One of the great things about social media is that it gives the average person visibility on the Internet which is equal to that enjoyed by giant corporations. However, that can be a two-edged sword.
A few years ago, I Googled myself and discovered that I was nowhere on page one of Google’s search results. How could that be?
For 15 years, PR departments had been feeding my name to the Internet via press releases, interviews and speaking engagement promotions. What I found instead were Twitter, Facebook and Myspace accounts for people with my name. Other people with my name were being put on Google’s page one.
Social media trumped all my years of corporate marketing. But there is a much more significant side to this.
The Internet has also put power into the hands of your customers to express their unhappiness with your product or service in a way which can attract a lot of attention. Recall the “United Breaks Guitars” video from a couple of years ago. It became a PR nightmare when the video went viral. Dave Carroll (the musician who made the video) benefited greatly with tons of free exposure, an apology and offer of restitution from United Airlines and status as a folk hero. It could have been a catastrophe for United Airlines, but they stepped up to the plate and manged their reputation.
Most people are going to lack the initiative to make an effective YouTube video. But that does not mean that they are not going to complain. You cannot please everyone.
In the old days, when a disgruntled customer left your place of business, they would complain to 5 or 10 people they came across. Today, they have 200 “Friends” on Facebook and can complain to them all. They have 1,000 “Followers” on Twitter to complain to. And their Friends or Followers can pass the complaint along … and you wouldn’t even know about it.
I recently read that 35% of business lost by doctor’s offices is solely due to a bad experience with the receptionist. If this is happening in your office, how will you know? The receptionist never throws paperwork at you or barks at you.
And with sites like Yelp or Angie’s List, people can easily find customer ratings for a variety of products and services.
The good news is, there are plenty of tools you can use to find out if bad news is spreading across the Internet about you or your company. We will cover these tools in my next post.
In the meantime, Accelerant Marketing would love to talk to you about our On-line Reputation Management service. We can help you as much or as little as you need.
Feel free to contact me to get the discussion started: jsnider@accelerantmktg.com
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