Comet Branding - Branding | PR | Social Media

I think you ask a really great question. There have been one or two times when I have withheld comments, just to not have to deal with the anticipated “hassle” of people jumping on me in response. And recently, when I blogged about AJ Bombers after #ungeeked, a nationally-respected blogger submitted negative comments about AJBombers to me by DM; he wouldn’t comment in the open stream or on the blog. I have also had conversations with others about how we tend to avoid “healthy” disagreement or debate at conferences. Personally, I think if this is all going to be of the most benefit to us, our businesses, the world, whatever, healthy disagreement should be embraced.

Al, what a great question you’ve posed here. And it does indeed happen, that tweeps are sometimes critical of their experience at AJ Bombers. As a matter of fact, one of the most common tweets that I see each weekend is “checking out @AJBombers for the 1st time, wonder if it will live up to the hype”. One of the most powerful and at the same time dangerous aspects of social media, especially for new users is in the ownership of what your guests/customers might say about you or your company. And the motivation that it provides (at least for us) to hit a home-run with every single transaction. So far I haven’t seen other tweeps rush in to defend AJ Bombers when it happens, they generally allow me to respond in my own way. There have definitely been guests who haven’t been thrilled with their experience, and thank God they DO tweet and facebook and yelp about it. It’s always great (albeit sometimes tough) feedback to get.

When I first read this post, my initial reaction as a user of social media is that I avoid controversial comments all the time, but then again I’m also tweeting as a business, so I often delete tweets or comments before I hit send if I think it might offend someone who associates themselves with our restaurants. I have certainly seen my share of battles online, many of them ending without even knowing how the confrontation started, they just know that they are disassociating themselves.

Thanks for the conversation starter Al,

Interesting article with some provoking questions and ideas to consider. I don’t have too much experience with strategic use of social media, and I use it more for social and personal reasons, but I have seen some controversy in social media. Most of these controversies are ad hominems and other childish banter but occasionally there is some substance and debate about a topic which benefits the participant or even reader. I have mostly seen this in Facebook groups/pages, and right now it appears that people who follow someone/something on Twitter genuinely “like” that person or institution, much like becoming a member of a fan club. However, it would be interesting to see some critique and honest feedback concerning events, food, decisions, etc. A bit of democratic discussion could benefit the social media community and help people to make more informed decisions. Great article!

I actually did just that! Not that my blog gets millions of visitors, but when Food Wars was filming in Milwaukee I thought I’d do my own tasting. I admitted on my blog that, while the AJ Bombers burger was good, I didn’t think it would best what I tasted at Sobelman’s. I received two supportive comments – one from Joe Sorge himself thanking me for my honesty. While I don’t think their burger is boss, I can appreciate that AJ Bombers took criticism with aplomb and I will still frequent their restaurant.

Sue – that’s an interesting situation there. I too believe that healthy debate can be the point of social media. But, I too, find it hard to opening disagree with people.

Joe – those are some great comments. Thank you for sharing your experience with customer feedback and how you’ve handled it. I have found myself in similar situations to those you have mentioned – where you’ve hit delete on a post or Tweet – because you are associated with a business. As a representative of Comet, I don’t want people to think negatively of this business either. Even more so, we are clear advocates for social media, and I hesitated to write this post, because I don’t want people to think negatively about social media in general. Interesting, no? So, does this mean that people who aren’t as closely tied to a business are (or can be) more free with their contradicting opinions?

Mandi – That’s very interesting. I think it’s great that Joe took the time to comment on your post. Maybe it was nice for him to hear your thoughts – especially if people aren’t as free with criticism. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the topic. I appreciate it.

Many businesses (us and several of our clients included) monitor Social Media to measure consumer sentiment. Good businesses WANT to know how they’re doing, and people not making valid negative comments is actually counterproductive. A DM to an owner that you know will fix things is less damaging to the business, but hearing about issues that need addressing is important either way.

Does it hurt when someone publicly rips your brand? Yes. Is it disastrous when someone of national notoriety takes a shot? Heck yeah! But it’s the price you pay for offering a product or service, having a desire to constantly be improving, and to compete in an arena where Social Media is powerful two-edged sword.

Tom – you share some interesting points here paired with some great context. It is interesting to consider whether or not public comments are productive or if private communications/complaints are just as productive. Do we need an audience for business improvement or not? I’m guessing that having a lot people seeing criticism can be good to push change for a stubborn business…but for others it could be pretty damaging. Right?

Not only are businesses monitoring, but a growing army of people are also using Social media to help them make buying decisions. Positive and negative comments alike contribute to that body of opinion, so honest public commentary is important to the market as well. I’m hopeful that the mix of both in context would be judged by intelligent people who would be just as skeptical if all comment was positive or negative. But a trending truthful public negative buzz would definitely get a business owner’s attention…and fast!

