Lets cut the fluff and get straight to the point - Brand redefinition is certainly a significant possibility, considering that marketers are no longer the only people capable of creating communication which reach the masses.

The more difficult question is when can it be termed as dangerous.

The way I see it, ultimately a brand exists in the mind of its consumers. Different segments take away different experiences from your brand and your brand could mean something unique to each of them. It could be positive or negative, but on the whole it is probably different from what you intended.

Social media only amplifies this existing opinion & brings it to light, so in that sense it is free market research.

With social media a crazy fan could end up portraying your brand in a different light. Similarly an angry consumer can really create havoc especially if his post appears on the first page of google.

The key task of a brand manager is to understand when to interfere and when to let your consumers ride you.

It is more than advisable to have a sense of humour as a brand at this stage, learn to laugh at yourself if the social media adventures of your consumers are not blatantly malilcious.

"There is no such thing as bad PR" still applies in the above case.

Of course, when consumers lash out online, you probably don't have a choice but to step in and address the issue to the best of your ability. Resolving issues publicly is better if you are confident that you can actually resolve the issue, otherwise try to take the conversation offline.

What do you think? Should you interfere in the social media adventures of your consumers or should you lie back and let them shout

 


Comments

Potato Chef link
08/11/2008 8:39pm

You had better believe that social media can be dangerous to your brand.

The days when a company basically had full control of their message with no way, or practically now way, for the consumer to inject their opinion into your message are long gone.

The problem arise, and with some regularity I might ad, when consumers or just people with too much time on their hands decide to declare war on your brand. You might be able to put the fire out but on the internet, once the story (true or false) gets out, there is really nothing you can do. The genie is out of the bottle.

As for the "Free Market Research" that the internet and social media gives you, not worth it for the risks that it brings along with it. In other words, there is no free lunch....

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Sampad Swain link
24/11/2008 1:04am

Couldn't have agreed more on this one. Truly Social Media is a great tool in the hands of the Marketers.

To keep up with the new age consumers, we need to have candor, openness, persistence and above all the ability to understand the depth of engagement.

Good post Ishwar.

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Sampad

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Sampad Swain link
24/11/2008 1:06am

Couldn't have agreed more on this one. Truly Social Media is a great tool in the hands of the Marketers.

To keep up with the new age consumers, we need to have candor, openness, persistence and above all the ability to understand the depth of engagement.

Good post Ishwar.

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Sampad

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Ishwar S
24/11/2008 10:58pm

@ Potato Chef: Great thoughts. Consumers can truly wage war against brands, but considering that we can't stop them, we have to look at how and when we should take corrective action.

@Sampad: Candor & Openness is something that Marketers have to adopt. Interesting thought indeed

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