Are you still trying to convince your management why your brand should be monitoring Social Media? Well if you are a Consumer Packaged Good brand (or any brand really), just look at what happened to Motrin over the past couple of days and the reaction of Motrin Moms.
Social Media is not a option today. A brand can be destroyed by one blogger today. Here is a Flash animation titled “Social Media Guns on AIG” depicting Social Media attack on AIG.
http://vizedu.com/2008/11/social-media-guns-on-aig/
I thought you might be interested.
Thanks
Sandeep
One thing at the bottom of your post I wanted to point out. As someone who runs a Social Media Company, I strongly it is only the brand itself that can ultimately be responsible for the things that are happening with or without them in the community. No agency, firm, hired guns or software can do it as effective as someone on the inside.
When brands learn that the control is in the hands of the consumers, know what to listen to and have a time-efficient way to respond, they will start winning again. Mortin will come back, they are a large brand. The problem with large brands is that they take time to work. Social Media is fast, its right now. Blog posts have a 24-48 hour shelf life. If you don't respond and get in the game as it happens, its already too late. The message has already been spread, dugg, linked to, emailed and stumbled.
Brands - have a plan!
Right on. Every company needs to be proactive about using social media. They can go ahead and wait until something like this happens, but even if they do jump on the computer and fire out a response, its too late. Brands need to establish themselves to stop things like this from happening before they even start.
GOT SOMETHING TO SAY?