Business-Building Action From Terry Brock
We hear about all the good that is coming from social media. The positive features of social media are enumerated regularly in the press and with journalists like me. However, there is a dark side where the powers of social media can harm you and your company.
How It Can Damage You
Recently I had an interview with Deb Spicer, a marketing consultant with Quantum Level Success, who has worked with hundreds of successful people and businesses. In this interview she told me about a company she knew who had many false accusations made about them through social media.
The company was attacked through blogs and Twitter messages with fabricated statements about the company and its key leaders. The company had no presence with a blog and didn’t use tools like Twitter, Facebook or others. They weren’t aware of what was happening in “the Blogsphere” or in the land of social media. In other words — they felt that their company couldn’t use social media tools for serious business.
Eventually, the company’s customers told them that many false statements were being made about the company in social media. Worse yet, reporters wrote about the controversy without checking their facts and flamed the fires of public disapproval with the company.
Eventually the company got involved, paid a lot of money to expensive consultants but lost in the long run. Key leaders of the company left in disgrace even though they were not guilty. The burden of defending against the public onslaught against them became too great.
This could have all been prevented, as Deb Spicer told me, with a proactive stance and social media-aware mindset by the company. She shared several ways that a company can prevent an attack like this from getting traction. Be sure to listen to the interview and note what you can do.
You can listen to the interview in full on this special page: https://terrybrock.com/socialmediadarkside/
Key points include: 1) Be aware of and use social media. It is long past the time of being a quaint activity engaged in only by teenagers. 2) Build your brand in the way you want the public to see you. This “best defense is a good offense” approach means you build such a strong, positive presence about your company in the mind of the public that anyone attacking you is quickly discounted.
In a recent audio with Harvard Business Review Leslie Gaines-Ross, chief reputation strategist at Weber Shandwick warned of “reputation snipers” who are engaged in this activity. She laid out steps like these to protect your reputation in an increasingly hostile social media world.
You can run but you can’t hide. This is a reality that must be faced by every business today. No one is immune from attacks like these.
Dark Side Of The App Store
A colleague of mine related a similar situation yesterday. He has developed some very successful apps for mobile phones. His company is making millions each month from the apps and the business model in place.
In fact, his company is making so much money that competitors are now getting his apps and deliberately making negative comments about the apps to hurt sales.
Here is where I need your help, dear reader. How would you recommend a company fight the attack of competitors who purchase a very low price app (or even a free one) and then falsely attack it in reviews? We are bound to see more and more of this activity and I’d love to get your comments and thoughts on it. Please leave a comment on my website at:
https://terrybrock.com/socialmediadarkside/.
What Can You Do About It?
The most important thing to do is to be aware of social media and create your own presence. You can be in control of your public image — but only if you take proactive steps to position it right.
Next, monitor closely what is being said and respond quickly and with facts (not rants) to any negative publicity.
We’re in a new environment and this is a highly fluid situation. As you get ideas and leave them on the post, others will benefit from your response. Together, we can make a difference here.
Yes, social media also has a dark side. However, by taking the right proactive steps we can turn lemons not just into lemonade but into champagne! Cheers!
Copyright (c) 2010, Terry Brock and Achievement Systems, Inc. Terry Brock is an international marketing coach and professional speaker who works with businesses to generate profitable results. He can be reached by e-mail at terry@terrybrock.com or through his website at www.terrybrock.com. Join the Twitter adventure with Terry through his Twitter address: @TerryBrock. Join Terry’s Facebook Fan Page at: http://www.facebook.com/SpeakerTerryBrock
