Social media is becoming a big aspect of everyone’s life, more so for those in the business world. Social media is paving the way for a new level of interaction between the general public and those who make a living from selling to them. It is radicalising the consumer’s ability to instantly cast a single corporation into the spotlight, be it through a creating a trend on twitter or a Facebook page designed to boycott or ridicule. This usually happens when a service goes offline or a scandal is uncovered, but it can be equally caused by the release of a much anticipated product or an act which is seen by the wider public as amicable.
The effect caused by social media trends can sometimes be amplified by the press if enough hype is generated around it. If a topic is being discussed heavily, a media outlet will usually pick up and report on it and use comments from the social media sites as a source of information for the article. More and more within the press, quotes from members of social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook are being used within their articles to showcase the opinions of the general public.
A recent example of this effect would be that of the shopping centre which caused the police to detain a man for photographing his own daughter. This whipped up a media storm surrounding the issue exacerbating it further, until finally the shopping centre conceded and removed its policy regarding the matter.
Another recent example is the current problems with Blackberry’s services crashing. This is also an issue first reported on Twitter and then picked up by the media outlets with many media outlets quoting twitter users in their reports, usually messages of frustration and ridicule directed towards Blackberry maker RIM.
Although it can be observed that trends from social networks sometimes translate into stories released by press outlets, it is much more likely to observe social networks discussing issues after a media outlet has reported on it. The behaviour observed between the two is a mutually beneficial, almost symbiotic relationship. Both can exist separately but it is advantageous for both to exist consecutively.
Despite the examples in this article mostly involving big corporations, the same principle still applies to small to medium sized businesses. The general public is turning to social networking more and more to voice their opinion. Having the ability to apologise or thank a user for their comment creates a personal connection, and in a situation where that user is frustrated it may alleviate their concerns.
All in all how the discussion begins does not matter, what does matter is creating the ability to interface with these social platforms which will allow a business to monopolise on these trends or limit the damage of a negative perception. Creating a platform for the public to vent their anger can be hugely beneficial, especially when apologies are issued personally to users through these social platforms.
