Whether you are on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+ or not, you have to look at how you manage WHAT is said about you, and how it affects your business. I recently heard a participant in a seminar tell the people at her table that she LOVES her Facebook Business page over Yelp because if someone says something negative she has the power to REMOVE it and “make it go away” and she can’t do that on Yelp! Social Media is about MANAGING the conversations, not MAKING THEM GO AWAY.
If you delete that post, trust me they will post it elsewhere. And it will probably be even more negative.
The IBM CIO recently said: “We have entered the age of the smarter consumer.” Deleting their complaint isn’t smart. (We talk more about this in our reputation management session in the So Me Insights tele-series and you can get the recordings if you missed the call series).
Here is the other thing: NOT having an account on one of these sites doesn’t mean they are not talking about you or your brand. It just means YOU are not a part of the conversation!
Here is the most interesting part: most of it will be positive and you STILL won’t be a part! You WANT to be a part of managing the positive things said about your business online. Those people help you achieve the goal of the SNCC way:
1-visibility
2-raving fans
3-referral sources
4-press…. (oh you know what we teach!)
Your accounts matter. It localizes what is said on different sites. And you want to monitor and manage because how you respond is what makes the difference!
- Set up Google Alerts for your business, brand and your name (or key players in your company)
- Set up Social Mentions for the same
- Run Twitter Searches all the time
These are just a few tips to get you started in managing the positive (and rarely negative) comments! Do you have a reputation management strategy you love?
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
I used to think I could just put out content. Now I see that without engagement and seeing what is said about me, I might as well not post at all. Thank you for these fantastic tips, Ann!
I totally agree, Ann. I have found over the past 13 years of working online that I actually learn a lot by the few negative comments I have gotten and if I just deleted them, what would be the point of the good comments?
There are layers and layers to social network marketing. Thanks for the great tips on managing comments etc.
This is so true, Ann, and I appreciate you sharing the online tools to track comments…I didn’t know about the Social Mentions one and have not activated the Twitter comments one, so now I am motivated to do so! I do check regularly on Google and Yelp for comments made and also reply when appropriate. But I know there are a lot of other places on line where comments may be left that I know nothing about! Some places, like Angie’s List, notify you when you receive a review so that is helpful. Thank you once again for helping to improve our relationship marketing and how we are perceived online as well.
Yes, the temptation is great to delete the negative comment. I managed to leave it and respond with kindness. So I’m grateful for my training in the SNCC way! Thanks, @AnnEvanston:
Julieanne Case
Always from the heart!
Reconnecting you to your Original Blueprint, Your Essence, Your Joy| Healing you from the Inside Out |Reconnective Healing | The Reconnection| AgeLoc Skin Care | Pharmanex Supplements
http://thereconnectivehighway.com
I always learn something new from you Ann. I already have a twitter search on my name but didn’t have Google alerts or social mention. I’ve set up Google alerts on my name and business name. Unfortunately Social Mention is down for a week. Now I have to remember to set it up next week! What Google alerts find on my name should be interesting since I’m not the only Susan Berland out there and one is currently running for City Council on Long Island!
Susan Berland
A Picture’s Worth
http://susan-berland.com
I always learn something new from you Ann. I already have a twitter
search on my name but didn’t have Google alerts or social mention. I’ve
set up Google alerts on my name and business name. Unfortunately Social
Mention is down for a week. Now I have to remember to set it up next
week! What Google alerts find on my name should be interesting since I’m
not the only Susan Berland out there and one is currently running for
City Council on Long Island!
Susan Berland
A Picture’s Worth
http://susan-berland.com
Thank you thank you thank you. All of these concrete steps combined with strategic overview has been a steep learning curve, but I feel so encouraged as I plod along in my baby steps, one at a time. I will be setting up all that is not set up from this post tomorrow without an extra prayer of thanks to you, Ann.
Well obviously I follow the same strategy as you – lol Social Mention has been down for some time though. I have been monitoring my reputation for quite some time. Very important.
Louise Edington
Breaking Through online Frontiers
http://louiseedington.com
I love reading your posts because I always pick up something new in each one. Maybe not always completely new, but a new way of looking at something. That is a good thing! This time I learned about Social Mentions (although it seems to not be working at the moment). I’ve done Google alerts for several years and run twitter searches, but Social Mentions is new to me, so thanks!
Candace Davenport
http://www.ourlittlebooks.com ~ Little Books with a Big Message
I can see from this that I haven’t done a good job of searching and managing mentions. Thanks for the specific suggestions. I don’t need so much persuading, but I do benefit from the instruction. I know that this message of tolerating the negative comments (rather than trying to sweep them away) is a valuable one, as I’m sure my tendency would be to react with fear. I really like the point that the conversation will go on without us if we don’t get in there and get active.
Judy Stone-Goldman
The Reflective Writer
http://www.thereflectivewriter.com
I know you’ve mentioned this before, but it completely slipped my mind. I need to go set those up. It’s so tempting to remove anything negative, but you’re so right that the conversation will still show up somewhere else and likely be worse. I think it’s very important that when you see the negative, that you step back for a minute and be very careful in the response. I’ve seen people get combative, shut down sites, all sorts of things following a negative comment.
Thanks Ann, So very true. Read this a couple days ago. I agree with it , but still need to set up the monitoring. Thanks for the reminder.
Will do. It’s on my mighty long list. Some comfort that I can look forward to it being mostly positive….
I have been in business a long time off line and whenever there is any kind of complaint or situation the customer isnt happy I face it head on and I expect I will do the same thing online