Keeping your business out of social media trouble

Social media can be very helpful to businesses of all sizes as far as getting new clients and customers, retaining existing relationships, and improving customer service. It can also put your business in trouble.

Social media is not only an instant portal to the world: Once a message is out there, it can never be deleted – ever. (Even if you press “Delete,” your message lives on.)

Fellow entrepreneurs, it’s important to make sure you are keeping your business out of legal and PR trouble and taking precautions. Here are some ways to do that.

1. Social media policy: This one is an obvious given — at least I hope it is. Always protect your company and your brand as best you can. Create a set of social-media guidelines for your staffers that clearly spells out your expectations. All of your employees should sign it.

2. Social media disclaimers: Have a disclaimer on social media accounts (especially Twitter) that the person tweeting is giving their “own” tweets/opinions and not speaking for the company.

3. Check employees’ social media accounts: It is one thing to have a social media policy, but are you enforcing it? Remember that employees’ negative comments about the workplace, their behavior online (if they are rude, swearing, posting improper pictures) can have an effect on your business and your brand. Your staffers are a representative 24/7.

4. Check DMs, mentions and comments daily: Remember that social media is a live portal that runs ’round the clock. Always make sure you are checking what people are saying about you and your business on social media. Even if you have an in-house staffer or an outside agency managing your social media channels, it is your company and brand on the line. Stay engaged. Social media can help you learn about how customers and potential customers are experiencing and viewing your company and brand. Don’t just look at the raw data about “Likes,” tweets, comments, etc. Take the time to look at the communications themselves. That could be the most powerful data out there.

5. Keep issues offline if possible: Social media is a “public” channel. The more a situation is talked about “online” the more the situation is exposed. Yes, there is such a bad thing as bad PR. If you have a customer being negative about an experience with your company and it is something you need to address, try to get the conversation off of social media immediately. How? Ask them to send you a DM. (Make sure you are following them before you ask — nothing says “I don’t care” more than not following that person.) Another option: Give the customer a phone number or email address. Be careful about admitting any guilt on social media as well.

6. Try to keep certain opinions to yourself: I learned this the hard way when I was first starting in Twitterland. Your job is to either be on social media to get clients or to be on social media and not lose them directly or indirectly. Would you decline to take on a client because of their political views? Probably not, but they might not want to be your client because you were ranting about your own politics online. I always tell my clients to be like Switzerland. You have no opinion.

Remember to stay safe out there. Celebrities aren’t the only ones who get in trouble saying stupid things and making wrong decisions on social media. Make sure your company and brand are well-represented. This isn’t the old days: Negativity can not only stay forever, it can spread virally.

Nick Harrison is creative director for Chicago-based branding, web development and social media firm Dashal, whose client roster ranges from small businesses to best-selling authors to major consumer brands.

Follow Nick on Twitter: @HarrisonNick.

Join Crain’s LinkedIn group for Chicago entrepreneurs. And stay on top of Chicago business with Crain’s free daily e-newsletters.

Keeping your business out of social media trouble

Social media can be very helpful to businesses of all sizes as far as getting new clients and customers, retaining existing relationships, and improving customer service. It can also put your business in trouble.

Social media is not only an instant portal to the world: Once a message is out there, it can never be deleted – ever. (Even if you press “Delete,” your message lives on.)

Fellow entrepreneurs, it’s important to make sure you are keeping your business out of legal and PR trouble and taking precautions. Here are some ways to do that.

1. Social media policy: This one is an obvious given — at least I hope it is. Always protect your company and your brand as best you can. Create a set of social-media guidelines for your staffers that clearly spells out your expectations. All of your employees should sign it.

2. Social media disclaimers: Have a disclaimer on social media accounts (especially Twitter) that the person tweeting is giving their “own” tweets/opinions and not speaking for the company.

3. Check employees’ social media accounts: It is one thing to have a social media policy, but are you enforcing it? Remember that employees’ negative comments about the workplace, their behavior online (if they are rude, swearing, posting improper pictures) can have an effect on your business and your brand. Your staffers are a representative 24/7.

