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Permalink to Do These 5 Things to Ease Your Fear of Social Media Criticism

Do These 5 Things to Ease Your Fear of Social Media Criticism

by Angie Sanders|on August 22, 2012 |in Content marketing, Just good business, Social Media |tagged , , , , , , |4 Comments

Rashida, a former graduate classmate of mine, tweeted the following just a week ago: “It’s sad sitting in a meeting about social/digital tools and hearing the antiquated: ‘What if the customers say bad things about us?’”

I replied: “Then you say: ‘They’re probably already saying bad things. You just can’t hear it yet.’”

If we can count on our publics for anything, we can count on them saying unfavorable things about our companies or organizations at some point—whether it’s to their peers or to others in the social space.  However, if you haven’t done the necessary work to manage your company’s or organization’s reputation outside the social media realm, then you have just cause for concern.

Which brings me to Tim Worstall’s Aug. 5 Forbes article, “Maybe Business Should Not Invest in Marketing in Social Media like Facebook and Twitter?” I respect his argument, but the case he makes for “not investing in advertising” on social media had less to do with the money and return on investment involved but more to do with companies’ fears of setting themselves up for a barrage of criticism.  And what types of companies does he use as examples? Banks.

“You can imagine that a bank trying to market a new mortgage offer is going to be less than happy when Twitter explodes into a storm of ‘What about Libor?’, ‘What about the billions we gave you?’” he writes.

This banking example is weak because the industry’s track record of protecting customers’ money and interests is deplorable. Customers and the general public are scorned and distrustful. So an honest and accessible medium like social media platforms must scare the daylights out of banking.

So how can companies and organizations with less volatile relationships with their publics engage with the public using social media but ease the sting of possible negative comments?

Decide who’s responsible for engagement. Decide the person(s) responsible for managing your social presences and engaging your communities. Keep communication with them constant and clear. They should be plugged into the key messages coming from your organization. In turn, they should be able to report what’s being said about your brand on social media.

Listen to the conversation. Pay attention to what your audience is saying about your brand or about industry issues that affect you. Is the sentiment growing enough to warrant a response?

Decide how to handle one-off insults. There are haters out there who spew random insults. This is no fault of your own. But you should have a plan for how to handle these random outbursts.

Have a plan for issues in the social space that escalate. There will be issues that arise in the field concerning your industry or your brand. Just a few years ago, someone would call or email your office to let you know what’s happened. Now you’re more likely to hear about it on social media first. Have a plan for determining when to escalate a situation and spring into crisis communication mode.

Use social media in a way that coincides with other public relations/marketing efforts. Be sure that the messages you convey in social media coincide with your overall public relations/marketing messages and goals. Be purposeful about your social activity as you are about your activity in other media.

Permalink to Oprah: Do You Know How HARD it is to Build My Own Network?

Oprah: Do You Know How HARD it is to Build My Own Network?

by Angie Sanders|on July 20, 2012 |in What's on TV |tagged , , , , , |4 Comments

Fox hit the airwaves in 1986 with only one show, The Late Show, hosted by Joan Rivers. The show tanked after only one year.

The network regrouped and attacked prime time with shows like Married with Children and The Tracey Ullman Show. They added one show each week for the next few weeks. Fox struggled along but now, after 16 years, it’s legitimate in the eyes of the viewing public. However, it’s still the butt of many jokes because of its gang of failed programs.

So why is it that we—myself included—expect Oprah to accomplish with OWN in just a few months what it took Rupert Murdoch years to do with Fox?

On March 28, I wrote a post about Oprah’s obvious problems with OWN, but after watching the first five minutes of  Oprah Builds a Network part one, which aired on July 8 on OWN, the media mogul’s honesty and candidness set me straight.

“No one will ever understand what it took to do that last year… and while at the same time trying to build a network…” she explained. “I can honestly say that I wasn’t committed to the network because I was committed to [The Oprah Winfrey Show].”

Oprah’s name precedes her, and that often makes us forget that she’s human, just like us. One person making the leap from producing a one-hour television show to a 24-hour network is seemingly impossible effort. Her admissions during this show were the first we’d heard her utter about how tough this feat has been to pull off—even for her. “In this particular instance, being Oprah was a great asset and a detriment because it raised the bar and expectation for this little network beyond anything that I was capable of doing on my own,” she said.

She went on to say that she and her team were nowhere near ready to launch OWN, but media hype and public expectation propelled them forward. Oprah sounded as if she regretted launching with such a bang and not being able to build slowly and see her vision come to fruition.

“I wanted to move forward with the network in a way that would be progressive and that would be thoughtful and that would be innovative and that would be inspiring,” Oprah said. “That was my vision. None of that happened.”

At a dinner party, Lorne Michaels, writer and producer of Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and 30 Rock fame, put things in perspective a bit for her.

