I’ve managed to convince one of my web design clients to get on board with Facebook and Twitter, which is great. However, every time I suggest he take more advantage of the social networking community by interacting with his fans/customers in a new way, he balks. He is very hyper-aware of his competition (who are way more savvy about this than he is) and is anxious about promoting his products on, say, a site like Yelp or another directory related to his industry – one that is very popular with his potential customers, I might add – because they offer product reviews and ratings.
What he’s worried about is his competition. He can’t control the user feedback on, say, Amazon, and he’s convinced that his competitors will be posting negative feedback about his stuff. He also doesn’t want to promote upcoming products (even just teasers) on Facebook or wherever because he’s afraid his competitors will somehow scoop him in some way. (These competitors, by the way, are in the meantime happily promoting their own future products to boost interest. My client literally said to me, “I just don’t understand why they’re doing this.” I came back with, “Why do movie trailers come out six months before the film is released?”)
I want to tell him that the benefits outweigh the negatives, and that in 2011 to be this tight-assed about controlling your message … to the point where you’re not even putting your brand out there to have a message… is bass-ackwards and short-sighted.
I’ve tried to find some useful articles on the advantages/disadvantages of using social networking outlets, but am coming up a little short because many of them aren’t discussing the negatives. And that, I don’t trust. Because for sure there are some disadvantages and an honest overview should mention them.
What do you think? If you’ve done stuff like this before for your own business (or for a company you work for), are the advantages outweighing the disadvantages?
You’re not his marketing consultant, and it doesn’t sound like you’re his personal friend. Unless you’re getting paid extra for the marketing tips you’re providing, just drop it when a customer balks at advertising via social media. If they change their mind later, they’ll come to you and ask you to add that feature.
I personally think the use of social media is a great, free way for small businesses to advertise. At the same time, there is the (however infinitesimal) potential for it to backfire. You shouldn’t really be giving out advice that 1) he hasn’t paid for, and 2) you’re not qualified to give him. I’m not qualified for this shit either. I’m not in marketing. I’m just a regular consumer of the internet.
If he wants to know whether social mediadvertising is a good idea, he needs to talk to (and pay) a marketing consultant. If you recommend he advertise on, say, Yelp, and he doesn’t want to but you talk him into it, then he gets shitty reviews (even if they’re from legitimate customers, but who can verify that for sure?) and he goes out of business, you’re unnecessarily exposing yourself to a lawsuit, and it makes you look bad (professionally). Whether it’s a valid suit or a nuisance suit, you’re still stuck spending time and resources defending yourself against it. Maybe his product or service really sucked, and he deserved to go out of business because valid customers gave him shitty reviews, but he still got mad at and sued you because you advised him to advertise on Yelp, which lost him all his business. Or he goes around ruining your reputation at the chamber of commerce to all the other small business owners he knows. Is it really worth the risk? This is not your area of expertise.
FTR, I don’t think loss of business or a lawsuit are likely outcomes at all, but the risk is there. I really don’t think it’s a good idea to tell him that bad shit can’t happen, when it could and might (even if the likelihood is really low). More importantly, he’s not paying you the market value for the advice he wants you to give. Just drop it. Yeah, he’s overreacting. But I wouldn’t stake my career on it, if I were you.
I am a PR type, and my advice is that social networking is an all or nothing thing. If you ignore what’s being said about you in Facebook or Twitter for even 24 hours, anything bad that’s said can spread around the Internet so fast that you’ll never get it back.
Sure, the same thing can happen even if you have no Web presence at all, but once you get into social media, you pretty much have to stay in social media.
If your client is that reluctant, I say leave him be. Instead, advise him to follow his competitors, see what they’re doing, and see what kind of reaction they get. Either he’ll realize his fears aren’t real, or he’ll decide they are.