I wrote a post recently, about people who vent their anger or frustrations via social networking sites and asked the question; is anybody listening? That post was specifically asking if companies or brands monitor what’s being said about them and their products.
Well, we may not know exactly which brands are monitoring which messages, however, here’s something we do know for sure: Every time we vent our anger or frustration via our online network, it’s those who follow us closest and are most interested in what we have to say, who see it.
Here’s why I believe this matters and why I think it should be avoided.
Who is most interested in what you have to say?
As business users of social networks, the people most likely to be following us closely will include a mixture of; our clients, prospective clients and also those who are interested in sharing what we have to say with their contacts. In other words, the most commercially valuable people in our network!
Whilst it’s admirable for someone to be passionate, in commercial terms, I’m personally very cautious when it comes to recommending those I believe to be too volatile.
I need to know that the people I recommend (and buy from, partner with etc), can be relied upon to act in a business-like way, when confronted with the daily challenges of business.
In a nutshell, if you ask me to recommend someone to you, I’m not going to risk recommending someone, if I know that they are likely to bad mouth you publicly, if the project doesn’t go exactly the way they want it to.
This is not something I see happening that often and never with the people I personally follow, but it’s likely to increase as social media gurus tell business owners to share more and more of their opinions online.
Just to be crystal clear; I’m not talking about people giving reviews here. I’m talking about business owners who rant about clients or competitors across their social networks – Rather than emailing or calling them, person-to-person, to get a resolution.
How does it influence you, if at all?
How would you feel about recommending someone to a client or contact, if you had previously seen that person ranting about their clients on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin etc? BTW: You can join me on Twitter here
Equally, how would you feel about hiring a service provider yourself, who was like that? Would the quality of their work override your concerns that they may badmouth you, if they were frustrated with you during or after working with you?
It would be useful and interesting to know what you think, so please share your feedback!
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