I attended a Social Media Summit produced by Ragan Communications (Which I heartily recommend) earlier this year and came away with several knowledge nuggets including the fact that companies really don't "own" their brands anymore. In this age of social media which empowers consumers like never before, it's "We the digital people" that own the brand.
A few days afterwards I shared this with the CEO of a company that had an increasingly bad reputation on the Internet, a rep growing worse every day. He scoffed at the concept that anyone but he owned the brand. Analog thinking in a digital age.
A few months later the company was OOB. You can't run and you can't hide anymore. Treat a customer poorly, and if you don't make good, they'll post about it on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Others of the same opinion will soon share it and voila, a movement begins. Just ask the TSA. Heard any stories about junk being grabbed lately?
It can work in a positive way too. One of the biggest fan pages on Facebook is for Coca-Cola. It's not run by Coke, but by fans of the brand. The site has tons of followers. Some friends of mine have started a social media campaign for their chain of restaurants. Their food and service is good, they're nice folks so I click the "like" button anytime I see a post.
Social Media can also protect the brand reputation. Should someone complain about you online, engage them and try and solve the problem. Social Media can be a great fire break, before the fire breaks out. An established social media presence can also act as a 'Future Shock-Shock Absorber" when un-fair attacks are made.
Good product and service remain the golden rules of business. Ignore your customers and they'll do anything but ignore you. Take them for granted and they'll take you right out of business. It just takes a few clicks.
They own the brand. Get used to it.
Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you"
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