There’s an old song by The Police called “Truth Hits Everybody” that would make an apt theme song for brands and their experiences with social media.  All sorts of truths will hit a brand when it starts exploring and participating in the social media conversation.  Some truths will be pleasant ones, like receiving praise from brand loyalists who pat a brand on the back for services provided.  Other truths, however, might be the equivalent of a hard punch to the stomach, criticisms that knock the wind out of a brand and leave it gasping for breath.  A brand ready for hard truths, however, will be more capable of rolling with these punches and more able to make its social media experience a fruitful one.

Social media is by nature an open forum.  Brands need to keep that in mind and be ready for a candid discussion when they dive in.  The conversation cannot be limited if a brand wants to be considered sincere in its social media efforts.  Some brands have learned the hard way that dealing with negative feedback by no longer allowing it to be part of its social media dialogue only leads to more bad buzz, but just away from where the brand could have addressed it directly.  While brands can’t control the conversation, they can react and respond to it.  Just making this type of effort can help a brand’s reputation, even if the source of the criticism is still not assuaged.

While some criticism will come from users whose extreme dislike for a brand will limit the potential for a rational exchange of opinions, the majority of criticism will come from consumers who have had some type of problem with the brand, be it quality of product or customer service received.  If specific consumer criticisms begin to appear with enough frequency to be considered an actual trend, a brand needs to understand how to process and address this feedback.  This type of consumer input is a valuable component of the social media payoff a brand can receive.  By listening and responding to critiques of itself and its performance, a brand can take steps to provide solutions to consumer complaints.  By displaying this level of interest in and valuation of consumer opinions, a brand can generate positive buzz. Then the same consumers who once had complaints about a brand can become its advocates, spreading the good word about the brand and its efforts.

To capitalize on the exposure and consumer information that engaging in the social media conversation can provide, a brand must be ready for candid and frank user appraisals.  Brands must develop thick skins and open minds as well as a willingness to take the steps needed to try and remedy customer criticisms or they will miss the chance to take advantage of all the benefits a successful venture into the social media realm can provide.