Five tips for successful engagement
Jun 18th, 2008 by handolio
So, if we accept that clumsy attempts at engagement are not welcome, is there a right way for a brand to involve itself in discussions online?
Here, in the interests of being constructive, are my suggestions:
1 Choose the right blog - find somebody who blogs with a degree of authority and influence, and who might give the slightest shit about your brand, what it represents or the environment in which you operate. Read the about page, at least, and a couple of other posts.
2 Read the post - don’t comment for the sake of it. Read and properly understand the arguments being put forward, and whether they’re pertinent to your product or its values.
3 Understand sentiment - if your brand is mentioned, be sure to understand the context. Don’t make a generic comment if somebody has been disparaging about you. Either address their criticism or don’t comment.
4 Add value - don’t leave short, empty comments starting with “Some interesting points” or similar: that’s what spammers do before asking about my penis. Contribute opinion, provide some information, disagree constructively, whatever.
5 Be honest - if you’re leaving a comment on behalf of a brand, make it clear. If the comment passes all of the previous tests you should be contributing something useful.
Example
Applying this to the comment that raised my hackles:
1 Right blog? Not really. Perhaps it’s time to improve our about page. We don’t blog about consumer credit, but…
2 Right post - I did mention credit. It was in the context of being appalled by the awful calibre of the products advertised on Facebook.
3 Sentiment - I mentioned the brand in question because it offers credit cards at 39.9% APR. The implication was that this was rather high, but that a loan at 437.4% APR (provided by an entirely different company) was really taking the piss.
4 Add value - I felt that you didn’t understand the extent to which I was unsettled by the adverts in question, particularly the one that offers to “track your lady” like she’s a personal possession. You seem to accept that the worst-case changes I imagine will be introduced, but don’t seem troubled by them. Why not? Am I being over-sensitive? Are you considering them only from a marketer’s point of view?
More pertinently, no thoughts about 39.9%? The product’s obviously targeting people with a higher credit risk, so perhaps the rate is fair? You’re commenting on behalf of a comparison website, so you should know more about it than me - is a credit card the best solution for people with bad credit? Perhaps the target group wouldn’t qualify for a loan at a more favourable rate?
5 Be honest - no real complaints here. The commenter used the company name and provided an email address. Personally I think it’s more open to put a link in the body of your comment where you can better explain what it links to and why you’re providing it, but I know that this is a bit hit-and-miss given that some blogs strip html from comments.
