Social Relevancy, Online Reputation Management and Measurement are musts for all companies and frankly for all individuals who run or are involved in business they want to move to the next level.
To prove it, companies are getting funded in ‘social relevancy’ sectors and startups like PeerIndex and Klout are doing their best to prove to the world that relevancy matters.
Look at Dell as an example. They’re focusing more attention on Twitter because they realize that people only buy a PC/laptop once every year or once every two years, so they need a social ‘tool’ to keep their fans engaged all the time.
In doing so, it’s important to not just identify but consistently use that ‘organizational voice.’ Zappos is a great example of a company who consistently brings that corporate culture into every aspect of their work and play. They integrate play into their work in a way that works.
Online Reputation Management: people will check out your reputation online before they will consider doing a deal with you or working with you. Here are some great examples worth reading about.
- Pepsi: bad ad goes nuts and then the negative tweets started going nuts, but they responded right away and said, yeah, you’re right, this isn’t appropriate, we agree and we’ll take it down right away.
- FTD.com responded badly to comments about flowers not being delivering on Mother’s Day and did so btw, through a traditional press release that didn’t really address or respond to people’s concerns, and in the process only made it worse. Perception is reality my friends. Know when the ‘game is on.’
- Taco Bell – Taco Hell: Rodent Video Signals New Era in PR Crises. Again, they poorly responded through a traditional press release. It doesn’t mean they can’t respond that way, it means that it can’t be the only way they respond and the only outlet. It’s critical that your offenders and/or customers/fans in each case, feel understood and heard.
- Sears Killed My Dog: see story about how Sears backed up & killed a family dog and how it was ‘eventually’ handled.
- United Broke My Guitar: the music around this got 9+ million reviews. (Harvard case study says that it cost United $180 million lost in shareholder value)
Some social measurement tools to monitor your online reputation include:
- SocialMention.com – run social mention on you and your company
- Addictomatic.com
- Klout.com
- Google Alerts
- Radian6 – paid subscription service
- SM2 – paid subscription services
- Viral Heat – paid subscription service
- Pissedconsumer.com
- Angies List
- Rate my doctor
- LawyerRatingz
- Rate my teacher
- Speaker Rating
If you’re not running ‘listening campaigns’ on your name, your company name, product names and your competitor company and product names, how can you know what you don’t know and respond effectively?
By listening and engaging, you can more effectively respond when you see or hear something negative on you or your competition.
Measurement is also key when you run listening and engagement campaigns. A key question is this: what is the sentiment ratio? Once you identify what it is, keep measuring it. Monitor, measure, change strategy if needed (and perhaps even messaging) and then monitor and measure again.
It’s an ongoing process. If you don’t have this in place, you are not in the game. Don’t be driven by someone else already in the game, please lead. Don’t you want to be more than just a step ahead of your competition?
Photo credit: Erasseo.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
