There are some social media “experts” out there who consistently and harshly criticize brands for social media blunders. While we acknowledge some major brands have navigated through some major social media mistakes, it’s frustrating to see social media guides using extreme negativity towards brands that aren’t necessarily doing anything wrong online.
At SMS we’ve noticed a few different business situations in the social space. Innovators do new and creative things while blowing their social media goals out of the water. Creatives get press and industry attention over the unique things they’re doing with social media, but their creative approach isn’t necessarily getting things accomplished as far as their internal goals are concerned. Status quos are involved in social media and conversing, but aren’t really thinking outside of the box. They are seeing progress made through social media for their organization, but there are definitely opportunities to take it to the next level. Beginners have a social media presence, but aren’t noticing results due to their lack of strategy. And then there are the Graduates of the School of Hard Knocks, who perhaps sought to be innovators through experimentation or are beginners who have made a few missteps.
It’s Beginners, Status Quos, and the beloved Graduates who repeatedly get slammed by negative social media bloggers. Here’s the think about each of those groups though… No one stands up at a business meeting and says, “I have a really great idea for how we can royally screw up our online reputation. Who’s with me?!” So how does dissecting their efforts and berating their marketing team help?
Reading negative critiques won’t help any of these categories find social media success for their brand. Instead we have the following messages for each:
Beginners: On behalf of social media “experts” far and wide, we apologize for forgetting how scary and/or confusing social media can be when you’re just getting started. You’re often strapped for resources such as time, money, and quite honestly leftover room in your brain to understand yet another piece of the marketing puzzle. As social media guides, our job is to slow down, explain, and make it easy for you. We know that if we try to add even another 30 minutes of stuff to do each day to your plate, your stress level will increase to epic proportions. We don’t want to yell at you. We want to help you breathe a little easier while still reaching your goals.
Status Quos: You get it, and we’re glad! You jumped aboard the social media train and you’re coasting along nicely. Why would we criticize you for that? That’s just silly. Rather than criticize, we want to acknowledge your successes and motivate you to not stop there. Business growth is often connected to risk. With the right plan, you can take a very strategic, calculated risk and reap some really incredible results. You can be an innovator.
Graduates of the School of Hard Knocks: Oh, graduates. You had a plan, and it seemed so good! And then it went terribly awry. Some painful decisions probably had to be made in the aftermath. But those decisions are behind you. Be encouraged! You really can come back stronger than ever. In fact, we’ve conducted many, many interviews and have both written and read multiple case studies here at SMS, and we want to share a little secret with you: Most of our favorite brands admit to making missteps when they first got started! But after those mistakes, they dusted themselves off and refused to give up. Mistakes may result in a temporary setback, but it shouldn’t stop you. There are still great things to be done by your brand online, and the lesson that you’ve learned through your misstep has actually led you one step closer to doing them.
So to all of those negative nancy social media gurus out there, shame on you! These organizations have so much potential! Instead of breaking them down, use your knowledge and influence to guide them to a better path. Then, everybody wins.
Here’s another great one from http://schools.com:
