Is your brand ready to face Facebook?

Fonterra is in the news this week for their Facebook page, with Greenpeace members posting ‘curly’ questions regarding the ethics of their products and how they are grown.

Businesses small and large are deciding to promote their business in the ‘free’ marketing medium of Facebook. Who can resist, as all it costs is time… Unfortunately, as in the case of Fonterra, it’s costing them more than they realise.

Social media works – because of the very nature of how it works. Social media breaks down barriers and puts everyone who cares to partake on an equal footing to start. Any Joe or Jane Bloggs can then use it as much as they like to build a network of friends and followers and it’s all built on your way of expressing yourself and getting the word out. It’s honest (as honest as the virtual world can be) and no company can hold all the toys and have an advantage over others. These mediums do offer opportunities for good old fashioned advertising as well, where you can pay for a higher link for your YouTube video (Air New Zealand, with it’s new adverts for their ‘Rico’ campaign is a good example of this). It’s still not hiding anything though as the user still knows this is paid for advertising.

Back to Fonterra’s social media faux pas. The basis of social media is, anyone can have a say. Which means if you have a business, regardless of size, and are happy to use it as a way to break down barriers with your audience, social media can help grow your brand and bring in followers and convert them into brand ambassadors. But you need to have nothing to hide, and you can’t have it both ways. If you want a social media presence, you don’t need to be an angel, but you do need to be prepared to answer any questions that are addressed to you in that forum.

Anyone in business knows it’s not the committing of mistakes that can ruin your brand, but how you handle them. I hear many stories of consumers and businesses having issues with a business and then becoming loyal fans when their issue is handled well, and with honesty and accountability.

Fonterra’s industry is rife with controversy, and through this Facebook upset they are presented with a huge opportunity to redeem their brand, through admission (or denial), providing information, taking accountability and fixing the situation. Instead they have ‘taken the fifth’ and refused to respond hoping it will just go away. The only thing worse than doing the wrong thing, is to not do anything at all.

A social media presence is a fantastic way to test the feelings of your market and really find out about how people feel about your business. That is if you really, genuinely want to grow your business and face the hard truths. Businesses pay thousands to find out how people feel about their brand, social media, when done well, can do this at a fraction of the cost, while building your brand to being an approachable and personable business to relate to. If you go in with both eyes open, and are prepared to do it properly then I highly recommend it. If you see it as a cheap way to promote your business, or worse, to jump in and do it because everyone else is, then I advise you to stay well away.