4. Check DMs, mentions and comments daily: Remember that social media is a live portal that runs ’round the clock. Always make sure you are checking what people are saying about you and your business on social media. Even if you have an in-house staffer or an outside agency managing your social media channels, it is your company and brand on the line. Stay engaged. Social media can help you learn about how customers and potential customers are experiencing and viewing your company and brand. Don’t just look at the raw data about “Likes,” tweets, comments, etc. Take the time to look at the communications themselves. That could be the most powerful data out there.

5. Keep issues offline if possible: Social media is a “public” channel. The more a situation is talked about “online” the more the situation is exposed. Yes, there is such a bad thing as bad PR. If you have a customer being negative about an experience with your company and it is something you need to address, try to get the conversation off of social media immediately. How? Ask them to send you a DM. (Make sure you are following them before you ask — nothing says “I don’t care” more than not following that person.) Another option: Give the customer a phone number or email address. Be careful about admitting any guilt on social media as well.

6. Try to keep certain opinions to yourself: I learned this the hard way when I was first starting in Twitterland. Your job is to either be on social media to get clients or to be on social media and not lose them directly or indirectly. Would you decline to take on a client because of their political views? Probably not, but they might not want to be your client because you were ranting about your own politics online. I always tell my clients to be like Switzerland. You have no opinion.

Remember to stay safe out there. Celebrities aren’t the only ones who get in trouble saying stupid things and making wrong decisions on social media. Make sure your company and brand are well-represented. This isn’t the old days: Negativity can not only stay forever, it can spread virally.

Nick Harrison is creative director for Chicago-based branding, web development and social media firm Dashal, whose client roster ranges from small businesses to best-selling authors to major consumer brands.

Follow Nick on Twitter: @HarrisonNick.

Join Crain’s LinkedIn group for Chicago entrepreneurs. And stay on top of Chicago business with Crain’s free daily e-newsletters.

TheStreet: 6 Top Twitter Feeds for Small-Business Inspiration

CHICAGO (MainStreet) — For all the hype about Twitter representing a new model of communication, its value as a business tool has yet to be proven. Sure, hip marketing firms may talk up their Twitter feeds as proof they "get" social media, but for most small businesses, Twitter is an option, not a cornerstone of their PR strategy.

Death by silo: How invisible walls are stifling your business

By Gini Dietrich

A few weeks ago, a friend told me a great story.

She said there was a new business prospect for the accounting firm where she worked. One of the partners took this prospect to lunch on Tuesday. The very next day, the prospect went to lunch with a second partner. And, on Friday, while the prospect was at lunch with the third partner, he said, “I have to say, getting three lunches out of your firm this week has been great!”

Not one of the partners knew the other was talking to this guy. And, of course, he felt no need to fess up until he was at his third lunch of the week.

Putting aside the fact that someone has time to have three lunches out in one week, the lack of communication among these three partners about something so simple is astonishing. Read more >>

Trayvon scandal puts Chicago candy giant in uncomfortable PR spotlight

By Gini Dietrich

Our own hometown candy company, Wrigley, is facing a very interesting PR challenge. As you undoubtedly know by now, Trayvon Martin had just bought a bag of Skittles (and an Arizona Tea) when he was shot and killed.

That alone wouldn’t cause a company to examine its crisis management program, but because of the symbolism of the candy, college students activists are buying it in bulk and reselling it to raise money for his family.The candy has been piled into makeshift memorials, crammed into the pockets of thousands of people who have shown up at rallies in his name, and sent to the Sanford Police Department to protest the lack of an arrest in the case.

Skittles sales are soaring for Wrigley and its parent company, Mars. But its new level of fame is quickly becoming a PR crisis that is threatening to hurt the company, more than it helps.

I know, I know. Sales are up. Everyone is talking about them. So what’s the problem?

According to the New York Times, people are calling for donations and giving back to communities where “murder based on stereotypes is a reoccurring theme.”

From the Times story:

On social media sites like Twitter, people are suggesting that Wrigley is profiting greatly from the tragedy and should donate money made since Trayvon’s death to the family or causes that would help with racial reconciliation or underprivileged communities. Some African-Americans are even asking people to stop buying Skittles until the company gets more involved in the case and donates money.

So now Wrigley is faced with an interesting problem. Keep quiet or give in to activists and donate some of its profits.

Other than release a statement, there hasn’t been any communication from the candy maker. The company said:

“It’s inappropriate to get involved or comment further as we would never wish for our actions to be perceived as an attempt of commercial gain following this tragedy.”