“This thing you’ve taken on is huge. It’s big,” he said to her. “And nobody wants to see you sashay from the set of The Oprah Winfrey Show into this new business and everything go okay. You’re going to have to pay your dues. You’re going to have to learn the hard way. And you’re going to have to use the word mother*$ker a couple of times.”

Michaels also advised her to physically position herself on or somewhere very close to the network to ensure her vision is executed properly.

Here I am trying to run a little company and I’m judging Oprah for launching an entire television network.  And for that, I’m sorry. She’s encountered programming hiccups and Twitter gaffes along the way, but what’s important to note about Oprah is that she keeps going. That gives me motivation to keep pushing along with my miniature endeavor in comparison.

Set your DVR to catch the replay of Oprah Builds a Network parts one and two on Sunday, July 22 from 6-8 p.m.

Permalink to Mad Men’s Roger Sterling is a Dream Killer

Mad Men’s Roger Sterling is a Dream Killer

by Angie Sanders|on May 7, 2012 |in Just good business, What's on TV |tagged , , , , , , , |6 Comments

Dream killers are people who poke holes in your aspirations. Or they pull down their pants and take a smelly dump on everything you hope to be and achieve. Misery is the main reason why they brandish their salty words at unsuspecting idealists. These common thugs are unhappy with their lives — personal and/or professional — and take pleasure in dragging hopefuls down in the pits of despair.

Dream killers can pop up anywhere. In this season of Mad Men, copywriter Ken Cosgrove’s dream of becoming a science fiction author stares down the barrel of Roger Sterling’s gun — plated with a shiny coat of hater chrome.  At a dinner party with agency partners Roger, Pete Campbell, Don Draper, and their spouses, Ken’s wife Cynthia brags about her husband’s gift for writing thought-provoking fiction. Little did she know, she’d just ordered a hit.

“When this job is good,” Roger says during a one-on-one meeting with Ken at the office, “[this job] fulfills all your needs.” After Roger busts a cap in Ken’s dream, viewers can almost see the blood on the carpet. At the end of the episode, Ken tells Peggy Olsen that he’s abandoned the silly idea. As he walks away, he tracks blood on the floor with his shoes.

This episode got me thinking about how our personal aspirations fit in our 9-5 lives.  Latoya Tardy, president and owner of Work Wonderful, explains how much of our lives our employers truly own and gives advice on how to save our dreams from sudden death on the job.

Why is it that companies believe they’ve bought an employee’s entire life with a salary?
Employers believe employees should be grateful to have a job.  These employers pile on extra work, are less mindful of employees’ personal obligations and assume employees’ will stand for the treatment because they have no other options. Many employers don’t realize that the job market is actually changing.  When they experience excessive turnover, they’ll realize employees can’t be bought.

On the other hand, the minute your employer knows that you’re the “super employee”— meaning you’ve been there for a few years, don’t rock the boat, accept incremental raises, and always put your best foot forward — your life has been purchased. You’re paid well for what you do according to your employer, and for those reasons, they’ll use you.

Technology has increased our accessibility for better and worse. How much of an employee’s time does a salary actually buy?
When you move up or around in an organization, you’re expected to make certain sacrifices.  Time is usually one of those sacrifices.  We’re always connected and essentially always working.  Salary does not buy time, but the expectation that employees are responsive and attentive has been taken out of context because of technology. You set the bar for how much time you’ll allow your employer to take from you.  If you answer the e-mails on Saturday, the bar has been set that you’ll always answer e-mails on Saturday.  Even doctors break away sometimes.  Everyone should.

How can employees balance their 9-5 job with outside, lucrative interests?
If you trust your employer, you should disclose your outside interests to them. Most companies require employees to disclose outside endeavors that require time and resources and generate income.  If an employer feels that you’re being totally honest with them, then they’re less likely to scrutinize your outside opportunity.  Build it into your vision of growth for the company.  Show them how your outside endeavor can help you grow and help the current business.  Once you have their buy in, they’ll be more understanding if you can’t stay late because of another obligation.

Mad Men is set in the 60s. Do you think employers are less or more supportive of employee’s endeavors outside the office? Or do they care?
Do employers care about these endeavors?  They absolutely do!  Retention is becoming a problem and employers are getting nervous. They’re less supportive if it means this endeavor could potentially take you away from them. They also need to be sure you’re not sharing trade secrets. Employers are supportive of your outside endeavor if it’s not deemed as direct completion for the company, doesn’t use the knowledge you gained at the company and if the employer feels you’ve been up front with them about your career plan.

Latoya Tardy is a human resources professional with 13 years of experience in building teams, managing recruitment, creating staffing and retention programs, managing compliance and observing behavior in corporate America. Work Wonderful is a northern Virginia based consulting firm designed to help both employees and employers forge better working relationships and create workforce synergy.