SOCIAL MEDIA: MONITORING AND PARTICIPATING
I have said it before and I will say it again. It’s October 2009 and for all the talk about social media and how it’s penetrating the world, at the corporate level social media remains largely untapped. While I too have read those stories about how great Jet Blue or Zappos is, they are among just a few companies that actually monitor. Nearly all companies aren’t participating, spending or even monitoring their social media (as I know first hand from complaints against large corporations, like Chase Bank and their inept customer service team, including Marleena Caro.)
I own the 21st largest PR firm in the United States, have over 1,500 friends on Facebook, 1,300 people following me on Twitter, dozens of employees, huge email lists, and on numerous occasions when personal contacts don’t work out, have “shouted out” via social media to no avail. No response from major companies who consider my PR agency and I to be good, bill-paying customers. It’s quite apparent that no one is monitoring or responding.
I also see it on the corporate side: brands continue to talk a lot about social media but won’t pony up and pay for it. There are a number of companies who are spending as they should in this arena, and we have helped many of them own this new form of media. They have made quantified sales and are capturing mind share.
But my guesstimate for the larger market place is that there will be no major changes before 2011. It’s all still talk, and if you want any indication, take a look at the Top 50 PR agencies and ask: How many blog? How many twitter?
Ronn Torossian
October 12th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Hello Ronn
How are you? Don’t forget about OneStopPlus.com. As you probably know, OneStopPlus.com is actively using both Facebook and Twitter. In just a few months (we started early this year), we have a good number of friends and followers on both media. More than the numbers, it’s a also the quality of the contacts that matters. We receive many interesting comments or questions through both channels and try to monitor and answer as much as possible. It changes dramatically our relationship with customers, bringing them much closer. Social media provide transparency and suppresses a lot of traditional walls between marketers and customers.
October 12th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Antione: absolutely OneStopPlus.com is the rare exception to the rule.
October 20th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Today, I find that social media is a great way not only to network, but to create free publicity for a company. When a company uses social media in a correct and positive way, it can only benefit an organization. The problem with social media, however, is that there must someone monitoring posts frequently. Although social media can be very positive when used correctly, it does not have a filter, meaning that anyone anywhere can post anything about your company, organization or brand. Monitoring social media is an important aspect when utilizing this new technique, and I feel that it will only continue to grow as the new year approaches.
December 22nd, 2009 at 10:06 pm
I have to say that my experience has been a little different. Companies are realizing that they must be aware of what is being said about them via social networks and they’re paying for people, like me, to be their eyes, ears, and voice. One of my clients is a very well-known speaker, author who has 5,000 friends on FB (I have to manually respond to new requests and tell them to join her Fan page) and almost 8,000 Twitter followers. She pays me to monitor her new media footprint. I do the same for other international companies and another media personality/author. Companies are getting how important Tweets and Status Updates are. This week I’ve dealt with two “rush to pacify” incidents involving angry customers posting negative reviews on Fan pages…that can affect sales as much as a magazine ad potentially. By the end of 2010 most companies serious about growth and brand control with have at least a part-time social networker.