Almost every marketer and media person out there recommend that businesses should engage with their public on social media. We find ourselves engaged in a new game on a new field with new rules. There has been a definite power shift towards to the consumer. Just being represented on the various social media is no longer acceptable. Oh no, the modern consumer demands meaningful interaction, transparency, news about products without the hard sell techniques, choices ... in short, value.
Social media campaigns can change destinies when successful, however, they can also cause immense damage to companies. The most important fact to remember is that social cannot be controlled. You certainly need to monitor and react swiftly when things go wrong. But, customers have their own view and are definitely not afraid to voice it.
Planning a social media campaign carefully is therefore of the utmost importance. You really need to think outside the box to anticipate all possible reactions. Let's look for example at JPMorgan's failed Twitter PR stunt.
JPMorgan announced with great fanfare that Jimmy Lee, the company's vice chairman, would answer questions. Very quickly the company's Twitter account was flooded with sarcastic questions clearly showcasing displeasure with the company on a very big scale. Unable to rectify the situation, JPMorgan canceled the conversation.
It is almost impossible to believe that the company could be so naive and clueless about public sentiment towards it. The company has reached a $13 billion settlement with the Department of Justice for bundling up and selling toxic mortgages to unsuspecting investors.
