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CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

CMSWire's customer experience (CXM) channel gathers the latest news, advice and
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MASTERING BRAND REPUTATION MANAGEMENT IN THE SOCIAL MEDIA AGE

6 minute read
By Nathan Eddy

October 12, 2022

Digital Experience
ShareSave
What's a brand to do when customers can air their grievances and openly discuss,
criticize and complain on social media channels?

Managing a brand’s reputation has become a daunting effort as social media
channels have proliferated, offering disconnected customers the chance to air
their grievances in real time.

Social media has also given consumers a public forum to openly discuss,
criticize and complain about brands, and organizations — particularly large
brands — must have a community monitoring strategy in place to effectively
manage these channels. 

“Simply put, social media has enabled every consumer to express his or her
opinion in a public forum," said Damian Rollison, director of market insights at
SOCi. "More and more, those opinions are trusted at least as much as the voice
of the brand itself, as long as the consumer's voice is believed to be
authentic.” He pointed out brand reputations are being formed and reformed 24
hours a day, seven days a week.

“For brands managing multiple store locations, the challenge is magnified
because reviews and other types of consumer feedback can be left on social
profiles at the local store level,” he added. 



Social media has also made brands more personified, which consumers attach to
more easily. It’s no longer about the business moves a company makes, press
releases or spokespeople speaking on behalf of the company — consumers see real
personhood in their brands which makes it difficult to strike the right tone
with what people see online versus what is actually happening at the company.

As a result, when a brand faces a crisis, consumers take it more personally
because of this artificial attachment: As beneficial as social media is in
gaining brand loyalty, it makes it just as easy to lose it.


SOCIAL MEDIA BRAND REPUTATION REQUIRES MARKETING, CX PARTNERSHIP 

Julianna Sheridan, account director and crisis communications lead for Matter
Communications, said brands used to have a “golden hour” to respond in the wake
of a crisis. “Now, with social media and the news being ‘always on’ they must
think in 15-, 30- and 60-minute windows when crafting a response strategy," she
explained, and added everyone within an organization can have an impact on the
brand reputation. 

“While leaders from the C-Suite and communications team certainly play the
biggest role as public faces of the brand, each employee can make a positive and
negative impact on brand perception as they attend events, conferences and speak
with others about the company,” Sheridan said. 

Rollison says he sees reputation management as a shared responsibility between
customer service and marketing. “Fundamentally, consumers offering feedback need
to be treated with the same respect and attention online as when the same thing
happens in person or through other kinds of direct contact with the brand,” he
explained.

A strong customer service orientation is also the best defense against damage to
brand reputation online. But marketing has a role as well.

Rollison explained every instance of brand feedback is an opportunity to show
what the brand is made of, extend the voice of the brand to local audiences and
build engagement and loyalty. This means marketing teams need to collaborate
with customer support to make sure the right kind of messaging is in place.

“For multilocation brands the situation is a bit more complex,” he added. “They
also need to ensure at least some level of involvement from store managers, who
are the ones on the front lines when consumers have complaints.”

Related Article: Customer Care Must Become More Social


TAP THE APPROPRIATE SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLBOX FOR BRAND MANAGEMENT

Sheridan recommended leveraging the tools that specific platforms give you to
connect directly with your audience in the way they want most. “If you’re a
consumer brand, this may mean going on Instagram Live to showcase new products,”
she said. “If you want to hold a public forum to give your audience a platform
to voice concerns, then a Twitter Space might be the direction you go in.”

The challenge is recognizing what works best for the brand and leveraging the
tools that meet the audience where they are.

She added brands should consider subscribing to social listening tools to
effectively monitor and manage their social communities. “These tools help with
competitive and industry monitoring — providing a social manager with the
insights they need to shift strategy and respond effectively,” Sheridan noted.


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She pointed out the organization’s employees are its No. 1 audience, which means
you should speak openly and honestly with them about the company and your
mission. “As advocates for the company, they need to have clear communications
around who you are, what you’re aiming to do, and what their role is in telling
this story,” Sheridan said.

In addition to this, brand authenticity and consistency are key — leaders need
to ask “Does this align with our goals and previous actions?”

"A brand that has never had a CSR [corporate social responsibility] policy
cannot all of a sudden claim to be sustainability advocates,” she added. “If you
are looking to pivot your brand position, break your strategy into actionable
steps that reposition the company over time.

Related Article: Deciding on the Best Social Media Platforms for Customer
Connection


THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS HEARD ON SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

Sheridan said when crisis strikes, the best approach is to respond quickly and
take appropriate actions to resolve the situation.

“Crisis situations are often the time when brand reputations come under fire,
especially on social media,” she said. “Ensure you are communicating with each
of your stakeholder groups, including your social followers, with the right
message at the right time.”

From Rollison's perspective, the old adage “the customer is always right” could
be updated in the age of social media to “The customer is always heard.”

“Know that consumers have a bigger megaphone than ever and that you can’t cancel
out that voice, so you have to do your best to embrace it,” he said. “It’s also
worth keeping in mind that most consumers, when they share opinions about a
brand, are speaking from a place of sincerity.”

Organizations must have a broad awareness of the conversations occurring around
their brands online, whether there’s direct involvement in the form of consumers
posting to self-managed profiles. With that awareness comes a responsibility to
listen and, where appropriate, to respond, both by thanking and encouraging the
organization’s fans and by engaging with, apologizing to and learning from its
detractors.

“Reputations are made and reinforced with every online interaction you have with
a consumer," Rollison said, "and with everyone else who encounters that
conversation when they seek out information about your brand."






TAGS

customer experiencesocial mediacustomer relationship managementcxmdigital
customer experience managementdigital experiencedxm


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For nearly two decades CMSWire, produced by Simpler Media Group, has been the
world's leading community of customer experience professionals.

.

Today the CMSWire community consists of over 5 million influential customer
experience and custom service leaders, the majority of whom are based in North
America and employed by medium to large organizations. Our sister community,
Reworked gathers the word's leading employee experience and digital workplace
professionals.


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