The train has left the station – are your prepared. What companies need to know about social media.

The Nestle media storm is a good example of how companies no longer own their own brand. The reality is the customers now own the brand along with the marketers. When customers on facebook posted negative comments about Nestle using Palm oil in many of its products the brand reacted in the old fashioned manner as if they still controlled their brand and it backfired spectacularly.

The messages for those of us advising management about embarking into the realm of social media are simple.

1. The train has already left the station when it comes to social media. Even if your organisation or client is not participating in social media their customers are and they will find ways to express their satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Not having a presence on social media will not stop the revolution or the rants about an organisation.
2. Customers have never liked being treated poorly, treated as fools, or being short-changed. But instead of just telling one or two people, they can tell hundreds even thousands through social media. Word of mouth has become world of mouth.
3. Make sure that those in the c-suite are aware of the rules of engagement when it comes to social media. Social media has completely different rules to conventional marketing and branding. Social media is not a press release or an advertisement.
4. Social media is not a one-way street. It is a two-way conversation with very many partners. Some of these partners may never be your organisations fans. Social media is all about building relationships and building trust.
5. As we’ve learned from Nestle, people don’t want to be scammed, ignored or mistreated. So if your exec or client wants social media to become a positive tool, the brand must be a concerned good listener prepared to take action to correct situations that aren’t right.