There are thousands, if not millions of contents on and off line testifying communication is a two way process; in which cover-up and manipulations do not have a place. However some brands and organisations still believe their target audience should see and hear what the brand would like them to see or hear. This may not be necessarily referred as communication as brands may have to go through some legal and parliamentary scrutiny, for example the latest scandal by the News of the World in the UK which forced the organisations to shut down a 168 years newspaper.
Public trust and brand integrity cannot be achieved unless, the communication plan is sincere and communication management
genuine; otherwise issues and concerns will be the ultimate outcome as the voice of customer is ignored. One of the latest casualties of ignoring the customer voice is a major supermarket in the UK. I blogged about the fake Twitter account and how the British Supermarket has been managing their online and Social Media communication. Unsurprisingly, within a few minutes people started sharing the content and formed serious conversations around the issue, hence the post became popular on that day and the brand owner couldn’t ignored the significance of communication at that point. As expected, regardless of right or wrong approach, the supermarket got in touch with Twitter to remove the Twitter account, which took place just a few hours after the blogpost titled ‘Ignore is not a communication technique‘ published.
Although they did the right thing removing the account but unfortunately, they failed to communicate the matter with their audience and more importantly the Social Media users. This is why they are now seen as the latest brands failed to realise the power of Social Media according to Social Media users. Lack of listening and genuine engagement can and will cost bands their reputation, so it’s better for brands to adopt the change sooner rather than later to save both money and time, while maintaining image and reputation. One of the best Social Media communications and engagements is on the other hand is Royal Jordanian.
What is said in Social Media won’t stay in Social Media, it goes viral and inevitably the world hears about it!
So, the stepping corner to generate and maintain reputation is through listening and genuine engagement.