Whichever platform you use, there’s no denying: social media makes your brand visible.
Some businesses worry that visibility can open you up to complaints, negativity and trolling. And yes, that can be the experience for brands that don’t have a proper handle on things. But really, using social media properly is your first line of defence in protecting your brand’s reputation.
Let’s look at some examples.
Crisis management
Let’s say there’s a crisis – maybe in your business, industry or region. Social media is one of the first places the public turns to, to voice concerns, ask questions and, of course, make complaints. Social media gives your brand the chance to respond publicly. It means you’re available to the people around you. And when you’re doing social well, your customer service team can be at the top of their game when it comes to response times, messaging and tone.
With the right systems in place on social media, you can identify sensitive customer posts, too, and take action to get the responses just right. That might mean putting replies on hold – automatically – until senior management has had time to confirm the company line or release an official statement. And when you’re ready to go live, managers can edit or reject customer service responses to be sure followers get the service they need. Ultimately, your business has control over the image it puts out to the world.
When things get nasty
Here’s another scenario: an angry customer starts using abusive language online. With proper platform management in place, you can set up triggers to identify when someone uses racist, sexist, discriminatory or inflammatory language in reference to your business.
If a post is flagged as sensitive, customer service teams then have a heads-up that they’re dealing with a delicate situation before they reply. And the response from a team member automatically gets a second level of approval before it goes live.
Having another pair of eyes on a post gives you that extra level of assurance in protecting your reputation on social. We like to think of it as a safeguard that sensitive issues are dealt with, well, sensitively – it’s about bringing that human touch and giving customers the very best service.
Getting involved
But what’s the most significant way a business can protect its reputation?
Ultimately, it’s a long game. A good reputation can take years to build. And to earn the respect, love and trust of consumers takes hard work, consistency and dedication.
Being engaged, receptive and responsive on social media is an important part of that process. It shows people your business cares about the people it serves. We’d go as far to say it’s the number one thing a company can do today to maintain its reputation.
Remember…
It just takes one poorly thought tweet to destroy your public image. So it’s crucial you have failsafe measures in place that protect your reputation. It’s an insurance policy for your good name – and in business, that’s priceless.
Then you can move onto the next stage: enhancing your reputation with social media. Check out more in our quick guide.
Reputation management is just one of the areas we help our clients with. Find out more about how to successfully adopt social media across your organisation in our free guide.
