Social Media - Why Are Companies So Afraid Of It?

 I recently had dinner with a friend where we talked about how many companies do not understand social media and are missing out on important opportunities to engage with consumers. Seeing that Facebook, Twitter, and other social media networks have been around for years now, it's amazing that so many companies still don't understand the value social media has.

Before social media the relationship between company and consumer was only a one-way path, which allowed for very little or no engagement between the two entities. In the old days of advertising, companies held the power. They would present consumers with messages about their products. Rarely was it the company with the best product that won over consumers but the company with the most money who could advertise more frequently with better marketing techniques. Social media shifted this power dynamic, giving the consumer a channel to voice their opinions and research their product options before making a decision. The companies that utilize social media, understand the consumer power transformation. They know that if they are not marketing to consumers via social media, another company with a similar demographic and product will be. They also understand that engaging customers through social media networks results in strong relationships between them and their customers. These relationships lead to highly loyal customers, more word-of-mouth recommendations, and brand awareness.

Companies like Dunkin' Donuts (https://www.facebook.com/DunkinDonuts), not only do social media, they do social media well by forming relationships with their followers. As humans, we are prone to be social beings who evolve and develop through communication. Those who communicate effectively, engage with others. They learn to listen, to respond appropriately, and to ask meaningful questions. On their Facebook page, Dunkin' Donuts has implemented all of the principles a good communicator exhibits. Social media at its essence is communication. It feeds a human desire to socially interact with others and to share our lives, but it is more impactful, viral, and powerful than any type of communication we could have offline. So why are companies so scared of it?

Is it the openness and vulnerability companies are scared of? Before social media, if a person had a negative comment about a company they could spread their review by word-of-mouth, but the influential impact of this method was small. On social media sites, a negative review can reach thousands of people who may or not follow the reviewer's advice. This absolutely could affect a company who does not get that consumers have power now. They may not understand that the only way to negate or smooth over negative reviews is to be on social media as well and engage with consumers. If a customer posts a bad review about a product on Facebook, if a company with a Facebook page is monitoring this, they could immediately try to make this wrong a right by asking the customer how to fix the problem. Social media is a customer service tool. This type of communication never existed before social media. Companies could never reach out to individual consumers and engage with them to create a relationship, resulting in a high level of brand awareness. They could only send out targeted advertisements with the hope that they would reach the right individual and influence them to buy. Also, companies should no longer have the excuse that they do not understand social media. There are many people out there who get it. I'm sure in every company there is one tech savvy employee who can become a social media specialist.

Why do you think companies may be scared of social media? What do you think of the power dynamic shift between companies and consumers? Do you feel more empowered as a consumer because of social media?

I could write much more about this topic including social media measurement, but I think I'll save that for another blog post...

Penn State, where was your communication strategy?

Ad Age (http://adage.com/article/news/penn-state-pr-majors-a-crash-crisis/231110/) recently posted an article about the Penn State scandal and how poorly the school handled communication. Surprisingly, Penn State is well known for their PR school and now the students in the program are wondering why there was no proper communication strategy. According to the article, "Despite months of advance notice, Penn State's board didn't enact a communications plan, and waited until after the arrest of former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was all over the news before it hired Omnicom Group agency Ketchum to help guide it through the days ahead and manage the school's reputation."

Organizations need to have multiple communication plans, but those that deal with children need some that pertain to crises that we hope will never occur. At the end of the day those organizations are responsible for not only themselves but for the victims as well. What they say to the press and stakeholders reflects on more than just the organization. A communication plan should include appointing who does what according to their position within an organization. A communication strategy for the Penn State tragedy should have included these appointed roles:

1) Who speaks to the press
2) Who writes a letter/press release to the public
3) Who talks with the victims
4) Who deals with setting up a fund for victims
5) Who deals with the future and moving past the crisis
6) Who talks to the stakeholders
7) Who performs an analysis on how much the crisis will impact the organization
8) Who monitors social media for information about how the public is reacting to the crisis
9) Who responds to the public on social media

Sometimes organizations may never bounce back from a crisis like this, but you lessen your odds of recovering when you do not have a proper communication plan. As a Master's student in Communication, I can't stress enough how important the first few moments after a crisis are. Without a good strategy in place chaos can easily ensue. It goes without saying that chaos is not good. The public can detect when an organization is a strategic mess and in a crisis, the best way for an organization to save face is to come off composed, sympathetic to those involved, and rational.

I read somewhere that if Penn State had reported the crime when it happened, they would have looked like a hero and not a villain. Not only is Paterno a horrible person, but by not going to the police, Penn State enabled this horrible person. So yes, they are villains. Could a communication strategy have helped alleviate Penn State's appearance as a villian? Yes, but the minute they decided football was more important than child abuse, the damage was done.

Volkswagen: It's a Boy!

I recently took a writing for the web class at the School of Visual Concepts in Seattle - http://www.svcseattle.com/ (Awesome class - very informative). During the class we discussed how Volkswagen ads always have great copy, but then someone mentioned their recent ad. Volkswagen, in an attempt to appeal to men, decided to make the tops of their Beetles less rounded. To announce their new design they created the ad pictured below. I'm not too keen on it. The copywriting doesn't say enough about why the car is different and the image looks like every other car ad. However, if you look at the copywriting in conjunction with the ad's picture, then the ad is really saying something. It looks like Volkswagen just gave birth to a baby boy. Congrats to them!