360°IT Blog

The other week on this blog, Peter Hinssen made the point that "we need to show users the way to the proper applications in the cloud and the right way to use them". Nowhere is this more true than in the realm of social media.

It's becoming increasingly common for companies to use blogs and social networks in a bid to promote themselves, their products and services. A growing number also monitor and respond to what's being said about them in the blogosphere, and on Twitter, Facebook, etc - often with a view to 'reputation management'.

Frequently, marketing departments implement their own ad hoc social media strategies (or farm them out to third-party agencies) with no IT or management guidance. Many of these strategies neglect the central truth that social media is predominantly about open conversation. The worst try to shoe-horn old-style 'brand and marketing messages' into the new media, rather than using the technology to fundamentally change the nature of their relationships with customers and the public.

Bad examples of social media strategies employed by a number of large organisations include:

- Bloggers and social networkers purportedly advocating companies' products and services "independently", when really they are being paid or otherwise incentivised to do so (e.g. by being given a stream of free products for 'testing'). Most are easily recognised by the fact they do little else but talk about how wonderful particular products/companies/services are. Few such 'advocates' (or the organisations employing them) have any credibility among the social media cognoscenti or true influencers.

- Attempting to maximise an organisation's visibility by posting multiple messages and using inappropriate labels and tags to 'piggy-back' on popular trends and discussions. Such activity is regarded as spamming and will do more to damage your reputation than promote your brand.

- Trying to counter negative comments about the organisation by using legal threats, takedown demands, character assassination, insults and other confrontational techniques. (One low-cost airline has particular form here.) This just makes you seem like a big bully. Far better to engage politely, frankly and openly with people's concerns (with a little humility where appropriate).

Instead, companies need to put in place social media policies and strategies that promote more open, conversational engagement on blogs and networks. Those that are operating most successfully in the social milieu find they win genuine advocates by providing content of real value and acting in a way that shows they are committed to listening and responding honestly to what's being said about them (and, where appropriate, acting on people's comments and suggestions). They give their staff the freedom to converse naturallly and openly, tempered with guidelines about appropriate behaviour when they are speaking on the organisation's behalf. This needs to be an over-arching management directive, but IT certainly has a role to play in educating the business on what works and what doesn't in this emerging realm.

Staff and business managers also need to be aware that when something's said on a blog or social network, it's "out there" and attempts to cover your tracks if something goes wrong will fail. Comments and postings are generally cached somewhere as soon as they appear, meaning they're impossible to delete completely - as self-styled nutritional expert "Doctor" Gillian McKeith found out to her cost this week.

There are many other "dos and don'ts" that I don't have space to cover here, but if anyone is still in doubt about the nature of social media, I'd recommend you read The Cluetrain Manifesto, which I've name-checked on this blog before. Written 10 years ago, it neatly encapsulates the way all companies need to move. Time to get on board.

Jim Mortleman is editor of the 360°IT Blog and an independent business and technology writer/commentator

Tags:

Enterprise 2.0, Web 2.0, social media, Cluetrain, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, social networks, social networking, blogging, marketing, reputation management, online engagement.

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