Social Media and Criticism
"But the bitter truth we critics must face is that in the grand scheme of things the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so." - Anton Ego
Why fear social media? Here's why.
When a company approaches the social web, no matter how big or tiny, a wrong move could put a target on its back. As a result, companies clear tweets and blog posts with legal teams before updating. This post is a wondering aloud of whether those of us leading in the space should reserve critical judgment for offline encounters (or how to do it well, when we do criticize). And how companies at the receiving end of criticism can respond when it goes awry - as it will.
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There are two schools of thought on criticism. Ari Herzog thinks criticizing companies in a blog post always backfires. But, as Ayelet Noff says in The Top Five Reasons Brands Fear Social Media, "social media didn’t create the dissatisfied customer – it only allowed him a platform to express his frustration."
If social media is just a platform - shouldn't it be a place to express frustration (publicly)?
Or, should we always "praise in public, punish in private," as I learned to do in ROTC in high school?
Is it better to "choose nice" than to say something that may start a downward spiral on the web? (Certainly there are wildly popular sites doing just that - creating places where criticism is the driving force.)
I told Ari I know folks (including Waylon, editor at Elephant Journal) who are extraordinarily good at calling out a company that isn’t living up to the principles it has laid out for itself. When he does, the criticism is followed (typically) by ways in which a company can improve. Oftentimes, it’s an assimilation of opinions from around the web/community and the culmination of months, if not years, of research.
I'm in the camp that believes that kind of criticism elevates the community - when it's an open-ended dialog that started in the spirit of discovery. (Otherwise, I'm a fan of public kindness over criticism.)
Contrast this kind of constructive feedback on the social web with criticisms of companies I've seen which are mean-spirited and seem to exist only to elevate the criticizers "personal brand." It often works - companies have to respond to the criticism - and many do so on the criticizer's blog. You often see it in the comments - a community manager goes to bat for their team and is lost in the sea of commenters jumping on the initial criticizer's (often unfounded) boat.
Makes sense companies might be tempted to stick their heads in the sand. Why risk attack?
In 1910 the 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt, gave us a path through. Both for those wishing to lodge a complaint, and those on the receiving end
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
Edited 10 February 2010
Lisa Barone once wrote a terrifically argued post on Seth Godin's brandjacking. It was great because it was well-researched, convincingly argued and created with an eye for helping Seth course-correct.
Waylon Lewis, also noted above, has done a great job using humor and a firm hand to call out John Mackey/Whole Foods. To repeat, it's effective because of the way it's done - the spirit in which it's done - not everyone can do it well. But many (too many?) try.
Posts like Lisa's and Waylon's have impact and lasting value because they're not just criticisms.
I don't believe in social web utopia. But I think criticism is often served best directly to someone's face/directly to the offending company owner/CEO/their handlers. That is, of course, unless you're going to knock that criticism out of the park - and back it up with supporting evidence and even, if you consider yourself a consultant/growth-oriented person, suggestions on how a company can grow.
There is a human being on the receiving end of every single piece of criticism.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Reader Comments (11)
Risk attack because social media can really increase business in the long run if done right. It is a great way for companies to learn about what they're doing right and what they're doing wrong - that way they can work on pleasing their customers to increase business. By engaging with customers, it shows that the company cares - which will also increase business in the long run. Dominos is a good example. I'm sure their business has increased since their new campaign - its stock went up since its launch.
I can see why companies are fearful of social media. Many of the criticsm they face is not constructive, or it starts out that way and can spiral out of control quickly. But I think joining the social media is valuable and if the criticsm is handled properly, they can gain customers in leaps and bounds. A company does have to be prepared to listen, and many are not. Social media is growing and by not joining, companies are missing markets that they could so easily reach. I think it's a wise thing, to join the social media!
Sometimes, after a great deal of frustration and inaction, an individual with a following will tweet about problems receiving adequate customer service from a large corporation. The example everyone knows about is that of Heather Armstrong (Dooce) and her name-brand washing machine. I know of a more minor local person who tweeted about problems with another brand of appliance after failing to get a response through normal customer service (telephone) channels. Both people got satisfactory customer service only AFTER they went to Twitter with their problems and made them public.
Two questions:
1) Under the "choose nice" model of behavior, how are frustrated people with access to Twitter supposed to get their legitimate gripes with failing, inadequate, BIG TICKET purchases addressed?
2) How is anyone WITHOUT a blog, Twitter account, Facebook page, etc., supposed to get adequate customer service from large corporations that have outsourced customer service to machines or overseas representatives who have no power to solve problems?
