Dubai: Marketers love what social media can offer — the near instant and almost intimate engagement with either a brand follower or one who can be convinced to become one. If this exposure leads to a click on the message/campaign — thus taking viewer interaction to the next level — a connection is made.
But it needn’t be all warm and cosy feelings that might come their way. Social media seems to make users into instant critics, and quite harsh ones too. The collective sentiment can be to pull down the mighty.
Etisalat found itself at the receiving end for the rather ambitious ‘challenge’ campaign, which required participants to search out any competing services in town that had lower rates than what it was offering. And if they did find any, Etisalat would match the lower price and even go below it. The operator Hollywood and Bollywood stars being the face of the campaign.
But what the campaign did unleash was respondent indignation at the fact that price comparisons could only be drawn with just one other provider. Some using the open forum to vent ire over Etisalat’s customer services and the like.
In short, it only led to a huge disconnect from what the operator may have had in mind.
As with any campaign that works, or doesn’t, there are lessons to be had — “Control has shifted from big brands to powerful customers,” said Hoshi Siganporia, CEO at The Big Idea Advertising. “These customers have become brand influencers, critiques, hecklers, advocates and loyalists.
“They share their love for a brand when it gives them unadulterated joy. But all hell breaks loose when a brand faces the wrath of its customers.”
“A newspaper or TV ad is easily decoded as an advertisement by the reader or viewer. But when a post is viewed in the form of words, visuals or videos, customers tend to get so absorbed they forget that they are looking at a screen.
“If they find the brand is being honest with them, they will share it with friends, who in turn will share it with others. This is how ‘word of mouth’ spreads digitally. Brands that create false hype and fail to meet expectations meet with dire consequences ... including online backlash.”
Once a social media storm gets unleashed, it can prove a near impossible task to cap its fallout. But that is not the same as saying marketers do not have any options open to them.
“An astute campaigner will make the required changes when he thinks it is not moving forward in the way intended,” said C. Sunil Roy, Account Director at Publilink. “One of the greatest advantages is the flexibility it provides to tweak content if the message is not getting desired results.
“Or they can try to create positive associations and wait for the campaign to work. Remember the costs involved in social media campaigns are limited compared to traditional campaigns. And when done right, they can lead to better results.”
Moral of the story — if a brand can work in real-time to tweak the message based on the feedback generated, and hope this gets duly noticed, media watchers warn. There is nothing that the social media chatterati like better than having their views get noticed and action taken.
But if brands are not willing to go to all that distance, it is best to cut losses and start on a brand new social media campaign.
There is always life ... even after a failed campaign.
