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How Not To Let Your Fears Cripple Your Social Media Marketing Opportunities

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Social Media Marketing Opportunities

Have you ever worried that your employees will post something publicly that will cripple your brand and launch you into a social media crisis? If you have, you’re not alone.

With all this freedom of speech and “everybody’s a publisher” attitude that social media brings to the table, it’s an understandable fear, especially for companies who are new to the social media game.

The reality is that you’re left somewhat to the mercy of your employees and your customers. But focusing too much on the potential negative is what will refrain you from accomplishing the invaluable positive. When faced with this complex dilemma, you have two options before you:

Option #1: Let the fear set in, panic and set up rules and barriers that prohibit your employees to mention your brand online or access their social media accounts from your offices. Some companies have even been known to go as far attempting to have their employees sign some sort of contractual agreement.

Option #2: Sanely address your fears and hesitations, work through them, prepare a social media policy as well as a social media crisis policy and then set aside time to go through each guideline, policy and expectation with your staff.

It may seem as though it’s easier said than done, but option #2 is the only path that will allow you to reach your full online and social potential.

Understanding your fear

The fear and hesitations you may be feeling stem from a lack of understanding social media marketing and the opportunities it presents to your business. Let’s face it, if you’re too busy worrying and prohibiting, then you’re missing out on all the opportunities and strategic advantages it could be presenting to you. And guess what! It’s safe to bet that your competitors aren’t! They’re too busy leveraging the power of social media to be worrying about what their happy employees may or may not be saying about them online!

How to make their reality yours

In order to help you do the same, let’s forget about the negative possibilities because simply, you have to remember that you’ve chosen responsible adults to be a part of your team. Responsible adults whom you can trust to act as such (of course developing social media policies will remind them to do so), and that they’re happy employees who value both their job and the organization they represent.

Many times companies make unwise decisions based on fear and a lack of better judgement, and it’s purely these actions that launch them into the social media attack they feared in the first place. It makes sense when you think about it. If you have happy employees (which if you don’t then your fear may be justified, though your energy may be better spent elsewhere) then you don’t have to worry about them speaking negatively about your brand online.

However, if you choose to not trust your employees and present them with a contract or a direct order not to mention the organization online, well, now you’ve given them a reason to vent about their “irrational employer”, haven’t you?! And you can bet that in today’s world, this is an issue that bloggers and social media advocates alike will be interested in hearing about and shaking their heads to.

So where does the risk truly lie and how can you overcome this hesitation and leverage social media to your company’s fearless advantage?

Step #1: Discover what the power of social media is. What’s all the hype and craze about and how will a social media marketing strategy empower your brand? Doing your homework will allow you to see the benefits more clearly, which will aid in subsiding the fears and hesitations you may be feeling.

Step #2: Commit your leftover fears and hesitations to paper. If you can’t identify them, how can you plan to overcome them?

Step #3: Devise a policy that eliminates these fears and hesitations. This will be your social media policy that will address the role social media will play in your company, the expectations you have of your employees and guidelines to being a team player. Remember to guide your staff, but to leave enough room for inspiration and motivation.

Step #4: Develop a social media crisis plan and policy that clearly identifies different crisis scenarios. Then teach your team how to respond to each one, overcome them and what their role within the crisis communication strategy is.

Step #5: Advance at your own speed and don’t forget to enjoy the ride!

What to take away

Social media offers a unique advantage to connecting with your customers, employees and leveraging opportunities that were never before possible. Training your staff to understand how to represent your company online, both on your channels and on their own, comes with the territory and is well worth all the benefits you will reap compared to letting your irrational fears and lack of understanding get the best of you – crippling your company in worse ways.

If you’re worried a crisis may accidentally be started, have a social media crisis plan in place, then sleep easy at night knowing that the unpredictable is planned for. It’s as simple as that!

Did you have fears or hesitations before jumping into social media marketing? If so, how did you overcome them and choose to empower your brand instead of crippling it? What about other companies? Do you know of companies who have permitted their fear and lack of understanding to overpower their social media potential? If so, how are those companies faring today? Share your thoughts with me below!

