Image: Social Media UK

There have been a lot of articles recently written about the need for companies to engage with their customers via social media. Some companies look at Dell’s $2 million revenue via social media and say – how do we scale to that over the next X months? While making money is a very good thing, the results don’t magically happen over night, but that gets lost in the hype. Something else that often gets lost in this tornado is whats really important, the conversation and the company’s image and reputation.

Think about it, as recently as a year ago, companies  – and newspapers – were ignoring blogs as a medium for people to communicate and share information with their peers. Many of the companies that dismissed blogs and forums for that matter, may wish that they had a Delorean to go back in time. Let’s face it blogs aren’t going anywhere and ignoring them can only lead to headaches down the road for companies.

The same can be said for social media. Sure some will still call it a passing fad, but these folks are not ready to believe in a change in the way that companies do business. With the real-time conversation engines across the Web, companies need to embrace the chaotic theory that their brand is owned by their constituents. So they better be listening and dialed into the consumer.

Failing to do so could be truly bad news for the company and their brand image. For example, let’s look at hash-tags and you are a resident of the Philadelphia area. Right before the first pitch of the World Series, your local Fox affiliate decides that they’d rather show Family Guy reruns than the game. Granted this is extreme, but I can guarantee that within minutes there would be an active hash-tag about this dilemma and the local station could either A fix it or suffer the consequence of a real-time complaint storm making news both locally and nationally from a little computer key – #

Yes the example is extreme, but say for instance you are a decent sized company who gets blindsided by a negative thread on a well-known blog. In this age of new media, you could simply broadcast your side of the story out there. Whether or not you screwed up consumers will get to hear your side, not the slanted side from the blog or complaint board. This holds true for large companies as well, especially with the resources at their finger tips. It is almost negligent to not know what is being said about you.

One of the biggest questions for businesses are Who? What? Why? and How?

Let’s address them one at a time:

Who – The person monitoring and reacting for the company should be decided on. While the organization could choose anyone they want, a person with a PR or communications background usually helps. It is also important to note that the voice should remain constant.

What – Listen to where you are being talked about. Are your customers engaging on blogs, Twitter, Forums, Facebook, etc? Well that’s where you should be. However don’t jump in blindly, listen and get to know what is being said before acting.

Why – The day of not caring and believing that a company can control the message that the consumer sees are over. Mommy blogs and review sites hold weight with consumers and are the new Word of Mouth.

How – Set a plan, listen, react and repeat

To be honest it isn’t rocket science, it just is a part of caring about what is being said about your company and brand. If you want to be loved by your customers, show them you care.

Oh and if you want to say I forgot the When – you should be doing it now.

Image: Social Media UK

There have been a lot of articles recently written about the need for companies to engage with their customers via social media. Some companies look at Dell’s $2 million revenue via social media and say – how do we scale to that over the next X months? While making money is a very good thing, the results don’t magically happen over night, but that gets lost in the hype. Something else that often gets lost in this tornado is whats really important, the conversation and the company’s image and reputation.

Think about it, as recently as a year ago, companies  – and newspapers – were ignoring blogs as a medium for people to communicate and share information with their peers. Many of the companies that dismissed blogs and forums for that matter, may wish that they had a Delorean to go back in time. Let’s face it blogs aren’t going anywhere and ignoring them can only lead to headaches down the road for companies.

The same can be said for social media. Sure some will still call it a passing fad, but these folks are not ready to believe in a change in the way that companies do business. With the real-time conversation engines across the Web, companies need to embrace the chaotic theory that their brand is owned by their constituents. So they better be listening and dialed into the consumer.

Failing to do so could be truly bad news for the company and their brand image. For example, let’s look at hash-tags and you are a resident of the Philadelphia area. Right before the first pitch of the World Series, your local Fox affiliate decides that they’d rather show Family Guy reruns than the game. Granted this is extreme, but I can guarantee that within minutes there would be an active hash-tag about this dilemma and the local station could either A fix it or suffer the consequence of a real-time complaint storm making news both locally and nationally from a little computer key – #

Yes the example is extreme, but say for instance you are a decent sized company who gets blindsided by a negative thread on a well-known blog. In this age of new media, you could simply broadcast your side of the story out there. Whether or not you screwed up consumers will get to hear your side, not the slanted side from the blog or complaint board. This holds true for large companies as well, especially with the resources at their finger tips. It is almost negligent to not know what is being said about you.

One of the biggest questions for businesses are Who? What? Why? and How?

Let’s address them one at a time:

Who – The person monitoring and reacting for the company should be decided on. While the organization could choose anyone they want, a person with a PR or communications background usually helps. It is also important to note that the voice should remain constant.

What – Listen to where you are being talked about. Are your customers engaging on blogs, Twitter, Forums, Facebook, etc? Well that’s where you should be. However don’t jump in blindly, listen and get to know what is being said before acting.

Why – The day of not caring and believing that a company can control the message that the consumer sees are over. Mommy blogs and review sites hold weight with consumers and are the new Word of Mouth.

How – Set a plan, listen, react and repeat

To be honest it isn’t rocket science, it just is a part of caring about what is being said about your company and brand. If you want to be loved by your customers, show them you care.

Oh and if you want to say I forgot the When – you should be doing it now.

