Control the Conversation – Or Go with the Flow?

Nice post. The truth is, who WANTS to let go of control? Part of our jobs as professionals is to solve problems. Now, what do we do if the problems become so big that they take on a life of their own? Companies see time and time again, comments made by dissatisfied customers becoming headline news, and I think that's part of the reason they try so hard to control the conversation. The sooner they learn it can't be done, the better. Though I think social media is doing a good job of keeping crisis management consultants/firms busy.

I also agree with you that strategy is crucial. it isn't something you can just jump into. Sometimes you can get extremely creative when operating within constraints.

So how can you prove it? Can you use the headlines to actually educate, engage and learn? I think you're right - once that hurdle is overcome, it's easy to let go of the control. You have to make it a two way street.

Great post Lauren. I truly believe there is a lot you can do to maintain some control - by correcting inaccuracies, sharing facts and building relationships with constituents so they are speaking to peers with messaging that mirrors your own. There is a lot of potential to steer the dialogue in a favorable way.

Great point R about the control you can do - which, in essence, is what we should do on a daily basis. Thanks for reading! :)

It's because they're not used to being part of the conversation. Companies are used to sending out a message, via some sort of advertisement or promotion. They did this with the illusion that sending out this message can control the direction of the conversation that it causes.

You can't fight the flow of the conversation. The only way to get the conversation to flow in the direction that you'd like it to, is to find the source of the conversation. What's causing the conversation to flow that way? If you can figure that out, you can change the cause of conversation, and in turn, the flow.

If the conversation around your product is negative, trying to convince people that the product is great probably won't do anything. The cause is the product. Change the product and you'll change the flow of the conversation.

But when building relationships traditionally, shouldn't you understand the flow of conversation? Why try to control what your consumers are saying - and get miffed if it doesn't go how you expect it to? Unless you have guidelines laid out for your consumers on which channels can be responded to, I don't think it can be controlled.

I like your points about changing the flow - very true and right on point. I just wish more realized that!

I think the companies that try to control it are the ones that got into SM for the wrong reasons. They were probably lagging behind and just "jumped in" or else thought they thought they were staying ahead of the game by getting out there with as much control as possible.

You are exactly right when you say the conversation needs to be a two way street! While I'm a strong believer that there is no such thing as a SM "Expert"I think almost everyone active in SM knows that it is about letting the consumers have more control. It is appropriate to try and lead the conversation in certain directions, but you can't just ignore it when it goes in a different one.

Many of these companies trying to take so much control need to understand that SM might not be for them. If they are in a situation where they are so uncomfortable with potential outcomes of SM and aren't prepared to go with the flow, then they should re-consider being a part of it. I think SM has moved well beyond being just a "trend" or "fad" and so participating just for the sake of being involved can be dangerous and shouldn't be an acceptable excuse.

@ColinJP

I think you're right - many companies jump in because they were told they "had to" and so many "gurus" state: "Well, if a crisis happens, you need to be ready to respond" and they feel rushed and don't think through a strategy. It can be detrimental to the brand if you're not prepared. Don't do it just because your competition is. Go with a plan, not with a trend.

Social media is so new and such a scary concept for companies. It's hard to let it all hang out, the good, the bad and the ugly. Advertising, marketing and PR craft messages that shed light on the positive things that a company is doing and now it's our customers who are crafting their own messages and it's hard to just give up control.
But companies will come around - some more easily than others - and see that management of relationships, rather than control of the message, is the key to moving forward.

I think you're exactly right. But, if a company decides to jump into the pool, they have to be ready. That's why strategy and foundation is so important. You have to set goals and work with it - be free flowing.

Great post. Speaking from the perspective as someone who monitors the conversations for a company, there are a lot of things that factor into a company's strategy. The ones who don't get it will only respond to the positive and rosy comments and shove deals down your throat which completely misses the point. In this day and age it's really the consumer who takes ownership of the brand and it's the company's job to take the good with the bad.

For companies that do get the whole two-way street mentality, more can come from interacting with a negative SM post than with a positive on in some instances. For example if your customer complains about a site experience, check it out and pass it along to the IT folks because there may actually be a bug or issue. Letting that customer know that you are looking into it or have a way to work around it for them shows that you care. I've seen a number of angry customers turn into evangelists for the company after a simple fix was done. Hell, I have even become one for Comcast to an extent after Frank's team fixed up some issues that I had.

The new search engine partnerships for Facebook and Twitter bring reputation management and customer into the forefront as these negative convos will be indexed by the search engines. Showing you actually care will be something that consumers keep in mind.

Agreed. I monitor for my organization, and we factored a lot into our strategy. I think you are right on the nose about negative experiences - if you can communicate to the effect, and try to fix it, I don't see why people wouldn't pay attention. You're putting the brand and the customer first.

Amen to that. While its not always easy, it is the right way to do it. If you ever want to discuss strategies, I'd be more than happy to converse.

Hey, I'm always up for brainstorming sessions! Even if you don't work on the same brand, from a consumer standpoint, I think it's beneficial.

I think companies try to control channels simply because they always have. The notion of consumers being able to change or create messaging around their brand is pretty new and a lot of companies haven't yet figured it out yet. The ones who are open and willing to encourage and embrace the customer communities that form around their brands are the ones that will be the most successful.

I agree Amy, great points! At my company we took the slow and steady approach with our social media efforts. We didn't add bells and whistles to our Facebook Page, or even promote it at first.

We simply let the community pretty much build itself, then after allowing that to happen, we began promoting the page and adding features, while keeping true to the format the customers had built.

B - I really think this is a great approach. Build a foundation and find what works for you, then move on to other platforms. If you jump into too many at once, it's easy to feel overwhelmed.

You sum this up perfectly, A. Do you think some companies have this mindset because they are so ingrained in their traditional mindset? They think: "this has always worked, why change it?" kind of deal. It's not about engagement for them, but they have a fear to step out of that comfort box.

Sadly, I've noticed this trend too and it's really interesting to see companies who still don't get that the conversation needs to be a two-way street. From what I've seen, companies that struggle with this seem to think that success is achieved only by pushing their message out and spamming their community. This just isn't effective and I feel like this hurts the brand. Just my two cents though... Great post!

I think it's hard to engage all the time for some. You set a precedent, and you want to talk to everyone, but what happens if you're busy? Do you carve out a specific set time? What messages work? I think a big part of it is that some PR people are great at messaging and pushing information out, but they have no idea how to converse. That is the big difference.

Great comment, J! Thanks for reading.