Image © kbuntu – Fotolia.com

About

Melissa Agnes is a social media crisis manager, consultant and speaker. One of the few in her field, she helps brands and organizations prepare and protect themselves with the right social media crisis plan, and offers on-call emergency crisis management services. Visit her daily social media crisis management blog for more insightful posts on all aspects of social media crises and protecting your brand against them. You can also connect with Melissa on Facebook and Twitter.

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{ 42 Responses }

  1. Gautam says:
    nice post Melissa, i loved social network and easy to follow targeted customers.
    • Melissa Agnes says:
      Hi Gautam, Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed the post! Social media can be a great deal of fun, that's for sure!! Enjoy your day :)
  2. Leonard Evenson says:
    So, let me check if I understood this correctly. An entrepreneur can use social media essentially only for building a personal relationship with its potential and existing customers, and through this activity build trust. At what stage should the manager of the social media accounts start pushing the product onto its followers? Do you find doing direct marketing can that actually diminish the trust because the customers will feel that they are being tricked, again, into buying products, and that the company doesn't really care about them? I see a lot of potential in social networks, but I feel there are special rules to be followed when we are opening a professional account. Thank you for all the tips on how to overcome our fears!
    • Melissa Agnes says:
      Hi Leonard, Great questions! You're right that there are "special rules" to follow. Really it's more of a mindset though. Yes you can talk about your products and services with your followers and fans because: 1- People know that you're still in it to support yourself and grow your business; and 2- They follow your company for a reason The trick is to build REAL relationships. Humanize your brand and introduce the people behind the logo. This is where the *real* comes into the relationship aspect. As long as you're being real and not only focusing too much on self promotion (because thats not truly being real and people will just get annoyed) then there's nothing wrong with shining some light on your brand within your social networks. A good rule of thumb is 80/20: 80% of your tweets, posts, blog posts, etc should be about getting to know your followers and providing them with valuable content that focuses on their needs and pain points, and the other 20% can be more self-promotional. I hope this helps! Good luck with the new adventure that lays before you! It's going to be a fun ride :)
  3. Joseph Mills says:
    Hi, :) 100% Agree with you Melissa. Fear is the barrier to success. Even in relationship, fear is keeping away from loving the person fully. All the best, Joseph
    • Melissa Agnes says:
      Nicely said Joseph! It's important for us to keep growing in business and as individuals, and overcoming our fears plays a big part in that ;) Thanks for the comment :))
  4. saha says:
    Social media can be very helpful in promoting your business. Social media usually take longer time to provide results but is very helpful to create awareness and building your brand . Social media has a lot of advantages And it's true many companies have a fear of social media this their employees can negatively advertise their business. Thanks for this nice article.
    • Melissa Agnes says:
      Hi Saha, Social media does take a while to start seeing results, but once you do, they're very fun and beneficial! I'm glad you enjoyed the post, Saha, thanks for the great comment!
      • saha says:
        Thanks Mellisa, Completely agree. It's feel great when you see good and beneficial results. :)
  5. Ty Neal says:
    Hey Melissa, Great post on social media you share some great value, The fear of social media will hold you back big time, it will hold back your opportunity, One thing I tell my student is just do it! you will be glad you did. If you are looking to reach success then you cant let something like social media hold you back. be yourself and cash in big :0) Great post Melissa
    • Melissa Agnes says:
      Hi Ty, "be yourself" is so important when it comes to social media. Not only does it make you relatable and humanize your brand, but it's how you'll build those lasting and loyal relationships with your fans and customers. Nicely said! Thanks for the great comment! :)
  6. Melanie says:
    Excellent post - fears certainly have a lot to do with businesses avoiding social media. Even beyond what's described here, I think there is a general fear of not being adequate or being shy towards being put under a microscope. But, as you described, a sound strategy and taking the time to get everything down on paper and addressing concerns is all that it takes to overcome these worries.
    • Melissa Agnes says:
      Good point Melanie! Fear is definitely a powerful emotion, but if we can just - like you said, write it down and face them, it's possible to overcome them. And when it comes to social media, there's too many advantages not to! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts :)
