Do you Twitter? If you don’t, you should. If you don’t know what Twitter is and don’t know why you care, check out the post that Michael Hyatt from Thomas Nelson Publishers wrote wrote about it and then go set yourself up. Our Twitter name is “Brambleberry.” We’d be delighted if you joined our merry group of Soapy Twitter Friends.
If there was any doubt about the validity of Twitter as a the next form of crowd consensus and movement, the #MotrinMom debacle from today pretty much crushed it. Don’t know about the MotrinMom debacle? It’s okay. As of a few hours ago, Motrin didn’t either.
The details aren’t all that important (but if you really care, there’s a round up here or here). The outrage will be lost in the shuffle and the next headline will replace the indignation that slingwearin’ happy mammas are feeling right now. And eventually, everyone will go back to buying Motrin.
But for now, there’s a lesson in this debacle for anyone running a business: Brand Management Matters. Do you know what people are saying about you online? Are you monitoring MySpace, Facebook and Twitter for mentions of your name?
If you don’t have an official (and ominous sounding) Brand Management Strategy, take these simple steps right now and start being proactive about protecting your reputation:
1. Start a Twitter account. It’s painless. It’s free. And, it can be a great connector, should you choose to use it.
2. Monitor your brand on Twitter here. Don’t get all uppity and defensive if someone has an issue. Take care of it openly, honestly and with an attitude of humble servitude. If you’re not willing to check your ego at the door, forget I said anything about brand management and go back to your comfy hiding space under your big rock.
3. Monitor your brand with Google. Set up a Google Alert. Better yet, set it up for your name, your business name and any major competitors you’d like to track.
That’s it. You just started an official Brand Management Strategy. It’s painless. It’s easy. And, it’s done. When you are graciously given an opportunity to improve on your customer service, think of it as a gift and a blessing. After all, before tonight, you wouldn’t have even known anyone was saying anything about you. And now, you have a chance to correct it before it becomes the next #MotrinMom debacle.
(You did do everything I just suggested, right?)
Geez, people sure did get their panties in a bunch over Motrin. Wearing a baby sling did cause pain to my neck and back, but I hardly noticed it because when a baby is that small they are so darn cute! I think Motrin probably could have made it a bit differently, but it was not a big deal.
Shelly: I agree with you. My husband both found it to be very tongue-in-cheek. It also doesn’t hurt that we were discussing family planning with our doctor not long ago and she said we’d “jump that hurdle when we get there” about baby wrapping because I have pre-existing back issues. So, I completely understood the “character” in the commercial and her point of view. *lol*
Dancing Panda Soap, you bring up an interesting point about micro-blogging versus regular blogging. In theory, the micro blogging is supposed to be immediate, quick little bites of information. Like a quick snack, it’s not meant to be the entire diet. People that use it for the entire diet for their blogs are missing out (in my opinion) on the conversations that blogs can help foster. It ends up being their loss really …
T. Panda, Great job on the twittering. You'll really enjoy the community. =)
Evermore & Shellyg8r, I'm not sure that the commercial was offensive or wasn't. Either way, a certain group of people felt like it was – and that's all that mattered because they base their buying decisions on that. If Motrin had been monitoring their brand strongly, they would have caught onto it quickly and started a bit more damage control earlier. It's not so much about Motrin as it is a learning lesson for all small businesses to try to stay on top of the messaging for your brand. You'd hate for the messaging for your brand to be from disgruntled customers.
I still don’t get the problem with the commercial?
I have been considering Twitter for a long time, but have been reticent because of a personal pet peeve regarding it.
My main blogs are on LiveJournal, and a goodly number of users there have nothing BUT “Tweets” in their blog, making no effort to come up with original posts for ANY of their other social-networking vehicles other than Twitter. Honestly, such a thing annoys me to no end. What is the point of having a blog if you aren’t going to write anything of substance in it?
To each their own, I suppose, but that is the main reason I have had an issue with Twitter. However, we just made the decision to create a Facebook account specifically for the Panda, so I suppose it was only a matter of time before we decided to join Twitter, too. *sigh*
Thanks for the info. I have hesitated progressing into Twitter and all. It was almost all I could do to start a blog. But the times call for this. thanks for the guidance and info. I will be doing all that you have listed.
Never thought to search Twitter for my business name, but it seems like a “duh” moment! Great idea, thank you!
Also, not really understanding why the commercial was so offensive, but I dont have kids so maybe I just cant get it. Im hoping there will be an encyclopediadramatica.com entry on this soon!
So I twitter now. . .lol
Extremely helpful article. Thanks Anne-Marie.
Okay. You convinced me. I will Twitter. Though I will miss the shade of my comfy big rock.