So, I recently wrote a blog post for a client.
Within the post, I mentioned three companies providing activities for children. None of the classes were quite right for us: Flea didn’t like the music at music class, she didn’t want to swim at swimming class, she talked at the wrong times at the talking class.
The post went up, it was quite popular, everyone was happy.
Except I noticed this morning on my Google Reader the copy had been edited to refer to Company X, Company Y and “another company”. I called my client and was told that “another company” had complained and asked to be removed from the article. The client, with a million better things to think about, made the change. Which is completely understandable. But as a journalist and almost PR person (three clients now, you know) it makes me pretty uneasy.
First, what message does this send about the talking class? What sort of company is so afraid of criticism that it would be so concerned about what was really a very gentle criticism? It doesn’t suggest a company that’s successful or well-regarded, certainly.
Second, how does this kind of intervention make me (a parent and potential customer) feel about that company? Not only did we not enjoy the class, they also butted in to try and stop me telling people. That's the sort of thing I'm going to tell A LOT of other people about. I've already phoned three people this morning to tell them about it. Not good.
My advice to any business is this: if you come across negative feedback on a blog or forum, take it on the chin. Engage with the customer and if you think they’re wrong or their experience was unusual, then say so.
In recent weeks, I know the blogger Zooarcheologist has written and Tweeted about her poor experience with a Phil and Teds pushchair – and the company has responded and offered a replacement buggy. When I had problems moving to Virgin from BT, I posted on Twitter and a very friendly chap from Virgin Media helped to sort my account out for me.
What say you, proper PR people? Would you ever try to censor criticism of a client online? How do you deal with potentially negative comments making it into the Google-stream?
Can you fake it till you make it?
As the course was starting, everyone around the table introduced themselves. One of the PR execs attending was another regular visitor to Getting Ink, and a frequent commenter. At the coffee break, the freelance journo confessed to me: “I never realised Katie was a real person – I thought you made her up!”
It was one of those moments where you’re simultaneously a bit insulted (you think I need to fake comments on my blog?) and also want to slap your forehead (HOW did I never think of that?).
Fortunately, I’m not usually in the position of lacking comments on a blog these days, and if a blog post doesn’t generate comments, I tend to just think, “Oh, well, I thought it was interesting, but obviously that was just me, then.” Possibly, this is because I'm just too idle to think up fake opinions.
But this week I noticed a blog I occasionally read had posted what I strongly, strongly suspect were fake comments. Call me cynical, but five comments in five minutes, none with a URL attached, look suspect. Especially when the first comment begins with “I checked out your website and I think it looks gr8! Can’t wait to sign up…”
Hmm.
I can see why you might be tempted to post a fake comment. It’s like a positive version of what local government types call the ‘broken window effect’ – if there’s one smashed window left on an estate, more will inevitably follow. So with blog comments, one fake comment might be seen to ‘break the ice’ and encourage others to comment.
Here’s the problem, though: bloggers are a pretty savvy bunch. They can smell a fake comment from 50 yards. Within half an hour of my posting a Tweet about fake blog comments, four bloggers had identified the blog in question. By the end of the night, I’d guess a lot more had identified the site, judging by the parodies that starting popping up on the comment s over at Who's the Mummy? (my parenting blog). As one blogger said to me: “They couldn’t have made it any more obvious, could they?”
It’s not THAT hard to get genuine comments. In fact, it’s very simple. First, post interesting content that people will want to engage with. Put a bit of personality and authenticity into a blog, and I think people will always respond. Second, take the time to comment on and read and link to other blogs. A blog that never acknowledges anyone else’s existence can seem a bit snooty and tends to be forgotten about.
Ultimately, I think blogging is a long game. And if you lose your credibility, especially if you’re blogging on behalf of your business, it’s going to take a really, really long time to get it back.
** UPDATE: The business operating the blog this post refers to has since changed the time stamps on several comments, making them appear to have been posted at different times, and has deleted one comment and posted a new one in its place. Draw your own conclusions from that one, chaps. **
October 15, 2009 in 2.0 Stuff, Industry Comment , Weblogs | Permalink | Comments (19) | TrackBack (0)