  7. Elena Anne says:
    I agree with you in saying that the best safeguard against employees using the social media centers to spread around your dirty underwear is by have happy employees. Give them nothing bad to say or complain about. I heard a man once say there is no such thing as bad publicity, all publicity is good and brings traffic. If that's true maybe you shouldn't worry about it.
    • Melissa Agnes says:
      Hi Elena, In my personal opinion, the saying "there's no such thing as bad publicity" is no longer true. With traditional marketing nobody could talk back - they could only hear about it in which case, yes they were still hearing about the brand, so there was no such thing as bad press. Today, however, the times have changed and consumers have a very loud and strong voice, and "bad publicity" goes down in Google history, potentially preventing future customers and sales. Today, there is most definitely such thing as bad publicity! In fact, you've given me a good post idea, so thanks Elena! Glad you stopped by!
  8. Morgan says:
    Hi Melissa! I'm glad I could help inspire this post. :) Having a crisis plan can definitely relieve some stress and having the proper training along with it will help A LOT. Simply having the plan is one thing, but having an educated staff is completely different. Really great tips here!
    • Melissa Agnes says:
      Morgan!! My frequent commenter who inspired this post! Thank you for that, by the way! You're so correct! An educated staff is so important - especially in such a stressful and overwhelming time where the repercussions happen in real-time and demand specific responses from the brand. Thanks, once again, for the great comment Morgan! :)
  9. Steve says:
    Mellissa, Great article. Most fear comes from not doing things. Get out there and do social media and it quickly stops being something you fear. Great lessons here. Social media can surely be effective, but it all depends on what and how much you put into it! Steve
    • Melissa Agnes says:
      Hi Steve, You're right on when you say that fear stems from a lack of experience, and in this particular case, most definitely a lack of fully understanding. And that the best strategy is to face your fears - absolutely! We all have them, whether it be social media or something else, and this is a great life lesson! Thanks for your great comment Steve!
  10. Chetan says:
    ya I agree with you that if properly implemented social media marketing can benefit a lot to organization. No need to fear if risks are mitigated. I will share this article with our marketing department.
    • Melissa Agnes says:
      Hi Chetan, Definitely, social media marketing has it's benefits. But you should also fear the risks to a certain extent, because they do exist. However, you develop the right social media crisis plan, then you can reap all the benefits of social media, without fearing the risks! Great that you will be passing this post along to your marketing dep. If they have any questions, or want to read more about it, feel free to visit my blog as well! http://www.melissaagnes.com :)
  11. Michelle says:
    I absolutely love the headline. It's so perfect as it sums up the idea of the post and makes you want to read more. I think alot of people shy away from social media because they are afraid. A lot of people are going to find this helpful. Thanks for the post.
    • Melissa Agnes says:
      Thank you for the great and encouraging comment Michelle! I can only hope that this post will help point companies, whose fears overpower their potential, in the right direction! So glad you enjoyed the read! :) Thanks for the great comment!
  12. Sara says:
    Nice post Melissa.I believe the key is something you said which is, if you have happy employees you really don't have to worry about.Of course there will be exceptions and that's why you have to take care some other parameters to avoid that.Social media offer many opportunities to many kind of businesses.
    • Melissa Agnes says:
      Hi Sara, Thanks for your comment and Im glad you enjoyed the post! Yes, the key is to treat your employees properly to begin with. Of course you can't please everyone all the time, but if you're respectful to your employees, you have nothing to worry about them running their mouths about you or the brand in a negative way! Thanks for stopping by!
  13. Amrik says:
    In recent months, the question of social media marketing keeps coming up. So much so that I’m tempted to say that social media is the new viral. I say this not to suggest that it’s a waste of time or a flash in the pan; just that we all need to be careful about what we really want to do with this medium. Rather than jumping in because everyone else is.
    • Melissa Agnes says:
      Hi Amrik, We definitely need to be strategic and fit social media into our business goals and objectives, not the other way around. Social media is more than "the new viral" however, it's a trend that has become the new expectations of consumers - and has limitless possibilities attached to it. Have you tried marketing on social media yet? If not, be sure to come back and let me know how it goes for you once you decide to ;) Thanks for your comment Amrik!