Clearly going the route of capitalizing on this situation is not the right thing to do. Is donating some of the increased profits the right thing to do? Is staying silent and watching it all unfold the right thing to do?

Communication professionals are trained throughout our careers to deal with things such as someone dying from eating your product or someone being killed on the job. But this one? This one isn’t a case study you find very often, nor is it a scenario you typically include in your crisis-management plan.

This is a crisis where “I’m sorry” doesn’t work. It’s a crisis where people on the social networks are telling you how to run your company. And, if you don’t donate money, you come off as the big, capitalist company, which could hurt you in the long run.

There’s no easy answer. Perhaps the best advice is to have Wrigley quietly increase its donations to one of its already existing social responsibility programs.

What do you think?

Gini Dietrich is founder and chief executive officer of Arment Dietrich Inc., a Chicago-based firm that uses non-traditional marketing in a digital world. Her column appears on Crain’s blog for Chicago entrepreneurs every Friday.

Follow Gini on Twitter: @ginidietrich.

Join Crain’s LinkedIn group for Chicago entrepreneurs. And stay on top of Chicago business with Crain’s free daily e-newsletters.

Crain’s small-business editor Ann Dwyer is on Google+.

12 Must-Know Media Sites

In December 2006, I posted a piece titled "The Nouveau Niche Media" about all those new blogs and their growing influence over more traditional media, and commensurate allure to PR pros. Below are some of the we found back then on myriad blogrolls (remember those?) in in many subscribers RSS feeds (remember RSS?). Here's what I wrote: "…as someone who's toiling in this new media reality, I'm …

12 New Media Influencers

In December 2006, I posted a piece titled "The Nouveau Niche Media" about all those new blogs and their growing influence over more traditional media, and commensurate allure to PR pros. Below are some of the we found back then on myriad blogrolls (remember those?) in in many subscribers RSS feeds (remember RSS?). Here's what I wrote: "…as someone who's toiling in this new media reality, I'm …

12 New Media Influencers

In December 2006, I posted a piece titled "The Nouveau Niche Media" about all those new blogs and their growing influence over more traditional media, and commensurate allure to PR pros. Below are some of the we found back then on myriad blogrolls (remember those?) in in many subscribers RSS feeds (remember RSS?). Here's what I wrote: "…as someone who's toiling in this new media reality, I'm …

Five entrepreneurial lessons learned the hard way

By Gini Dietrich

In 2005, I took the plunge from climbing the corporate ladder to entrepreneurship.

It wasn’t a conscious decision. More done out of frustration with the way communication results were handled (or not handled) inside agencies.

I thought I had a better way.

I did have a better way, but it took me five years to get the business to a point that we could do things differently. To the point other business leaders would listen to something so radically different than what they were hearing from other PR/marketing/communication firms.

It wasn’t because we couldn’t prove it worked. We could. It was because I had to learn how to jump from big budgets, big funding and lots of resources to, well, nothing.

This is a point made in a recent Forbes article, “Confessions of a Successful Entrepreneur.”

You see, I thought I had to start Arment Dietrich with the same (what I know now are) luxuries I had at the big agencies.

The people I hired had full benefits, paid for by the company. They were vested in their 401(k) programs. They had holidays and personal leave and time off galore.

I thought this is the way all businesses were run. But, when it came time to batten down the hatches, I had to ask my team to give up their “big company” benefits. It wasn’t fun.

It took me a long time to get the business side of things right before I could push the company toward a better way of doing things.

If you have ever considered (or find yourself considering) starting your own business, making the decision to do it is the hardest part. Nothing you read or people you talk to can help you make that decision.

But once the decision is made, there are five things you can consider as you go from executive to entrepreneur.