I'd really like an answer. People with a large social media presence are hugely powerful in dealing with corporations. I think that's great, as long as they are judicious in their use of power (not petty). But what about the social-media have-nots?
"This post is a wondering aloud of whether those of us leading in the space should reserve critical judgment for offline encounters."
C'mon Gwen (and I'm saying this in a nice way) on what planet do you live (or wish you live)? The last time the world was a kumbayah place to live was with Adam and Eve and that didn't last long.
Mike as I also say, I'm in the camp that believes that kind of criticism elevates the community - when it's an open-ended dialog that started in the spirit of discovery. (Otherwise, I'm a fan of public kindness over criticism.)
There are definitely people in the space who are fantastic at it (I don't count myself in their number simply because it's not something I practice - maybe my standards are lower, or perhaps I look for the good in each situation).
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Lisa Barone once wrote a terrifically argued post on Seth Godin's brandjacking. It was great because it was well-researched, convincingly argued and with an eye for helping Seth course-correct. Waylon Lewis, also noted above, has done a great job using humor and a firm hand to call out John Mackey/Whole Foods.
To repeat. It's effective because of the way it's done - the spirit in which it's done - not everyone can do it well. But many, many (too many?) try.
It has impact and lasting value because it's not just bitching for the sake of doing so. I don't believe in social web utopia. But I think criticism is often served best directly to someone's face/directly to the offending company owner/CEO/their handlers. That is, of course, unless you're going to knock that criticism out of the park - and back it up with supporting evidence and even, if you consider yourself a consultant/growth oriented person, suggestions on how they can grow.
There is a human being on the receiving end of every single piece of criticism.
(Reminds me of Ego's critique in Ratatouille. Will add to the post.)
You look for the good in each situation. We need more like you.
The critic only gains as much power as the critiqued gives him or her. I've learned that just striding through negative reviews with confidence makes them much less sticky.
Just like in a relationship (with a human being, you know), criticism has its place.
We can't be nice all the time—that's dysfunctional, and not honest. But we can't be mean, or little, either. We have to criticize only when it helps our friend, or...in this case...whatever company etc we're calling out...to hopefully raise the bar. I did this with Comcast, being respectful but getting twitter followers to RT my fair complaints...and Comcast hopped to, cried Uncle, and let me out of the ridiculous contract situation they'd been holding me to (long story, but old office, etc: http://www.elephantjournal.com/2009/08/comcast-old-school-bully-or-new-media-friendly-well-find-out-soon-enough/ ).
The magic of social media is it puts power (megaphone) into the hands of the people. Still, my affinity for "going negative" can be, well, negative. Tara Stiles, the yoga teacher, enlightened me on that recently: http://www.elephantjournal.com/2010/01/is-honesty-or-nice-ness-the-best-policy/ . She reminded me that there's nothing "cool" or "superior" to being a cynical hipster beeyatch. Sometimes it's "okay" to be positive and open!
I’m also of the camp that constructive criticism elevates the community. It points out a problem, explains why it’s a problem and offers a solution – both for that specific company and as a road map for others. The problem we see with this on the Web is that people criticize others when they want attention and have no other means of getting it. So we take shots, fair or not, at large companies and personal brands to make noise and get some attention share that day. However, I’m not sure that just because others misuse it that those of us with something constructive to say or with communities that can offer assistance should go quiet.
If I think Hanes missed an opportunity with the Facebook bra meme (which I blogged about recently), it makes a lot more sense (to me) to bring that up to my community, which is likely made of companies looking to take advantage of the exact opportunities that Hanes missed, than to try and contact Hanes directly. I think it does more good to talk about it openly in the community than in a private email that someone may or may not even read.
The “human” aspect is really important. And being human means recognizing that we’re not perfect. I think respecting someone means being able to talk openly about the mistakes that were made and how to improve them. Otherwise we’re just enabling one another to never be any better than we are today. Of course, tact in how you do that is nice.
While you should always fight as cleanly as you can, you also shouldn’t be afraid of the fight. Our scars shape us.
There's a funny thing about criticism and online content. You'd think that one remembers what one writes in the days after one writes it. Not always the case, as I just updated something 48 hours later and added a comment at the bottom why I should drink my anti-critical medicine more often.
It isn't surprising that businesses are wary of social media marketing.
However, I agree whole heartedly with this view we need to be big enough to accept criticism and use that criticism to improve ourselves and our businesses. There will always be attention seekers that criticize for their own ends. I think we have to live with that.
Don't ignore that criticism. I find it best to deal with it head-on, but in a non-confrontational way.But always deal with it, and never ignore it.
You can use criticism to improve to build a better business.