Blog 3 – The ABCs of Social Media…'E’ for Ethics

So you receive a Facebook friend request from your favorite brand and the next thing you know, this organization, let’s call it XYZ, is following you on twitter. You reciprocate the gesture by accepting the friend request and also start following XYZ on twitter. For XYZ, this is “mission accomplished!”

If you have signed up for company email alerts or entered your contact information for a contest, you are easy prey for organizations looking to add you to their Facebook page or to their list of Twitter followers. So here’s the question: Is it OK for brand personas to proactively follow/friend people in order to get a reciprocal response? Some view this as a strategic, deliberate tactic by organizations to gain visibility, expand their fan base and enhance popularity rankings. Ethical? Perfectly ethical as long as the organization does not misuse or abuse this medium to mislead consumers.

In fact, the PR practitioners representing XYZ are portraying the organization as personable, accessible and (for the younger, net-savy clientale) – trendy. Nothing wrong in being approachable, connecting to potential and current customers and engaging them in a constructive online conversation about your product/service.

For the organization, this is a convenient, quick way of gaining feedback, defending their brand, and providing honest explanations. For consumers, this is an opportunity to compliment, grumble or share ideas about their brand experience and ‘talk’ with fellow users. PR practitioners that employ such an approach (in a transparent, ethical manner) are effectively utilizing this interactive social medium to promote two-way communication and build relationships with stakeholders. Ultimately, for an organization, it’s about being where its customers are – Planet Social Media!

Thoughts anyone? And do take the online poll. : )