Typical questions that brands have faced in the past regarding social media, have included:
- Should our company be on social media?
- How can we utilize social media for leads and sales opportunities?
- Is it possible to track KPI’s and ROI on social media?
Today these questions seem prehistoric, don’t they!
As we near the end of 2012 and approach 2013, these “typical” questions have transformed in several ways. Let’s take a look:
Today, almost every brand is online in some way, interacting and engaging with their market. “Should we be on social media” is no longer a question but an obvious reality.
Towards the end of 2012 we’ve seen a big shift in questions that brands ask themselves in regards to social media. Now that we’ve begun to master and really understand our online and social presence, brands have also begun to really grasp the risk that is involved with social and the web. So from “should we be marketing ourselves on social media?” the questions have transformed into the more cautious:
- What risks do social media and the web present to our brand?
- Do our employees understand what we expect of them in an online or social media crisis?
- What social media monitoring platforms best meet our brand’s particular online monitoring needs?
- Should we be preparing and protecting our brand with a social media crisis management plan?
In 2013, as brands become more and more engaged online – and the risk becomes even more evident – these questions will only continue to be posed by companies and organizations around the globe – and rightfully so. Although social media and the Internet present a great number of online threats and risks to a brand’s online reputation and, ultimately, their bottom-line, when caught early-on and responded to properly, these risks can very often be transformed into unique opportunities for positive PR and marketing campaigns.
As 2013 approaches and plans for the new year of business begin to form, it is my hope that brands around the globe put “developing a social media crisis management plan” on their business list of things to do early-on in the new year.
How about you? Is preparing and protecting your brand against online threats part of your 2013 business goals and objectives?
Author of Crisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World, Melissa Agnes is a leading authority on crisis preparedness, reputation management, and brand protection. Agnes is a coveted keynote speaker, commentator, and advisor to some of today’s leading organizations faced with the greatest risks. Learn more about Melissa and her work here.
Thanks for the article Melissa. Those are interesting questions. One thought in addition to the one mentioned above is how can the client/business themselves harm their own reputation by using inexperienced social mediaists, such as interns or recent graduates, or junior level people. I think (or I hope) companies are starting to realize their online reputation IS their reputation. Thanks for the great points about social media and think preemptively.
You're absolutely right, Steven! A company's online reputation IS their reputation.
The additional point you've mentioned here falls into the first category of the risk that social media and the Internet present to one's brand – and it's a very important risk to evaluate. However, I wouldn't label it as only being interns and juniors who are capable of this, but rather anybody who does not understand:
– The company's guidelines on SM and their desired brand voice and experience
– The impact SM and a simple rogue tweet (for example) can have on a brand's reputation
We've seen these mistakes made, in 2012, by young employees as well as high-level executives, politicians and more.
Excellent input, Steven, thanks for taking the time to read the post and leave your comment!