Twitter’s coverage of the Iranian elections has been a watershed event for social media. There are some lessons here for business leaders, too.
You don’t have to be a corporate Ahmadinejad to fear the publication of material about your business. It’s not so much that blogging (and tweeting) about companies is new — the first business insider gossip forum was big news back in 2000, documenting web business failures.
The problem now is that it’s become mainstream. The number of people blogging and tweeting feedback on companies reached critical mass years ago.
Now that Twitter has been on the cover of Time magazine and with the impact on the Iranian election, people are social media content much more seriously.
Two other notable examples spring to mind. O2’s tariffs and policies around the new iPhone got a lot of users in a tizzy — and they shared their frustrations on Twitter.
Search for #o2fail — the # sign helps people find trending topics in Twitter — and you’ll see thousands of people talking about their dissatisfaction. Ouch. (Smart companies will look at that kind of feedback as a boon. Imagine the boost to their customer satisfaction levels and loyalty if they fix the problems and are seen to be listening.)
The other one is a blog I’m relatively new to. It’s called FirmSpy and uses anonymous inside gossip to report on professional services firms (accountants and lawyers, principally) in Australia. If I were running a company there, I’d be sure to keep an eye on the site for news about my suppliers, not least because professional services for business cost so much money. If I were running a firm, I’d also pay attention: it’s effectively an employee relations manual - a “how not to do HR…” guide, if you like.
To stress: these sites are not new. But they are becoming more and more significant. Be part of the social media revolution.
Factor it into your business — into PR, but also HR and marketing. And if you get caught in its spotlight for any reason, act fast and decisively or — like President Ahmadinejad — you could have your credibility called into question.
