May 28th, 2009
The CEO's top five fears of social media
* Jennifer Leggio is on vacation
Guest editorial by Yvonne Tocquigny
I recently spent eight months speaking to more than 200 executives about digital marketing and social media. During that time, I realized that five fears cause social media paralysis for CEOs.
Many business leaders view social media as the “runaway train” of marketing. They fear losing control-of their company’s marketing message and workforce.
Yet, social media is a highly valuable two-way communication medium that enables companies to listen and connect with customers. Statistics show people listen to the community, not your company.
Fear 1: Negative mentions
Executives forget that consumers have been discussing their company, products and customer service for as long as they’ve been in business. Instead of fear, this should be seen as an opportunity to learn more about customer perceptions and do it for a lower cost than ever before.
Begin monitoring social media for mentions of the company and key products. Get started with free tools including Google Alerts. If your company is mentioned negatively, first investigate the facts internally before taking action. Any response should:
- Take the high ground
- Be honest
- Explain what you have done to rectify any issue
- Offer to resolve any complaints personally
- Try to continue discussion offline
Listening and responding to complaining customers will go a long way towards diffusing the negative impact of the criticism. While negative comments are exposed for all to see, so is the responsiveness of the company.
Jennifer Leggio, aka "Mediaphyter," writes about the "social business" side of social media - including enterprise, security and reputation issues. See her full profile and disclosure of her industry affiliations.
For daily updates on Jennifer's activities, follow her on Twitter.
Subscribe to Social Business via Email alerts or RSS.
