Social Media – Filling The Void

People are going to say bad/mean things about you.  It’s a fact of life.  It’s also something that prevents many businesses from participating in online communities and other websites that offer user generated content.

We can’t invite conversation about our product (business, brand, etc.) because someone may say something negative! This is a comment that I hear all too often, and it’s true—if given the opportunity, someone, at some point, could say something critical or disparaging.  But guess what… someone, at some point, will say something critical or disparaging whether you participate in social media or not.

Case in point – Google Starbucks.  On the first page of search results users will find links to the corporate Starbucks website and Starbucks’ music website next to user-created websites like the Starbucks Gossip blog and a website dedicated to people’s hatred of Starbucks.

Now Starbucks is by no means naive when it comes to search marketing and social media.  They even launched an initiative to collect user ideas and feedback.  Yet negative content that they have no control over is ranking very highly in organic search results.  How many more negative reviews and anti-Starbucks blogs and websites would appear if they weren’t as savvy?  Starbucks and other savvy companies are actively using digital marketing (websites, blogs and a presence on user generated content websites) to build an open and positive presence and fill the void that would otherwise exist.

Everyone is now participating in online social media whether they like it or not.

A void has no credibility within online communities.  A void cannot respond to negative criticism online.  When people go online to publish criticism about you or your business, are you prepared to respond?  Have you built a loyal network of friends and followers who will publish an equal or larger amount of positive feedback about you and your business?  What will happen when people who don’t know about your brand conduct a search?  What type of content will they see in the search results?

The ease of publishing user generated content combined with the power of search to reveal that content ensures one thing: everyone is now participating in online social media whether they like it or not.  While you cannot control what others say about you, you can certainly fill the void and start building a solid foundation to respond to negativity and criticism.

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