doing social media: "Be open, be honest, be social."
Now, do you agree or disagree with what I've just shared? Feel free to leave a comment... Don't worry, I won't be offended.
Comments (16)
It is reasonable in a perfect worlds. However many people enjoy "setting fires" on social media. They really don't have any intention or desire to resolve a problem - they just like to stir things up. When that kind of thing is encountered, the only response is to delete. At least that's my experience.
My experience is to ignore those who just 'stir things up' - and respond to those who are providing appropriate criticism.
The fools will expose themselves for who they really are. As a by product of their 'pot stirring' they may bring you traffic to the site - or activity to your social media account. Ironically, this activity actually can be a good thing - as active posts on FB tend to get more of a view then one's that don't.
Use the trolls - don't let them use you.
It's true, there are many people who like the drama... the attention.
However, I've also found that when some issues are brought out into the open - the group involved in a conversation can help put those fires out.
Consistency in message, in listening, and in responding - tends to provide stability in communication - and respect for the organization. When the respect of the majority is earned - the folks that enjoy "setting the fires" are addressed by the majority - and sometimes even the company doesn't have to say a word.
I would agree with murisopsis -- I also think that if complaints turn to personal attack, they should be taken off-line.
If you respond to the trolls, you're feeding them.
I agree with Val and Janet. Things like that have happened to me on Xanga, and I have blocked those people who came to my site to just be unethical or rude. Having said that, I think when the media or companies treat something with negativity, then the victim really gets a lot of attention. For example the book by Salman Rusdie, "Satanic Verses"; That book went off the charts in sale and Salman, though he had a knife hanging over his head, became a multimillionaire. Go figure!
There may be an occasion that blocking someone from a site is possible. However, my experience is that they just access the site from a different account or IP address.
It's also very rare that people go to those extreme's. Most people, I've found, are rather courteous and understanding - especially if a situation is explained effectively.
The Salman Rusdie thing is proof that even negative press can sell whatever you want it to... just because interest was generated.
I had several years of extreme harassment on Xanga back in the day, perpetuated by a small group of people who tried very hard to make me leave.
At first I removed the nasty comments, because I was trying to quietly and calmly resolve things with the worst of the bunch. But all that did was create more horrible remarks on my site, and it even escalated to fake sites made to resemble mine, 'mirror' sites, that they used to make issues among my readers...comments left that at first glance looked like they came from MY site...but were not...and other psycho things. And yes, my site and a few others got VERY busy...due to the 'drama factor' of it all.
As it continued, I started to leave the nasty remarks, and even posted about some of it, which did nothing to actually help the situation, but made me feel a bit better, since my readers could see what was actually happening, if they chose to look. So with that as my experience, I'm on the side of leaving things as they are posted. How one responds can be public or private, depends on the issue and the person making the remarks, but I'd leave them as posted.
I work in a customer service business, and the one thing I am sure of is that word of mouth travels faster than anything, and I'm sure that is the same online...in my experience detailed above it certainly was.
If a paying customer of a business is not happy, the worst thing is to ignore them, or make them feel that what they find as a serious issue is not worth the time or effort to correct. Communicate!
Those who are not customers but just want to make issues where there are none are something else. Telling the difference is half the battle.
I think you hit a key point with your comment... "telling the difference is half the battle".
It's been my experience that if someone has been online doing social media for quite some time... they can usually tell if someone is submitting an actual issue... or if they are being a troll.
I don't like to feed the trolls... they thrive on the attention and deter from the goal of the blog.
I would leave the negative comment up. I think if a company can show the public that it can deal with complaints and concerns openly and fairly, it'll gain a lot of credibility. The downside I can see is that some people will take advantage of a company's responsiveness.
I've submitted emails to company's and always get an automated response that my email has been received and someone will contact me within x days. But no one ever calls or follow up.
It takes a lot of work to follow up - and although automated responses are a good thing... it can lead to false expectations.
I still have not figured out how to get my blog back. I wasn't a premium member, don't know if that's relevant or not. To be honest, it's just too much shit to read to get my blog back. Can you summarize for me in 5 simple steps or less what needs to be done? Thanks Joel!
Ok, there's a couple of ways to address your situation:
If you want to continue blogging on Xanga, you'd need to pay to blog. You'd e-mail Eugenia at help@xanga.net and she'd be able to help you directly.
Now, if you don't want to blog on Xanga, you can still keep your account - this will allow you to easily subscribe and comment to people.
If you'd like your content from your blog, you can create an archive and download the archive to your computer - and upload to a wordpress site.
How would you like to proceed?
Hello, well I don't know i I'm welcome or not, but I am interested in being here. Over the last year, I have not posted very often, and yet Xanga has been a sort of home for me.I have been treated very well in general.
At the moment I am trying to find a way to give Xanga money, I need someone to help me find a way to pay whatever premium I need to pay. I at one time bought a lifetime membership from Xanga, and have been here since 2004. I'm relatively easy to contact and would like to speak to someone before it runs out on october 31,2014.Maybe you could help me.Thank you
e-mail help@xanga.net. Eugenia can help you with two things. First, to extend your blogging on Xanga for 6 months with no charge. Second, to help you with the payment process to continue blogging on Xanga.
Yeah it's usually easy to tell who is legitimate and who is a real troll if you've been online much at all. Sometimes it's difficult to ignore those just wanting to create issues, but if possible, that is the best thing to do once you are sure that is what is happening.
Also, a problem I've seen on some sites is that there are people who simply refuse to 'see' anything except what they have made their minds up to see. Those folks will twist, turn, and disregard all sorts of things to make whatever is done or said fit what THEY see. Those people really get under my skin, and are the ones I can't ignore for the long term. But they are also easy to recognize, so I just stop reading what they say, rather than get upset.
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