With literally hundreds of emerging Social Media related communities populating the internet on a daily basis, you almost always find a handful of organizations attempting to forcefully tap into the traffic, reputation, and resources of those communities.
Now please don't misunderstand my true message in this blog post. I truly believe in the core benefits of social media branding and marketing, such as "viral" and "grassroots" marketing, but I do not agree with marketers that take the "Guerrilla" part of "Guerrilla Marekting" too far, and ultimately turn their campaigns into more of a blitzkrieg type of "warfare marketing" campaign.
The Problem:
I ran across one such Marketing Group on Twitter this week. They had created a Twitter profile and dressed up the page in such a way that even Heinrich Himmler (Leader of the Nazi SS) would be proud. Posing as an entity from the NC Division of Tourism, and complete with the http://www.VisitNC.com URL in the Twitter profile, this "Guerrilla Marketing" Group has been luring Twitter members into following their account for a few days.
Earlier this week, they attempted to follow one of my Twitter accounts, and at first I was almost sold into the idea of following and supporting the State which I now call my home. However, after looking at their redundant and trivial posts, I realized that none of the posts up to that point had anything to do with anything outside of their goal of reaching one million Twitter followers.
Reaction:
This immediately signaled caution flags, and so I send a tweet to this Twitter account asking them why they were following in the footsteps of recent media drama over celebrities asking for 1M followers. I just couldn't see North Carolina as being one of those types of organizations that would do something which defys the very purpose of services and communities like Twitter.
After confronting this Twitter user about their true affiliations, they immediately became very defensive and even become offense in their public posts, attacking each and every person that dared to challenge their true affiliation. Ultimately, they eventually revealed their true affiliation with a Marketing Group based in Fayetteville, NC.
Now don't get me wrong, if your business model is based solely on trying to gain as many followers as possible, then so be it (though I doubt the ROI and stability of such a model). However, as a legitimate marketing organization utilizing Social Media channels and communities as a fundamental aspect of your marketing, you would like to think that being open, honest, and transparent would be the obvious avenue to pursue such goals.
This of course was not the case, and I transparently voiced my opinions and inquiries to this Twitter user quite openly. Of course, as to be expected I was labeled a "hater," and quite frankly I am. I am completely against any marketing campaign that blatantly uses dishonest and deceitful methods to basically trick people into doing what the marketer expects.
Had this Marketing Group been honest and forthright from the very beginning, I wouldn't have thought twice about it. However, because many of us were coaxed into thinking that we were supporting an official North Carolina Twitter project, we were outraged to find out otherwise.
The Lesson:
If you are an organization that wants to integrate Social Media channels into your eMarketing initiatives, please remember that Social Media is a two-way conversation with real people. Some of these individuals may be current clients, while many others could be prospective clients.
Never underestimate the power of people, especially in crowds. When it comes to word of mouth, digital word of mouth trumps them all. It's unwise to attempt to deceive or force people into meeting your marketing goals. The best method for successful crowd sourcing and brand evangelism is to be completely open, honest, and transparent with your followers.
Brand Reputation Management (BRM) is a fundamental cornerstone any successful SM Campaign. Building and maintaining your reputation through LISTENING and CONTRIBUTING to the community, are simple yet often over looked prerequisites to success.
By refusing to be open and honest, this Marketing Group upset quite a few community members, and while I'm sure this will all blow over in a few days, as most situations of this type will, it is inevitable that their current tactics will prove ultimately fatal to their goals. Every SM community is different, and the rules and tactics will adapt to such diversity, but the simple lesson still holds true...
Treat your audience with the respect and honesty that you would expect any organization to bestow upon you and your family.
Social Media Marketing