This is a great topic. One of my worst fears is a world where everyone agrees with each other.

If that happened, then progress and innovation would come to a screeching halt. I think that if you completely eliminate disagreement, then you’re ultimately destroying what could be the incubators of innovation. What if we all agreed BP was doing their best?

With regard to launching a contradictory comment on a blog post – that’s ENGAGMENT, which is great for productive conversation. With that level of engagement, you need to be prepared (and have the time) to continue that conversation with constructive insight. Creating a point of disagreement and then walking away is irresponsibly stirring a pot. I think that if you believe in social media, and that we’re all able to easily create and engage with a network of peers with shared interests, then opinions that contradict popular opinion can be healthy for your social ecosystem.

The only way to “risk social media capital” is to be un-social.

This is an interesting question, and I think it is a dangerous slope for a business account on Twitter. You are probably going to be a bit more careful about what you say in the public forum. I think on my account, I have the opposite problem, and don’t censor myself enough, but as long as I’m comfortable with what I’m saying, why shouldn’t i say it? While I enjoy the people I interact with on a social media site, I also feel it is important to put myself out there as myself, not behind the filter, as it were.

Outstanding topic. For me, my brand is to not discuss negative. I wrote one annoyed post about a pizza chain I had trouble with and I still am angry with myself for posting it.

For me, I just won’t talk about less than awesome experiences. I do the same when picking which books I review.

Great post. My rule of thumb: If you can articulate your criticism, there’s an audience for it. All mature individuals–whether in SM or other spaces–take legitimate criticism as a blessing, not a curse.

What’s interesting is the fact that some of the most popular SM personalities are contrarian in much of what they do and the opinions they voice. Brian Clark of Copyblogger, for instance, says that Content is Not King. And people love him for exactly that type of against-the-grain insight.

Thanks for writing this.

Good question. I think saying what I believe is what got me any social media capital at all, so put me down for a yes. Then again, 50¢ and all my social media capital will only buy me a can of Coke.

Very interesting conversation. Negative comments are often useful, but in business, it’s supremely important to keep criticism focused on issues rather than personalities. Many of my blog readers are rather like minded, and commenters are sometimes apologetic about voicing disagreement. But I think it’s healthy to have a range of opinions and ideas on a blog. If every post and comment expresses the same point of view, you end up with a corporate billboard site dressed up as a blog.

Holy smokes…I walked away from my desk and there are a bunch of new comments. I will reply to as many of them as I can later tonight…in the meantime, keep the discussion going!

Interesting topic. Mulled on this one a while before posting. There are a number of dimensions to the topic that are worth exploring.

I think that people who publicly identify themselves in their comments might be following the golden rule and/or the rule their mothers taught them – “If you can’t say something nice about someone…”

It’s obvious that people are not shy about saying negative things when they have the perception they can remain anonymous. But as soon as that veil is lifted, the tone seems to change. Some people are willing to put themselves out there and speak up when something isn’t right. In part because posting something online still provides some level on anonymity. If I’m posting about a place I was last night and the owner/manager doesn’t know me other than by my twitter name or online persona, I might feel safer than if I was standing toe-to-toe with the manager.

Having worked in the restaurant biz many moons ago, I would hate it when my friends/family would comment several days after a visit about something that didn’t go well during their visit/meal. By then, there is often very little I could do about it other than offer an apology, a promise to try better next time and possibly a coupon or discount or some other token. In most cases, wherever possible, the best time to speak up about an experience is when it happens.

It’s hard to have the courage to do so – but I think most business people would rather know about an issue when it is happening and they can do something about it then and there, rather than three days later.

And back to the not saying anything nice aspect, it is easy for people to rationalize away a bad experience or feel we are being too picky when something happens to us that we self-censor our comments, even when people ask for them.

Bob – You’ve made some really great comments. I greatly appreciate the context that you have shared here. I’m intrigued by your “golden rule” nugget that you shared. Maybe that’s why people tend to be positive in social media unless there is some significant distance (or perceived distance) between that person and the brand. Great comments. Thank you for sharing.

Ok – this might seem off topic, but I think it can relate. Was reading Seth’s blog post about fear of shipping and thought of a potential connection to this discussion.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/06/fear-of-shipping.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+typepad/sethsmainblog+(Seth's+Blog)

So if you consider a tweet or posting as the item you are shipping (or that you are raising your hand so to speak), he points out that you open yourself up to criticism. Does that also contribute to the self-censorship we practice? Who am I to judge? Will people agree with me? Will they dismiss me? Will people even care what I have to say?

Very interesting discussion you started here!