Social Media Marketing Mistakes You Don't Want to Make

Graeme Newell

In last week's article I talked about how media companies are changing their tactics to successfully integrate social media into the station marketing mix.  In today's article, I take the exact opposite approach.  What types of stations should stay away from social media?  What type of campaigns tend to go down in flames and which become all the buzz?

In the 2007 Superbowl, Frito Lay scored a huge viral marketing hit by inviting everyday people to create ads for Doritos that would air in the game.  The fans responded and created gems such as "checkout" and "car crash," some of the best commercials in that year's game.  Frito Lay had a huge success because it carefully did its homework before launching the viral marketing.

In 2006 General Motors didn't do its homework and created one of the most infamous viral marketing campaigns in recent history.  It completely blew up in its face, generating acres of embarrassing press coverage.  Chevy invited everyday people to create ads for the Tahoe SUV.  It posted stock footage and soundtracks for the participants to use, then asked these Madison Avenue wantabes to upload their advertising gems to a web site.

Predictably, it got a lot of very sarcastic and negative video ads that portrayed the truck as an environmental pig driven by wasteful showoffs with an inferiority complex.  These negative ads became a viral hit on YouTube. 

GM made this blunder because it didn't understand its customers or its critics.  There are lots of people who love their SUVs, but in the current green climate, they won't be singing praises from the rooftops.  The SUV is almost a guilty pleasure. In an environment like this, GM set itself up to fail because it bought its own internal press.  It didn't understand its customers.  It jumped on the trendy bandwagon of viral interactivity and got run over by critics.

It is vital to remember that people will be brutally honest about your product in the blogosphere.  If you aren't ready to hear what they have to say, then don't go there.  Understanding your detractors before launching a social media site is an important precursor to any social marketing efforts.

This can be especially disconcerting for managers who get their first honest feedback from customers. After generations of using advertising and PR to spin nothing but positive field-of-daisies messages, it is jarring and frightening to get honest feedback from your customers.

Viral marketing that fails has a common thread - the companies did not understand how customers really felt about them.  A lot of companies do research, but the results have often been tabulated and processed to take the sting out of the message.  This is what makes listening so important.  Before you can effectively launch social media sites, you must truly understand how your customers feel about you. You must do an incredible amount of listening.  Then, when you open up the floodgates and let your audience talk honestly about what they love and what they hate, you can manage the conversation.  Frito Lay carefully did just that and had a big win. 

It's important to remember that you don't own your brand. Your brand is owned by the people who use, admire, despise, adore, and revile your company.  While you can attempt to influence how they think, ultimately the decision will be theirs.  There will be more voices about your company than just your own and that of traditional media. That’s why it is important that your company establish a genuine personality. Just like a real person, someone with a personality will be more likable, more understood, and more likely to be a friend.  Viral marketing gives everyone a voice in shaping your brand. Companies that have a pretty veneer with a rotten center will quickly be exposed and torn to pieces.

In the past, PR firms have been dedicated to hiding a company's personality. Communication with the outside world was tightly controlled.  Press releases, speeches, and other carefully managed communication channels were painstakingly contained.  PR's primary goal was to be a human shield against negative press.

We just don't get that option anymore. Most of the communication about your company is now firmly in the hands of the general population. On blogs, in forums and in chat rooms, they generate exponentially more press about your company than you ever will. This means all your warts will be on display for everyone to see. 

In the world of social media, getting your own house in order is one of the most important things to do. It will not be enough to simply lock the gates and hope the hordes don't comment.  They have a voice now.  You can choose to manage it, or let them dictate your brand image without your input.  They are firmly in control. You are just one of the many voices in a battle for the mindshare of your own company’s image.

Graeme Newell is a broadcast and web marketing specialist.  His teasing seminars immediately increase audience retention.  He guarantees you will get an immediate ratings increase or his workshop is free.  Find out more here.