Facebook

David Clarke has a great blog post on the Facebook haters who “like” your brand. He outlines some types of people that will “like” (or become a Fan) your brand on Facebook – but not all of them are fans. It is definitely worth a read if you are trying to understand the dynamic of who might “like” your Facebook page.

Recently we’ve seen a few organizations have their Facebook pages overrun by critics. There are some challenges when you choose to develop a Facebook page for your organization. One of the risks you face come from the people that will click that “like” button, but who are really critics or, even worse, haters of your brand. Of course, there are also people who are supporters out there too and you don’t want to miss the opportunity to connect with them because of a fear of the negative.

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There seems to be a trend happening that is quite interesting. It certainly created some engaging discussion at the AHA office. Recently, I had the opportunity to sit beside the VP of Social Media for a large PR firm. I have a passing acquaintance with this woman and we got to talking about the demands of our jobs and how our roles have changed because of social media. She surprised me by saying that at the end of the month, she was turning in her BlackBerry and was going back to a cell phone. One that would be turned off at 6 p.m. and back on at 8 a.m. – just business hours. Keep in mind, this is the VP of social media.

Another friend approached me to ask about Facebook protocol and etiquette. It turns out he took a look at his Facebook “friends” and realized that, for the most part, they were friends of friends or acquaintances that really don’t impact his life very much. He was trying to figure out how to “unfriend” people, going so far as thinking about deleting his page and starting a new secret page just for people that he wants to stay in touch with.

I have another friend who entered the Facebook world cautiously. He doesn’t use his real name on Facebook, he keeps his friends to a small number because the only way you really know he is on Facebook is if he emails you and explains that his “alias” wants to friend you and it’s really him.

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Kevin Barenblat has a great blog post on iMediaconnection.com that focuses on the eight brand personalities that Facebook and Twitter users hate. It is worth a read.

One of the hated personalities, he says, is the non-responder. There are some great Facebook pages out there that have taken energy and effort to build and then, just when an organization seems to be on the verge of really engaging their community—nothing. People are talking, asking questions, chatting and there is no response or connection from the organization. When people are left hanging, the organization loses credibility.

There are several opportunities to respond that weren’t available a few years ago. One that it often overlooked is the daily news – whether print or broadcast – for the most part, it’s online and readers can comment. I can’t tell you how many communicators smack themselves on the forehead and say, “Oh yeah, I forgot about that,” when I ask them if they monitor the daily news and if they respond, when appropriate.

Facebook is another area. It surprises me when an organization has gone to the effort to create a Facebook page and build a community there and then they just update but don’t engage with the people. One of the challenges here is that many business professionals have not yet embraced the two-way street of communication that social media offers. They think of Facebook and other tools as a way to broadcast their information, not to have a conversation. While there are opportunities to send out information, it is crucial that before any organization makes the decision to participate in social media that they have, indeed, made the decision to participate.

I know it can seem overwhelming. Keeping up-to-date on what is being discussed, commenting and responding can appear to be a real challenge for the over-worked communicator. One of the things we do with clients when looking at how to approach the added work necessary to keep your social media outreach interactive, engaging and authentic is to review what communications tools are currently being used. Times have changed and not all of the tools that provided results in the past work today. Take a solid look at what you are currently doing and what is working. In that mix, there is probably something that can be retired, allowing you to replace it with Facebook, Twitter or another social media tool or network. You only have so much time in a day, a limited budget and limited resources. How are you going to best spend them in today’s online-connected world?

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Being attacked publicly is one of the main concerns that we hear when we speak with new clients about the potential of using social media as a part of their communications efforts. This is a valid concern and one that needs to be addressed, especially for those organizations that have outspoken critics—critics that understand and use social media and other PR tactics.

The challenge that Nestlé is facing is in the use of palm oil in their products.

You only have to read a few comments on its Facebook page to see that people are angry with Nestlé and while the challenge began with a video about Kit Kat put out by Greenpeace, it escalated into something that has now taken on a life of its own.

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Integrating social media into your communication efforts doesn’t stop when you write a strategic plan. It is an ongoing and evolving effort. We have recently had some interesting conversations with a client that we work with on a project basis. This client is someone that we have a huge amount of respect for and we want to see him succeed. His company is young and growing and he has a strong philanthropic focus. He came to us to help him build a strategic plan that included social media.

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