can social media ruin your small business?

small business, social media Add comments

Dec 052011

Today, we live in an age where bad news doesn’t travel fast, it travels in an instant. Countries at war, the death of a leader, or the latest celebrity divorce are known to the world in just minutes of the event happening, all through social media. There is a saying of sorts that small businesses owners know. It has many variations but it goes a little something like this, “treat a customer good and they’ll tell no one, but treat a customer bad and they’ll tell 10 people.” As a small business owner and a person who has received bad service in the past, I can vouch for this saying. Many people are compelled to only share the bad (experiences) and never the good.

So with this in mind, can social media really ruin your small business?

no news is good news? wrong, bad news is good news! (part 1)

Being a small business owner I’m grateful for every compliment I get. Whether it’s through social media, a letter sent in the post, a quick email or even a word on the phone, those bits of “thank you” provide confirmation that I must be doing something right. But I always knew that, I wouldn’t be in business otherwise. However, negative comments have a greater power. They force you to improve your business. A bad tweet or questionable comment on Facebook should never be seen as a personal attack on you or the business (though interpretation must be crystal clear) and this platform firstly allows you to take action upon on it immediately. If the incident was a one off, inform the person of that, if there is a growing trend towards a particular complaint, then you know you have issues and can get about fixing it, thus making your business better. Don’t let bad comments get you down. Treat them as potential improvements on your business. Not only will it run better because of it, but by addressing it in this space (social media) you will gain a bit of respect from your fans and followers.

gang mentality works both ways

Attacks on businesses in social media are nothing new, and we’ve seen recently how large corporations can have their identities tarnished with social media as the instigator or the fuel for the fire. And this is no different to your small business, the only advantage is, you’re a small business. What do I mean by this? If your business has been active in the social media space, you will have fans and followers that are devoted. Devoted to your cause, your business or your products. If your Facebook likes and Twitter followers are “there for the view” only, get them involved. Get them talking, get them passionate. It’s to this point where your hard work pays off. Bad comments in social media is not only seen by you, but your fans and followers also. The good part of this is, devoted followers will not only stick up for you, they can potentially diffuse the issue. In a similar way to groups of people attacking an airline (through social media) for leaving planes grounded, your fans and followers can band together and help with any attack thrust upon it. I have seen this in the personal space, and in the business space.

no news is good news? wrong, bad news is good news! (part 2)

It has recently come to air that a social media faux pas committed by a boutique clothing retailer was staged. Throughout the ordeal this retailer was seen upon in a bad light (if any at all) all the while sticking to their guns, that “their actions were justified.” This brand went through social media, made it to print, and was covered on every national news channel for a period of weeks. Whether or not this event was staged, is yet to determined, but the publicity this brand received was monumental. Sure it may not have been to everyone’s taste and the publicity seen as negative, but it was publicity nonetheless, on an international scale. If this was staged, then they truly deserve a medal. Bad social media comments can be seen as unwanted attention. Though in some cases, bad attention is better than no attention at all.

so should I delete all of my social media logins?

No, never. What’s clear is this. Social Media makes your business and your brand more accessible to your customers. Social Media is like adding power to the bright powerful flood lights surrounding a highway billboard. Once it’s lit, everything is seen. And that means the good AND the bad. At the end of the day, small businesses and businesses in general are out for one thing, and that’s to make money. To make money, you need customers. And you need those customers to make the decision to choose you. Why they choose you is as important as why they DIDN’T choose you, so next time you receive a comment on Facebook about your service being too expensive, or that the quality of your product may not be up to scratch, don’t look at it as an attack against your business or brand, but think of it as an opportunity to improve your business in either rectifying the issue (get higher quality product), or by enforcing your position (our products are cheap, but we have higher quality products at a higher price).

If you have a story on how social media destroyed your business, I would love to hear it (it would be my first actually), and if you want to be informed of the latest posts and news about social media, please subscribe to my RSS feed, or join me email group with big bright pink box in the top right hand side.

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