Engaging Detractors

Today I am facilitating a conversation on engaging detractors in social media. We're at the Blog Council unconference hosted at the Catalyst Ranch in Chicago. [image of the Cha Cha Room]

The big opening idea I submitted for consideration by my peers is:

Conversation won't change a detractor's mind - it may create the conditions necessary for the detractor to change his/her mind.

Here are some questions I'd like to extend to you here:

• Why is doing nothing so bad? Might they just go away?
• What is the cost of doing nothing to you? How can you move from monitoring a situation to a strategy that addressed the issue(s)?
• How do you keep up with detractors?
• Is the secret just to engage and acknowledge? Or is there more to it?
• Can you integrate other teams an channels to address the concern? Ia m thinking about customer service, operations, engineering, etc.

Some Case Studies

Connie Reece shared a case study of how engagement turns critics into allies. What happened: the press releases issued by a provider of Web and mobile software for parents of newborns, Babble Soft, was picked up by an influential blogger who wrote a very negative review. Every Dot Connects, Connie's company, worked with Babble Soft on a strategy to engage the blogger in constructive conversation. The result was an apology by the blogger and continued interaction between the blogger and Babble Soft on social media. Download the case study here.

Update: See Aruni's follow up post here.

Shawn Morton encountered a situation when he was at CNET. He ran a community team for TechRepublic.com. They had an active community, but had a handful of popular users who could get very negative against us and other members. They came up with a private "insiders" group where they asked 40-50 members to help them shape the community, preview upcoming features, etc. Those detractors quickly became evangelists simply because they felt included and listened to.

You can also find out more about dealing with negative comments from Kami Huyse, and about the online disinhibition effect from Andrea Weckerle.

Talking With

We've talked about a case where a press statement missed the Target here a couple of months ago. The communication was designed to push a message instead of engaging the people who were talking with the organization. How can we improve on that score? How can we talk with instead of at? Do you think it goes across the board, or does it apply only in certain situations?

Comments

[Andrea Weckerle]

Thanks for mentioning my post (updated URL is http://andreaweckerle.com/2006/05/the-online-disinhibition-effect.html ) and for continuing the discussion of this important topic, which has increased in relevance since I first wrote about it two years ago.

[Connie Reece]

Valeria, thanks for linking to my case study, "Engagement Turns Critics into Allies." The fear of negative comments is often the primary reason companies hesitate to get engaged online. I would love to have heard your discussion at Blog Council; I'm sure it was productive.

[ahmet kaya]

Very good article. Thx.

[Valeria Maltoni]

@Andrea - we had a very good discussion. We are all learning about the dynamics of holding a conversation in a public forum. I think there will also be a learning curve for customers on how to provide feedback in a way that gets you the results you are seeking.

@Connie - I think it is more fear of the unknown consequences, not so much of the negative. The discussion was very productive, yes. It is helpful to learn from real cases, like you shared.

@Ahmet - thank you for reading.

[Aruni]

Thanks for mentioning the case study. I learned a lot from the experience and even did a follow up post on the case study and the two other bloggers who expanded on it as well. You can see that post here: http://www.entrepremusings.com/index.php/2008/06/05/how-to-recover-from-a-scathing-blog-post/

[Aruni]

Thanks for adding the link back to my follow up post!

Happy Father's Day to the father's in your life. :-)

[Valeria Maltoni]

Thank you for providing the follow up link, Aruni. I suspect that we will see many more instances in which time-starved companies and writers/publishers find reason to follow up with each other after clashing. After all, we practice communications.