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The ABCs of Social Media:Authenticity, Boldness and Credibility
by John Friedman, CSR-P
The globalization of information and the increasinginfluence and importance of social media and othernon-traditional media as powerful sources of information are combining to change the ways inwhich companies and organizations mustcommunicate with their stakeholders if they are tobe effective and have credibility. While manycompanies fear the free flowing nature of thesecommunication vehicles and are reluctant to engageothers are finding that they can be powerful tools totell the organizations message, engaging multiplestakeholders in a way that actually enhancesreputation and brand value.
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hether you chose to join the conversation ornot, it is happening. The question really is; doyou prefer it go on with you or without you?
One of the main reasons companies fear socialmedia is because theyre afraid that it means cedingcontrol of their images and brands. But, in point of fact, the idea that one ever really has control isillusory. No slick marketing, advertising or publicrelations effort has ever had the same impact onpublic perception as employees or customersdescribing their personal experiences. Multi-milliondollar ad campaigns can be undone with one singleact  as BP discovered when the Deepwater Horizoncatastrophe put in sharp contrast their efforts toposition themselves as a clean, environmentally-responsible, alternative energy company.After months of unsatisfactory conversations withcustomer service representatives for the airline,Canadian singer/songwriter Dave Carroll found acreative outlet for his frustration and released aUnited Breaks Guitars song and video on YouTube.By December 2009, Time magazine named the dittyas number seven on its list of the Top 10 Viral Videosof year. By that time the video had received over 9million hits.The problem for United was not the existence of thevideo, or the damaged guitar in question. Theproblem for them was the fact that, rather thancomplaining to his limited circle of friends about theproblem, social media gave Mr. Carroll a wideraudience and platform for a message that resonatedwith a public tired of feeling helpless in the face of frustrations with air travel and customer servicerepresentatives.
The problem is not when someoneuses social media to be critical. Thereal problem is that companies oftendo not want to face the reality thatsocial media has exposed and fail to doso before it has spread to hundreds,thousands or even millions of people.
United eventually used this experience to revisetheir customer service training and practices. TheInternet saved them the time and trouble of conducting focus groups exploring their customersexperiences. It also cost them in reputation and,perhaps, customers. In that respect, the internet canserve as an early warning system when things goawry, but only if youre listening.
The key to credibility: Authenticity of voice andmessage
Authenticity is critical because the internet is a wideopen platform, giving equal opportunity to all. Thesame internet that showed the world the price thatIranians were paying for free elections by sharing theheartbreaking video of the tragic and senselessdeath of teenage protestor Neda Agha-Soltan withthe world also provides a platform to wild conspiracyclaims about U.S. government complicity in theterrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 to PresidentObamas alleged ineligibility to be President due to
 
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Page ABCs of Social Media
 
specious claims that he was born outside the UnitedStates.Despite the fact that people joke about the veracityof information on the Internet, it still has credibility.Sites like Wikipedia have demonstrated that self policing by an almost infinite number of contributorscan result in incredible accuracy. Today informationfrom social media - including blogs, social medianetworking sites such as Facebook and twitter - isconsidered more credible than (obvious) marketingmessages, including corporate websites.It is best to recall that traditional media, with whichorganizations have learned to be comfortable, arealso not as assiduous as they should be when itcomes to fact checking. While some blame can beplaced on the Internet and bloggers (who served asthe source for the edited video that resulted in themisguided firing of the Department of AgriculturesShirley Sherrod), it was the internet forums andblogs that exposed CBS News failure to authenticatedocuments purporting to call into question thenPresident George W. Bushs service in the NationalGuard.
Police to Guide, not Enforce
The desire to control and efforts to do so can oftendetract from the real business at hand. Rather thanaccepting the opportunity that social media offer asan effective feedback mechanism that can alertthem to potential problems and vulnerabilities,some companies go beyond non-participation andengage in misguided attempts to stop theconversations that they dont appreciate. In June2010, just as the first oil began washing ashore inPensacola, Florida the oil giant spent time andresources trying to stifle the satirical twitter account@BPGlobalPR from sending sarcastic messages.Rather than spending time trying to shut down theparody tweets, the oil giant could have done farmore to protect its image if it had done a better jobcontaining the gushing oil well (and their ownstatements such as claims that the oil plume existedonly in very minute quantities") that were not only
The New
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orld of Social Media
The conversation is happening, and willcontinue, whether or not you choose toparticipate.Social media offer a window on how youractions are being perceived by the public.It can be an effective early warningsystem, but only if youre listening.The internet is neither benevolent normalicious  it is an open forum for peopleto express themselves. What people sayabout you is an outgrowth of how theyfeel about their interaction with you andyour company.Your employees can be your greatest asset to share and spread truthful andpositive information about your company.o Other than the matter of scale, there isno difference between what youremployees are saying about you onTwitter and Facebook and what theyare telling their friends and neighborsevery day.o If theyre saying negative things, yourproblem is not social media and wont be solved by attempting to prevent them from expressing themselves.Aligning your company actions with aculture based on the principles of corporate responsibility (ethics, integrity,environmental stewardship, etc.) is thebest way to protect and enhance yourimage.o Because issues incite emotion, theinternet (blogs, social networkingsites, etc.) are natural places forpeople to share their thoughts andfeelings and to find an audience.
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