Brand Messaging: That’s What She Said

Do you remember playing “Chinese Whispers” as a child? The game begins with a group of people sitting in a circle and the first person whispers a random sentence into the ear of the individual next to them. The object of the game is for each person to whisper what they think they heard and continue until the last member of the group has to repeat the phrase out loud. The result can be quite funny! The final sentence is normally so mangled up, it’s barely recognizable.

Obviously, this example is silly, far-fetched and would probably result in the group laughing and working to find out where the misinterpretation began. However, what if the first person in the game, represented a huge company working to promote their new brand online? If the third member of our little group of friends had a misunderstanding with the company, their negative comments and experiences could easily spread through the web like wildfire. I have recently started working as a social media manager with a couple of our clients and one of my daily tasks is monitoring what is being said about them online. If there are negative comments or discussions, I take an aggressive approach at reaching out to the member and making sure their concerns are addressed as soon as possible.

Through social media networks, information can easily be passed on, Liked, shared, Tweeted, or commented on within seconds. One angry customer has the ability to tarnish a brand’s reputation on a global scale. However, with proper monitoring of your brand and listening to what people are saying, you could easily take advantage of online resources and gain control of how you and your brand are represented.

–Rebekah Good