Now that Facebook has officially taken over the world, it has become increasingly important to monitor your account closely as possible. A company’s social media presence, better yet reputation, can be affected drastically if proper preparations are not intact.
Many companies, Fortune 500 and small businesses alike, know they HAVE to have a Facebook, but I would venture to say very few of them know how to use it beyond logging in and maybe uploading some pictures. I realize it can be costly and time consuming to hire someone to solely monitor social media efforts, but Facebook has actually made this process relatively easy with their constant notifications and account settings.
Because Facebook is such a personal place, it’s important to make sure the things being said about you are good things. Below I’ve listed some of the most common social media reputation missteps, the culprits, and what they can do to prevent it from happening in the future.
Culprit: KFC
Culprit: Wendy’s
Issue: Derogatory Picture Tagging
Solution: Wait for it. . . . . untag yourself from it. If I happened to go to the Wendy’s Facebook page for coupons (like I normally do) and saw this beautiful photos, well chances are I might be going somewhere else for lunch. (I neglected to mention the 15 or so comments that followed, bashing them for this excuse of a burger)
Culprit: In & out Burger
I’m not saying these are end of the world public relations nightmares, but I am saying there is nothing preventing one if you use these practices in social media. Some companies of note that had their Facebook acts together were McDonalds, Walmart, and Long John Silvers. Hiring the right person to monitor and stay engage with your customers on Facebook is not as easy as looking to the twenty-something in the side office. Facebook provides one of the most targeted and effective platforms to reach out, you need not screw it up with one fail swoop.