  14. Ryan Biddulph says:
    After writing your fears on paper Melissa burn the paper. Strong, cleansing practice. Fear is a subtle motivator in the social media game. Meditation helps you become aware of these fears, so you can embrace and release the energies, and move forward with faith. Thanks for sharing.
    • Melissa Agnes says:
      Hi Ryan, Before you burn the paper don't forget to decide on a strategy that will help you overcome the fear - and give it less power!!! Thanks for the inspiring comment Ryan!
  15. Ramsi Goldenwire says:
    There's actually a new trend with large companies and that is one of almost complete transparency. If anything, it's their only resort and they must adapt to this new environment... and the best part it is all for the benefit of the customer. Ramsi
    • Melissa Agnes says:
      Absolutely it's all for the benefit of the customer! Social media has given the customer a voice and a new playing field that gives us options, inside views, the opportunity to address our concerns and stand up for the brands we are loyal to. And for the "smart" brands this means new opportunity and limitless advantages! Great comment Ramsi, thanks for stopping by!
      • Ramsi Goldenwire says:
        Thanks Melissa. Glad to contribute!
  16. Marisela says:
    Just wanted to let you know I really loved this post and I’ll be pinning this!
    • Melissa Agnes says:
      Thank you Marisela! I appreciate that and Im glad you enjoyed it :D
  17. Peter Lawlor says:
    Do you have any examples of companies where the employees enhanced the brand via their social media efforts? I wonder if it happens. I think in general employees should be careful what they say about their company because there's not much upside to spouting off but a huge potential downside. I'm always amazed when I hear stories of employees who bad-mouth employers online.
    • Melissa Agnes says:
      Hi Peter, Well I wrote about one on my blog today, about how the Red Cross overcame a social media crisis that could have happened due to an innocent mistake on an employees part - but both the employee and the organization worked together (on their two Twitter accounts) to overcome the crisis, and actually succeeded in turning it into a brand-awareness campaign! Check it out here if you want: http://www.melissaagnes.com/the-makings-of-a-great-social-media-crisis-plan-the-red-cross/ It is shocking sometimes to hear employees bad-mouth their employers, but there's two sides to every story and it's up to both parties to be responsible and decision-wise adults. Thanks for your comment Peter! Glad you stopped by :)
  18. Jeremy says:
    I definitely agree that many of the companies that have a fear of social media are actually the ones that know their employees are not happy. If you have happy employees, you don't have to worry about them somehow hurting your online branding. They are more likely to be spreading positive things about the company. Still, even if you think your employees are happy, you need to plan for the worst case scenario. You never know when an employee may do something unexpected or leak confidential information. With a clear plan in place, employees will immediately know what is and isn't allowed.
    • Melissa Agnes says:
      That's exactly right Jeremy! It's like in life - treat people as you would like to be treated, and prepare for the unexpected as much as you can. It's also important for people to understand what the rules and guidelines are, so as not to have confusion and mistakes happen because of it. Thanks for the great comment Jeremy!
  19. Samuel says:
    Fear is such a weak emotion. I don't have a large business in place, but I am sure they are risks in everything, including social media. Have a plan, always, and take necessary action. Don't spend too much time on it, but more time trying and not giving up on what you are going forward with. This article you wrote, definitely has its reasons to enjoy the benefits of social media. Great article!
    • Melissa Agnes says:
      Hi Samuel, If nothing else, fear can be overpowering but magical things happens when we look past the fear to the opportunity. You're right on when you say to have a plan - always. You don't need to fear if you're prepared. Im glad you enjoyed the article Samuel, thank you for your great comment!
  20. Bishwajeet says:
    I created Facebook Page after 4-5 months of my blog and that was a mistake otherwise we would have got more fans on our Facebook. Anyway, social media gives chances to everyone and even if you are late ,you can rock it :)
    • Melissa Agnes says:
      Absolutely Bishwajeet, and not just that but social media marketing is a learning process for everyone, and continues to be as long as we do it - so don't be too hard on yourself for your "mistake". The important thing is that you are on Facebook now, connecting with your audience and building a community! Good for you!