Web 2.0 is a Different World
It's no secret that large corporations are anxious to jump on the bandwagon and get their brands known in web 2.0 and social media. Blogs have become a must-have tool for any company that wants to stay viable with today’s savvy consumers. GM, Kodak, Ford, Jet Blue Airlines, and many more now have official Twitter accounts to manage their communications with consumers in the public medium.
It’s admirable that companies are going to such lengths to get in touch with their customer bases. However, learning the ins and outs of proper etiquette in the web 2.0 world can be a rough road, especially if the social media consultants and/or PR firms you are entrusting your brand to are unscrupulous.
Social media caveat: Let the corporation beware.
Let’s look at the following example of spam I received from Tide as an illustration.
Everyone Makes Mistakes, Even Huge Corporations.
If you follow me on Twitter, you might remember a few Tweets of mine prior to the superbowl saying that I had just received spam comments from Tide on HomeEverAfter.com!
I was shocked, and the messages from other twitterers all suggested that it must be from a real spammer using Tide’s name; it couldn’t possibly be from the official Tide brand, owned by corporate giant Proctor & Gamble.
Since Proctor & Gamble is a company I respect and trust, I had to get all the facts before I went on record criticizing their lack of web 2.0 etiquette. Ever the investigative journalist, I got to work on the case and turned up some interesting information:
- The links left in the spam comments ARE pointing to official P&G websites.
- The spam came from a popular US-based public relations firm.
- The PR firm in question claimed to be working directly for Tide.
Socially Responsible Spammers?
Since no self-respecting spammer would sell their soul to the Spam devil to promote someone else’s site when they received no financial gain from it, I had to assume that these people had really been hired by Proctor & Gamble to spam me and other unsuspecting bloggers. How could this be?
Proctor & Gamble is not a small potatoes operation. Named one of the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations, creating public service announcements to help missing and exploited children, and participating in countless community programs which they created, we’re talking about what appears to be a vigilantly socially responsible company.
I couldn’t spread this message to fellow bloggers without knowing it’s validity, so I reached out to Proctor & Gamble for answers. At first, I received a vague email response which neither confirmed nor denied the relationship with the offending spam PR company. This just wasn’t good enough for me! With my second attempt, I was able to get in touch with External Relations at Tide and finally got some answers. Here is the email from Tide / P&G:
“Danelle,
I lead External Relations and Partnerships for the Tide brand. I received a note from our Consumer Relations team late Friday sharing your concerns about ‘spam-like’ posts on your blog/website recently, and wanted to follow-up with you about it.
First, I apologize for the inconvenience and/or annoyance the posting caused. As a blogger myself, I can certainly empathize. P&G and Tide have very clear principles and guidelines when it comes to authentically and genuinely interacting with consumer in the Digital/Social Media space, and we take these responsibilities very seriously. We are still learning, however, and everyday we hope to continue to better understand and navigate the Social Media space. A mistake was made by one of the extended vendors we partner with from time to time, and while it’s a rare occurrence, it’s an unacceptable one. Thank you for contacting us about this issue, as it most definitely will (and has already) help us modify, improve, and enforce our approach and structure within the blogosphere moving forward. We’ve already addressed this mistake with the vendor.
We look forward to continue staying in touch with these dynamic, digital conversations in the future while more tenaciously upholding our company’s principles and values. Sorry again for our mistake.”
I was relieved after the conversation I had with the gentleman from Tide. After all, their company is one I have a lot of respect for, and I felt the pain as if it was my own, since this could happen to almost anyone with good intentions that just didn't know the best practices yet.
The spam blog comments left with their company's name are now permanent fixtures on many blogs, and there's nothing they can do to fix that now. However, they can (and I'm certain they already did) revise their practices for the future, including giving very detailed instructions to consultants and PR companies handling their business.
I applaud Tide / P&G for being big enough to step up and admit when they had made a mistake. Honesty and transparency really sets companies apart from their unscrupulous counterparts, and shows them as truly responsible corporations with genuine intentions. Although I always respected Tide previously, I now look at them in an entirely new light for the apology they sent and their sincere desire to do things right.
What Can We Learn From This?
There's no shortage of lessons we can learn from the previous example. For companies wishing to cross over into the online world and transition successfully, there has to be a bit of homework done at the outset. These points don't only apply to large corporations, but also to small businesses and individuals as well.
Lessons to Learn:
1. Be careful who you trust with your name and your brand. Just because a consultant says that they can help you market your company and get your name out there in a positive way, that doesn't necessarily mean that they have your best interest in mind. They may be shooting for the fastest and easiest method, so that they can get paid with minimal effort. This works out great for the PR Company, but leaves you alone when the dust settles to deal with the unhappy connections you've just made with consumers and/or potential partners.
2. Do your homework before jumping into a new medium. Information is free and available in abundance on the internet. A few well-placed Google searches can net a valuable lot of viewpoints on best practices in any given field. Will the time and money you spend on a little bit of research upfront really be such an inconvenience? You'll spend a lot more time and money trying to put out fires after the fact if something goes wrong. (Example: the Motrin moms fiasco of 2008.)
3. Put forward a consistent face by having one person or one team represent you online. The old adage to not let the left hand know what the right is doing is not a good idea in today’s world of business. Always coordinate your company’s outward approach, or be resigned to expect “the unexpected disasters”.
So in conclusion, here is the twitter version of this article, in 2 tweets:
HomeEverAfter Found out the superbowl spam comment I got from Tide was official. They hired a bad PR company & didn’t know what they were getting.
less than 10 seconds ago from TweetDeck
HomeEverAfter Tide-issued apology for spam on DanelleIce.com. Lesson: Choose PR firms carefully- they represent YOU to your customers!
less than 5 seconds ago from TweetDeck
Danelle Ice is a problogger and socially responsible social media consultant! Connect with her on Twitter.
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