Social Media Marketing: Setting expectations both internally and externally [Video]
“#FAIL” is the last thing you want to hear from your audience on your social media channels.
From disgruntled users or customers to people calling out your company or brand’s blunder, handling the outcome of a social media fail correctly is critical for recovery.
But beyond just addressing a crisis online, is there an effective way to prevent these cringe-worthy mishaps from even happening?
In the MarketingSherpa Media Center at IRCE, Andrew Jones, Industry Analyst, Altimeter Group, explained how using a simple two-part strategy can help prevent social media fails before they occur.
Strategy #1. Manage expectations internally
Before you embark on social media, Andrew explained there should be a plan going into the journey to set guidelines for those who will be posting.
“At first, I think a lot of brands got involved and saw it as kind of a cute toy, and said, ‘Oh, let’s give it to the intern,” or, ‘Let’s give it to someone who doesn’t necessarily know a lot about the company,”‘ Andrew explained. “That can cause problems if the engagement that ends up representing the company in a very public space ends up causing social media fails or misrepresenting the company.”
Andrew recommended that the team managing a company’s social media account has rules and scenarios on how to interact with the audience online, especially when there’s a problem.
Strategy #2. Manage expectations externally
Having rules for engagement when things go wrong is helpful, taking it a step further by posting those rules publicly will help a company succeed when the inevitable social media crisis occurs.
For example, Andrew explained that when there are confrontational comments, and they are deleted by the brand or company, that could make the problem worse.
“If you don’t have something to point to, it’s very easy for fans and followers to get really up in arms about what you’re doing, or deleting, or any kind of behavior,” Andrew said.
By being transparent about what is – and isn’t – appropriate on your social media channels, you will have something to fall back on if something goes wrong.
Watch Andrew’s full interview from the MarketingSherpa Media Center at IRCE to learn more about social media fails, and how to address them.
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Categories: Marketing altimeter group, IRCE, social media, social media fails, social media marketing, social media policy