1. People are excited by startups. If you have a clear vision, can articulate it well and are extremely passionate about achieving it, there are many, many people who will join you in the journey. Even though I know this, I’m always surprised at what people will do when they believe in you and your vision. Give them phantom stock. Talk about what things will be like when you make it. Take care of them along the way. And your big company luxuries don’t have to be there to entice people to join you.
2. Keep your door open. As we grow, this is the thing I hear over and over again. My team loves that our culture allows them to have direct access to me. As an executive, you shut yourself off. You have gatekeepers and direct reports and organizational charts, and no one gets through the door. As an entrepreneur, everyone has to be able to get through your door.
3. Be as generous as possible. There will always be the neighbor whose daughter needs a job or someone who wants to pick your brain because they’re about to embark upon something you’ve already done. It will be in your executive nature to shut them off and not be generous with your time. As an entrepreneur, you’re going to need people’s help eventually. And if you weren’t generous with them when they needed you, they’ll remember it.
4. Roll up your sleeves. There is nothing worse than working to build someone’s company when they’re not willing to do the hard work. Do grunt work. Make coffee. Take out the trash. Sit in the cubicles with everyone else. Make yourself part of the team. This will go against everything you learned on your journey up the ladder, but if you shut yourself off, your turnover will be high, morale will be low and no one will continue to be excited to help you achieve your vision.
5. Open your mind. As an executive, it’s likely it was always your way or the highway. You didn’t have to listen to other’s ideas, nor did you have to incorporate them. As an entrepreneur, an open mind and the ability to really listen to what your team has to say may mean the difference between releasing a mediocre product and an innovative one. Listen to what your customers have to say. And incorporate their feedback.

It’s not an easy transition, particularly if you’re accustomed to the things big companies can afford. But who knows? If you can make the transition well, you may soon find yourself as one of those big companies competing with your former employer(s).

Gini Dietrich is founder and chief executive officer of Arment Dietrich Inc., a Chicago-based firm that uses non-traditional marketing in a digital world. Her column appears on Crain’s blog for Chicago entrepreneurs every Friday.

Follow Gini on Twitter: @ginidietrich.

Join Crain’s LinkedIn group for Chicago entrepreneurs. And stay on top of Chicago business with Crain’s free daily e-newsletters.

Crain’s small-business editor Ann Dwyer is on Google+.

Want a real-world edge? Read fiction

By Gini Dietrich

I’m an English major. Not as in the language, but as in literature and creative writing.

I open with that because what I’m about to say may come across as biased.

Read. More. Fiction.

As it turns out, though, I’m not biased (well, maybe a little bit). In the November issue of Scientific American, author and researcher Keith Oatley describes what reading fiction does for our minds and souls.

Reading stories can fine-tune your social skills by helping you better understand other human beings.

Entering imagined worlds builds empathy and improves your ability to take another person’s point of view.

A love affair with narrative may gradually alter your personality — in some cases, making you more open to new experiences and more socially aware.

You can’t read the entire article unless you subscribe, but that’s the gist of what it says.

I run a PR firm so, of course, it makes sense for us to require our team read everything from news and blogs to fiction and poetry. And it’s one of the questions we ask during interviews.

Hearing what kinds of books people read (is it Stephen King or Ayn Rand?) tells us a lot about what kind of person a candidate is and, better, what kind of writing he or she will be able to do for us.

But you don’t have to be in a creative field for reading fiction to make business sense.

During the past decade or so, Oatley and other academic researchers have shown how reading fiction helps a person better understand real human emotion, which improves social skills.

In one of Oatley’s studies, 94 respondents were asked to guess the emotion of a person by looking at a photograph of their eyes. They discovered, “The more fiction people [had] read, the better they were at perceiving emotion in the eyes and . . . correctly interpreting social cues.”

They also tested 252 people on the theory that the big five personality traits — extroversion, emotional stability, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness — could be affected by reading novels. Once again the researchers discovered “a significant relation between the amount of fiction people read and their empathic and theory-of-mind abilities.”

But it’s not just about social skills with your team. We’re also talking about the bottom line. “The Business Case for Emotional Intelligence” shows how teaching employees to focus on their work and not simply just getting the job done cuts down on grievances, mistakes, and even safety issues.

Emotional intelligence is forged in many ways, including fiction reading. Just like anything else, we have to work our minds . . . for leadership skills, for managing profits, and for working better with our human capital.

Next time you go to pick up a business publication or haggle through your email at the end of a long day, think about reading some fiction instead. Not only will it give you some time away from work, it will help you at work.

Gini Dietrich is founder and chief executive officer of Arment Dietrich Inc., a Chicago-based firm that uses non-traditional marketing in a digital world. Her column appears on Crain’s blog for Chicago entrepreneurs every Friday.

Follow Gini on Twitter: @ginidietrich.

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