Be Good

A great article in the FT this week by Sarah Murray (behind their paywall) about the power of the internet to make con­sumers powerful broad­casters. It ends with four quick tips for com­panies planning to join the social media space:

• See what’s out there. New services can help com­panies analyse their online repu­ta­tions. Blog-​​focused search engines such as Blogpulse or Technorati allow com­panies to search by keywords.
• Respond pro-​​actively. Companies need to take part in dis­cus­sions about their brands; these dis­cus­sions will take place regard­less, often in the most unpre­dict­able ways. The dis­covery of the geyser-​​like effects of putting Mentos mints into Diet Coke or Pepsi led to thou­sands of videos on YouTube demon­strating the phenomenon.
• Manage online con­ver­sa­tions. Companies that enter the blo­go­sphere need to be prepared to post even the most critical comments about their brands, products or beha­viour. They also need to respond quickly and with the right voice. Communications that come across like cor­porate press releases will attract criticism.
• Match rhetoric with action. No amount of online com­mu­nic­a­tion will save a company’s repu­ta­tion if it is not reflected in its beha­viour. And any gap between cor­porate pro­nounce­ments and cor­porate action will be quickly spotted and will be gen­er­ally derided.

The last point is par­tic­u­larly important, con­tro­ver­sial and inter­esting. As Katy Howell of Immediate Future told me a few months ago, this is an age where a company’s wrong­do­ings might be blasted across the internet in a matter of moments. There really is no damage lim­it­a­tion that can be applied except being good.

Thanks to Drew for the tip-​​off and more.

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