The conversation is already happening

Do you remember the song that goes “A-cent-uate the positive, E-lim-inate the negative.” It’s a great philosophy for keeping a good attitude in life, but it doesn’t really work in terms of social media.

Many companies don’t want to enter the social media space at all, and many don’t want to make the effort to truly embrace social media, because they don’t want to open their brand up to negative comments. They’re concerned if they employ a star-rating system on their site, or allow for comments on a product, that they won’t always see the 5-stars or the positive reviews. Some companies even *GASP* “e-lim-inate the negative” comments. Bad juju, companies, bad juju.

Here’s the raw fact: The conversation is going on. Good conversation. Bad conversation. It’s going on about your brand, your company (probably even YOU) whether you like it or not. You can’t stem the tide of the people.

Forget eliminating the negative. I have an even better saying for you “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.”

I have seen the results, time and time again, when a brand joins a conversation that doesn’t shine the most positive light. If someone is complaining on Twitter, for example, and a brand representative sees the comment, then responds in a helpful and humble way, the whole tone of the conversation turns. Now, let’s be clear, it’s not about getting into a pissing match with a customer (remember, they’re always right, even when they aren’t!) It’s about listening to a concern, offering a helpful solution, or just an “I hear you.”

For example: A few years ago, SoBe spent a ton of money for a commercial during halftime of the Super Bowl that required customers wear those 3-D glasses to appreciate. The company took a gamble that viewers would don these glasses JUST FOR A COMMERCIAL! In watching the Twitter stream (there was a #hashtag set up just for talking about Super Bowl ads) I was amazed. There were some very angry people upset over a 30-second ad spot. The venting went on for about five minutes until *POP* there was the SoBe lizard, Tweeting from the SoBe account. I watched as the SoBe social media engine addressed the concerns. “We’re sorry you didn’t like it, what could we do better?” was the general gist of the SoBe Tweets. It didn’t convert the skeptics, but it did make them feel heard and thus the tone of the conversation turned to more about how cool it was that SoBe listened, rather than about how bad the commercial was.

The only way to address a negative conversation is to become a part of the conversation. Listen. Learn. Then try and find a way to address the concerns. You’ll be surprised at the results.