Image: Social Media UK

There have been a lot of articles recently written about the need for companies to engage with their customers via social media. Some companies look at Dell’s $2 million revenue via social media and say – how do we scale to that over the next X months? While making money is a very good thing, the results don’t magically happen over night, but that gets lost in the hype. Something else that often gets lost in this tornado is whats really important, the conversation and the company’s image and reputation.

Think about it, as recently as a year ago, companies  – and newspapers – were ignoring blogs as a medium for people to communicate and share information with their peers. Many of the companies that dismissed blogs and forums for that matter, may wish that they had a Delorean to go back in time. Let’s face it blogs aren’t going anywhere and ignoring them can only lead to headaches down the road for companies.

The same can be said for social media. Sure some will still call it a passing fad, but these folks are not ready to believe in a change in the way that companies do business. With the real-time conversation engines across the Web, companies need to embrace the chaotic theory that their brand is owned by their constituents. So they better be listening and dialed into the consumer.

Failing to do so could be truly bad news for the company and their brand image. For example, let’s look at hash-tags and you are a resident of the Philadelphia area. Right before the first pitch of the World Series, your local Fox affiliate decides that they’d rather show Family Guy reruns than the game. Granted this is extreme, but I can guarantee that within minutes there would be an active hash-tag about this dilemma and the local station could either A fix it or suffer the consequence of a real-time complaint storm making news both locally and nationally from a little computer key – #

Yes the example is extreme, but say for instance you are a decent sized company who gets blindsided by a negative thread on a well-known blog. In this age of new media, you could simply broadcast your side of the story out there. Whether or not you screwed up consumers will get to hear your side, not the slanted side from the blog or complaint board. This holds true for large companies as well, especially with the resources at their finger tips. It is almost negligent to not know what is being said about you.

One of the biggest questions for businesses are Who? What? Why? and How?

Let’s address them one at a time:

Who – The person monitoring and reacting for the company should be decided on. While the organization could choose anyone they want, a person with a PR or communications background usually helps. It is also important to note that the voice should remain constant.

What – Listen to where you are being talked about. Are your customers engaging on blogs, Twitter, Forums, Facebook, etc? Well that’s where you should be. However don’t jump in blindly, listen and get to know what is being said before acting.

Why – The day of not caring and believing that a company can control the message that the consumer sees are over. Mommy blogs and review sites hold weight with consumers and are the new Word of Mouth.

How – Set a plan, listen, react and repeat

To be honest it isn’t rocket science, it just is a part of caring about what is being said about your company and brand. If you want to be loved by your customers, show them you care.

Oh and if you want to say I forgot the When – you should be doing it now.

Image: Social Media UK

There have been a lot of articles recently written about the need for companies to engage with their customers via social media. Some companies look at Dell’s $2 million revenue via social media and say – how do we scale to that over the next X months? While making money is a very good thing, the results don’t magically happen over night, but that gets lost in the hype. Something else that often gets lost in this tornado is whats really important, the conversation and the company’s image and reputation.

Think about it, as recently as a year ago, companies  – and newspapers – were ignoring blogs as a medium for people to communicate and share information with their peers. Many of the companies that dismissed blogs and forums for that matter, may wish that they had a Delorean to go back in time. Let’s face it blogs aren’t going anywhere and ignoring them can only lead to headaches down the road for companies.

The same can be said for social media. Sure some will still call it a passing fad, but these folks are not ready to believe in a change in the way that companies do business. With the real-time conversation engines across the Web, companies need to embrace the chaotic theory that their brand is owned by their constituents. So they better be listening and dialed into the consumer.

Failing to do so could be truly bad news for the company and their brand image. For example, let’s look at hash-tags and you are a resident of the Philadelphia area. Right before the first pitch of the World Series, your local Fox affiliate decides that they’d rather show Family Guy reruns than the game. Granted this is extreme, but I can guarantee that within minutes there would be an active hash-tag about this dilemma and the local station could either A fix it or suffer the consequence of a real-time complaint storm making news both locally and nationally from a little computer key – #

Yes the example is extreme, but say for instance you are a decent sized company who gets blindsided by a negative thread on a well-known blog. In this age of new media, you could simply broadcast your side of the story out there. Whether or not you screwed up consumers will get to hear your side, not the slanted side from the blog or complaint board. This holds true for large companies as well, especially with the resources at their finger tips. It is almost negligent to not know what is being said about you.

One of the biggest questions for businesses are Who? What? Why? and How?

Let’s address them one at a time:

Who – The person monitoring and reacting for the company should be decided on. While the organization could choose anyone they want, a person with a PR or communications background usually helps. It is also important to note that the voice should remain constant.

What – Listen to where you are being talked about. Are your customers engaging on blogs, Twitter, Forums, Facebook, etc? Well that’s where you should be. However don’t jump in blindly, listen and get to know what is being said before acting.

Why – The day of not caring and believing that a company can control the message that the consumer sees are over. Mommy blogs and review sites hold weight with consumers and are the new Word of Mouth.

How – Set a plan, listen, react and repeat

To be honest it isn’t rocket science, it just is a part of caring about what is being said about your company and brand. If you want to be loved by your customers, show them you care.

Oh and if you want to say I forgot the When – you should be doing it now.