For as long I’ve been designing web sites – and that’s a very long time – clients have been paranoid about displaying user generated content. They’re fearful of the negative and the scandalous review about their brand, product or service. And it has been a very long debate whether this can actually hurt your business.
Business owners are incredibly protective of their brand image. They want to portray themselves as standup citizens with with quality products and services everyone wants. And for a long time business owners have resisted to allow anyone present information that may threaten their integrity.
Consumers Are Cynical
Today’s consumers are far more cynical and less trusting than ever before. No longer do they take things a face value. This includes marketers, CEOs, politicians and celebrities. More and more consumers are going the extra mile to validate your story or promise.
Social media is a proven mechanism for consumers to satisfy their cynicism. Blogs, social platforms, consumer reports and reviews now provide consumers a wide range of information to educate their decision about what product to buy, their next vacation or employment opportunity. These tactics coupled with friends, peers, sales agents alike provide the consumer a far better and balanced perspective of who you are and what you provide.
The US Army: Brand Protectionist
Take for instance the US Armed Forces. Over the last decade, the American military has received more than its share of bad press. To this day they have taken heat for many issues from deaths due to friendly fire, to debates over the use of torture and misleading or doctored reports on war activities and much more. So it has put great stress on the government spin doctors to maintain its brand integrity as well trained, professional protectors of their homeland security.
Not to get into too much politics. Recently, I listened to a fantastic review of Army Strong Stories by podcaster C.C. Chapman of Managing The Gray. It took a look at how the armed forces integrated user generated content and social media to give the public and future recruits an uncensored perspective of the military experience as seen by real active soldiers. Talking about giving away the good with the bad.
Of course there are rules bloggers must abide by. However there is no censorship. Soldiers are free to use military terms, slang, and post pictures of what’s happening in their lives on the ground in hot spots like Iraq or Afghanistan.
If anyone needs to protect their public image is the US armed forces. But they have become aware that they can’t stop the information from spreading. So instead of being reactive to information, they have embrace it. All branches of the US armed forces today use forums, blogs, social media outlets like Facebook and Flickr to provide a full view of what it’s like to be a soldier in the 21st century. Now the public benefits from an unaltered real-life perspective of what their guardians are doing around the world.
So if the military can do it, what is stopping your organization from incorporating social media into your digital strategy? The word about you is spreading with or without you. So why not embrace it?
Negative Reviews Are A Good Thing
If negative reviews is what’s stopping you…Get over it. Social media is here to stay. Besides, negative reviews are great for business. Understanding that today’s consumers are so cynical, do you really believe they would buy more because you have all this great positive publicity? Then why does Microsoft’s Windows still do so well?
Negative reviews can drive innovation by identifying weaknesses in your product or service. Negative reviews can be turned into great customer retention opportunities. For example, if a consumer had a bad experience with your product you can blog about how you fixed the situation. Negative reviews appease the cynics by giving an honest picture of who you are.
In the case of the Army Strong Stories blog, what can appear as a negative story actually works to their advantage. It gives the reader an unfiltered view of what these men and women do for our freedom. It provides world real context of their lives, the dangers they face and the people they are trying to protect. This kind of information can only result in greater appreciation by their supporters and inspire others to join the forces.
So before you dismiss social media at your next board meeting, consider what’s the real harm in doing it…or not doing. Your consumers will talk about you. Why not be part of the conversation?
