Social Media is more than just a bunch a tech geeks chatting online. It can be a very useful tool to communicate with your clients, share specials, make a brand look personable but also to manage your online reputation.
There are many examples showing that Social Media helped a company resolve a conflict with a client. More times than others, it’s conflict that’s not being solved by Customer reps.
Twitter Success
Take for example Time Warner Cable. They had a very angry customer (Christine Kirk). She is working from home and had a very bad internet connection. After many attempts with the customer service department, nothing was being solved and it didn’t look like they cared much. When she starting complaining on Twitter (@luxuryprgal), she got immediate answers from multiple department at TWC and her problem was solved the next day. (read more about this story here).
This is a perfect example of how social media helped to resolve a conflict.
Twitter Failure
However, there are some famous examples of Social Media failures out there. You can check this article showing the worse 9 social media failures of 2009, showing case studies of Skittles, Pizza Hut, Burger King etc…
Social Media can do a lot of damages if not managed properly so don’t take it lightly. Lately, a few overreacting fans have made “scandals” about celebrities having Ghost Writers instead of tweeting themselves.
The main advice I can give is that if you start social media accounts, don’t be passive. If people mention your name or brand on twitter, respond to them, approach them. There is nothing worse for your online reputation than a whole bunch of people talking about you and you are not saying anything back.
