Sunday, November 27, 2011

If you don't have anything nice to say...

You still need to say it; at least in terms of company or product. In chapter five of "Measure What Matters" by Katie Paine, the new rules for PR and social media are discussed as to why even a negative comment is better than no comment at all and where the control lies for the progression of companies or products.

New Rule #1: You're Not in Control-- and Never Have Been.
Now that social media plays such a huge part in everyday life the public is in control even more. It is impossible to track and measure what billions of opinionated people on the web are saying. The attempt to do so will more than likely fail and you are left in a corner.

New Rule #2: There Is No Market for Your Message
The message you or your company puts out doesn't matter, nor does the audience. What matters most is what people do if and when they hear that message. Use your time to understand what draws your public's attention and different ways to get your message to stick.

New Rule #3: It's about Reaching the Right Eyeballs, Not All the Eyeballs
It is impossible to track how many people have actually seen your message and using "hits" is also considered "How Idiots Track Success." Like rule #2, it doesn't matter which eyeballs see it, but what they do with the information. It won't matter if 25 people viewed your company blog on the new product, but if one person takes that information and spreads it further, whether via word-of-mouth or social media, it can make all the difference in how the message is being received.

New Rule #4: It's Worse to Not Be Talked about at All
If customers are making decisions on purchase based on reviews and what others are saying, it is better to have a negative comment out there in social media land than nothing at all. This is so because there will more likely be someone who is in defense of your company and have a rebuttal. So forget the rule you were always taught, "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all," because even the bad can be made into a good thing.

Rules are not always fun to follow, but in the end are the best things to do to in order to be in the running for success.

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