Perhaps the biggest hurdle facing corporations attempting to engage with people through social media challenges is the need to set aside the well-crafted, PR-driven corporate message and talk as a person in return. Social media is, at its core, a conversation between real people, discussing real ideas, issues and concerns. And that conversation needs to be authentic – honest, open, and multi-directional – if it is to work.
As an organization, are you more worried about saying the ‘wrong thing’? Chances are, if you’re not approaching social media as a channel for honesty, then that’s exactly what will happen. But if you are open. If you talk with customers as people; and if you engage with them in a conversation; well, then, you’ll find that customers are really quite smart, energetic, and surprisingly loyal.
Laurel Papworth