I’m a little upset as I sit here today. Since it’s a result of a social media FAIL, I thought I’d share it with you, maybe save you some troubles down the line. Let’s dig a little deeper into your image, as the world will surely see it.
I’ve touched on the subject of leaving aspects of a social media campaign neglected, and I want to explain a little more about how this can damage your image. I’m not talking about an old high school picture on Facebook surfacing either. This is worse. I’m talking about broken continuity in the online presence of your business, your brand. An example might serve to best make my point.
This morning, I received an email with dozens of brand new pictures from a grand opening celebration. I have managed much of this particular company’s social media campaign for six months. As it stands, these pictures to me were fuel…they’re getting tweeted, a new album is in place on the Facebook fan page, new attachments for email, Flickr’s getting them, etc. All of this is great, and I’m excited for them. So I’m off and running, doing my part.
Here’s where I found the problem; the company has recently launched a new look for their website. The homepage is incredible. It has a direct feed from Flickr, prominent placement of a nicely designed Twitter feed, a Facebook call to action button and quote, and the latest blog post, also with a link inviting visitors to explore. Then I see that the blog has not been updated for two months. (Yeah, that’s what I said too.)
Every aspect of this company’s online presence has been skillfully groomed. Anywhere you bump into this company, their visual image is great. Everything looks and feels the same. All of the content and information has been kept up to date, except the blog.
I do not manage the blog. This has been left up to an internal member of the company’s management. I have stressed the fact that this blog is, and will be important. I’ve explained that the content has to be kept current and should be written well. I’ve explained about the importance of keywords, and I’ve explained that one day, the blog may show up very high in a search online. Today, this is a reality. The blog is near the top of page one in a Google search. The blog is now the company’s front door for many who may have an interest.
According to the blog, they look like they are getting geared up to actually open. Nothing for sale presently, they’re still under construction. If I’m in the market, my next move is to click “back” and I’m checking out the next site in my Google search. We’ve all worked very hard for this company, and to me, this is heartbreaking.
Have you put your business out there in all the right places? Do you keep everything consistent and updated across the board? Are you neglecting something? If there’s something out there that you just can’t get around to maintaining, it may be in your best interest to just delete it. It would be better to not find it at all than to find it in a shoddy state.
My people suffer for lack of knowledge and understanding and comprehension and well…take your pick. :>)
Thank you Ben, for commenting. I am often frustrated with clients too, but when I've been hired to manage, the failure hits a little closer to home. My intentions are always to set up practices that are undertood and followed closely by those who are affected. I don't want to DO this always for anyone. I want them to learn for themselves. I knew this could happen. The blog was going strong for a while, and I felt like we had an understanding in this particular interest. We'll have a better understanding now, I assure you! This is not an "I told you so" post at all. This is just a solid example of how neglecting something can be costly in the long run. Perhaps it will help a reader avoid a similar experience. Good example for those who "help" others with their strategy and who strive to provide guidance as well.