As PR and marketing professionals, our jobs involve assessing risk. Risk is the possibility of loss, damage, or any other undesirable event.
And what's more risky these days than social media. Decentralization, transparency and conversations are departures from the safe and the familiar. Poor execution can weaken the brand and damage corporate reputation. How often have you heard executives say, "I don't want to give customers a platform to say negative things about us?"
Many companies are still opting to take a pass, postpone plans or continue to "consider their options."
Now as a former corporate communications vice president, I appreciate the need to minimize risk. I understand that decisions are often reached by consensus (or depending on your perspective, committee). Bold action can be reckless or impolitic.
But as I move ahead with plans to launch a consultancy and in talking with potential clients, I have reached the following conclusion - When risk becomes necessity, it is no longer a choice.
You must act. The fear associated with risk is diminished. In its place is a clear line of attack.
Consider the following. You are in the second floor of burning building. Jumping out a window would normally be risky. But now staying in the building is more risky. So you jump.
This is not just a game of semantics. As we all know, there are real business consequences at stake with the decision to take a risk.
Reaching A Social Media Tipping Point
Social media may involve unacceptable levels of risk, but at a certain point, the opposite will be true. Not acting will mean real loss (of customers) and damage (to your reputation).
It would be interesting if we could create a way to graph the social media tipping point - the point where no action is worse than action. That tipping point would vary from company to company and industry to industry, but it would include the following matrices:
• Actions by competitors - competitors launch initiatives that position them as leaders, which in turn attract attention, generate more sales, and increase market share
• Online conversations of your customers - negative comments increase or the number of conversations starts declining suggesting a diminished brand or increased irrelevance
• Reactions by existing and potential employees - employees appear less engaged and attracting new younger employees becomes more difficult
As advocates of social media, how can we minimize risk? We can't change market dynamics, and we can't implement business strategy unilaterally. But we can monitor actions by competitors, online conversations by customers, and reactions by employees. We can build internal consensus by educating executives and rank and file on the benefits of social media. We can form partnerships with the marketing and product development teams to help build in social media components. And we can help determine ROI for department heads who are looking to cut costs and increase revenue.
It is said no one was ever fired by hiring IBM. There is safety in what is familiar. As market professionals we need to respect the power of risk.
But I will maintain that when it comes to social media, it is a matter of when, not if. Waiting until risk becomes necessity comes at a cost. Are we willing to cede a possible competitive advantage? Is that a risk we are willing to take?
Let me get back to you.
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