BrandStand » The Power of Social Media Over Your Brand

January 13, 2010 | Melissa Eggert

The Power of Social Media Over Your Brand

2010 is going to be a big year. It’s the start of a new decade, and the larger-than-life wave of social media is taking the forefront. Companies are slowly but surely learning that social media strategies are imperative for survival in the coming year. As I mentioned in my previous observations, social media and emerging media manager roles are being created and integrated into organizational structures worldwide. Take, for example, The Associated Press, which is restructuring the way its reporters gather and report the news. This week, AP introduced a social networks and news engagement manager to its first Social Network Center at its New York hub.

With social media giving a strong voice to the customer, companies are experiencing the pressure of whether their products or services can hold up to their brand pillars. One misstep and a company can face serious damage, now that everyone has a way to upload and distribute it around the world. You may remember one such mishap – the “United Breaks Guitars” video that went viral after Canadian country singer Dave Carroll’s guitar was destroyed on a United Airlines flight more than a year ago. Last summer, he used YouTube to broadcast a music video about the disaster.

Just on Monday at 9:00 a.m., Gilt Groupe faced a major issue with a person claiming a bag to be fake on their blog. Following the post, others replied, inquiring about the accusation and demanding more information. By letting the conversation go unaddressed for two hours, Gilt Groupe let its audience run free with assumptions that could have potentially tarnished Gilt’s reputable brand. In this situation, Gilt should have had someone monitoring public sentiment and staying ahead, presenting facts to the audience and gaining control over the conversation. By letting it continue, there was no cap being placed on comments. Gilt needed to make an official statement on the commentary, back it up with facts about the quality and legitimacy of the brands it sells and answer any questions from customers. Also, Gilt should have contacted the person who made the comment immediately and inquired further about the “fake” product, as direct interaction with customers on social media translates as dedication to customer service. Two hours later, the CEO replied to the post and asked the accuser to call directly to discuss the issue. We’ll see if the crisis leaves any damage, aside from the flood of negative sentiment on the blog.

But, the bottom line is you don’t have to live in fear of the social media tsunami. While you cannot prevent or avoid what might happen on the Internet, you can be prepared by actively listening to and participating in the conversation. Enlisting social-media monitoring services is a step in the right direction; these services will provide you with accurate, real-time measurement of online conversations to better understand the marketplace and protect your brand. For example, Filtrbox will search millions of online news sources, from major to local, along with the entire blogosphere for new content. It monitors Twitter, FriendFeed, Backtype and other social networks 24/7 and reports any mentions of your company. In addition, you can rank sentiment on the conversations and generate reports to see where and how your brand is being discussed.