When Scott Monty (blog/twitter) from Ford or Richard (blog/twitter) from Dell make a mistake, they correct it. People respond, trust is earned, the brand is protected and everyone moves on.
When Motrin, Wal-mart, Target, Hasbro, Ticketmaster or any other brand make a mistake in social media, credibility is lost. Consumers lose trust and the offending brand becomes a slide in one of the countless number of PowerPoint decks detailing what *not* to do.
Whenever I consult with a client regarding the choice between blogging/twittering as a brand or as an individual from within the company, I always recommend the individual.
Last year I had a drink with Richard from Dell after a Third Tuesday meet-up in Toronto. I asked him why he chooses to blog as himself, rather than simply as Dell.
He confirmed my suspicions and agreed that trust is at the core of his reasoning.
This approach is not meant to position your social media brand-steward as a “fall guy,” but to position the brand as flesh and bone. People are allowed to make mistakes, brands are not. In this amazing new conversation space, you simply can’t have a relationship with a logo … not the way you used to.
Trust is not the only reason why an individual, and not a logo, should be joining the conversation.
If a company blogger leaves, a new person can easily step into the role. Customers, advocates and enthusiasts in the conversation will decide whether to follow the new person and yes, you may lose a few followers, but this is the way of the world. Maybe one day Richard will want to retire or change jobs. A transition to Susan@Dell is a relatively simple change when Richard facilitates the change of guard himself. Easy, simple, transparent.
On the other hand, if it’s the brand blogging, commenting and twittering and the person behind the logo leaves the company, it’s a shocker! Suddenly, the logo has a new point of view and a new tone of voice. The new blogger behind the logo hasn’t had time or opportunity to understand the dynamics of the relationships the previous blogger developed with their following and quickly trust is lost. I’ve witnessed this with a former client (who will remain nameless to protect the guilty).
A company must be clear that their blogger is representing the brand. This means you must choose, train and guide your brand steward wisely. Richard at Dell and Scott at Ford are seasoned communications professionals (but very young at heart 
.
To qualify for this role, your choice will need to be well-versed in social media. Perhaps they’ve already been blogging on their own for awhile. Perhaps they’re already recognized and trusted as an industry expert.
In any case, be sure that the person you put at the tip of your conversation arrow is experienced and knowledgeable about your products. Make sure they’re well-connected to your internal network of communications, engineering, manufacturing, customer service and all other areas of your organization.
How can a graduate right out college be ready for this kind of responsibility? How will they earn trust for your brand? Simply from knowledge of the social media space alone? No, it’s not possible.
Be wise about your choice for a social media brand steward and give them support at all levels of your organization. Discuss any limits to their transparency. Inform them of hot topics about to hit and marketing campaigns about to launch. Allow them to make the call in this space. Let them be themselves. Let them make mistakes. Let them be who they are and in the long-term your brand will be rewarded with trust, credibility and authenticity.
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11 Responses to “Brands Are Not Allowed To Make Mistakes, But People Are”
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December 18th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Incredibly valuable point made about when the person behind the “logo” changes it causes a seismic change in the POV and tone.
December 20th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Interestingly, when I began seriously marketing online, in 1995, I made a conscious decision to work from my own name rather than a company name, even on old-fashioned social media like e-mail discussion lists. It just seemed a better approach. Online is all about the direct personal experience, and not about the big impersonal corporate “we.”
Perhaps because we can’t see each other, people seem to want reassurance that they’re dealing with a person.
That personal touch is something I discuss in my award-winning sixth book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, BTW
December 21st, 2008 at 11:12 am
Fascinating!
Humanizing the brand/company has been something that smart companies have been trying to accomplish for a long time. From an image point of view, changing the way customers see you if you’re perceived as a monolithic factory,has been a PR tactic since forever.
We all want to deal with people. We hate not being able to talk to a live person and some companies even have policies against it.
It stands to reason that if you’re going to be among the people in the social media space that you should be a person and not a brand. I do like the hybrid approach of Dell and Molson though. The Richard@Dell and the MolsonFerg Twitter ideas makes it clear that these are company guys. (Molson is a client)
December 21st, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Thanks for the comment Jesse, and for the extra insights Shel and David.
I have couple of clients now Twittering:
@TopsAtWarChild is James Topham with WarChild Canada
and, as Dave mentioned;
@MolsonFerg is Ferg Devins with Molson
Both clients of Hill & Knowlton.
I used to lead strategy at Social Media Group where Ford was my client. Its good to be transparent.
It’s even better to see these brands find success in social media space
December 21st, 2008 at 11:45 pm
[...] they can re-create the credibility they enjoy in the real world, in the digital world too. This post, however, gives some great points on why the logo should be replaced by a public [...]
January 15th, 2009 at 10:32 am
[...] be willing to associate your people, by name, with your brand. One advantage of this approach: as Collin Douma has pointed out, Twitterites (and other reasonable people) will cut you some slack if a person makes a mistake but [...]
January 19th, 2009 at 4:18 am
[...] they can re-create the credibility they enjoy in the real world, in the digital world too. This post, however, gives some great points on why the logo should be replaced by a public [...]
January 28th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
[...] To Make Mistakes, But People Are, written by Collin Douma is completely right on. Here is an excerpt of the original post: When Scott Monty (blog/twitter) from Ford or Richard (blog/twitter) from Dell make a mistake, they [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Thank you for this wonderful post. It rings true — almost — with my own experiences.
When I began my first PR internship I inherited a newborn blog. I was initially told to continue the tone of the previous intern blogger, but after reading her handful of posts I was left gagging on “SELL SELL SELL!” marketing messages. I ignored instructions. I instead wrote a post introducing myself as the new blogger and told a funny story about a work meeting we’d had. Then I showed it to my bosses to see what they thought… and it was the beginning of a blog revolution. From then on out the tone of the blog was conversational, engaging, and *human*, peppered with both PR-related updates (like a post when we were reviewed by Men’s Health) and humorous or sobering stories (ie, what happened to us when we got caught in a tornado on our way to a business meeting in Kentucky.) My coworkers and I made friends because of that blog. Together we created an approachable, “down home” online experience that rang true to the company’s image.
I was then 21 years old and am now 23.
My point: You’re right that a company cannot assume that a kid fresh from college is a social media whiz. However, neither can you assume that they cannot be trusted with the responsibility of representing their brand.
Product / knowledge of the company culture are still inarguably vital, and therefore I can see why depending on the nature of the company a more experienced individual would be best. At the end of the day, however, I think that trust is what matters most. Companies need to ask themselves: do they trust this person’s senses of jugment, autonomy, humor, balance, and tact? Is this person a good listener with a quick but thoughtful pen and a sincere laugh? Does this person’s passion for your business shine forth in an infectious and believable way? Would I leave this person alone in a crowd of customers without worrying about how they’d act or what they’d say?
If so, I think they are the appropriate social media spearhead regardless of age.
Just my two cents… or two dollars, perhaps, given how crazy long this comment got.
Thanks for a great post.
April 15th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
[...] To Make Mistakes, But People Are, written by Collin Douma is completely right on. Here is an excerpt of the original post: When Scott Monty (blog/twitter) from Ford or Richard (blog/twitter) from Dell make a mistake, they [...]
November 8th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Very well made points. We have a team which blogs on our Customer Experience blog. However, as its lead, I am able to influence editorial content. Interestingly, we also a twitter account @ceblog where I post ‘what i consider would interest our audience’.
You are right, in case someone else fills my boot, we will see a change in point of views and some churn in readership/twittership