I noticed the other day en ex-colleague is now on Twitter. The interesting part about it: For a number of reasons I’m certain this individual is not sending their own Tweets, but instead tasking interns and/or PR vendors to do it.
Is that ok?
On one hand, it’s the company/brand that’s trying to gain followers, not the individual – although the account is under the individual’s name. On the other hand, it’s not disclosed that the conversations/ information could be from others within the organization, thus nullifying the experience.
Putting a dog in the fight
As a Social Media strategy becomes the norm in corporate mandates, how best can a bootstrapped company manage the effort? Certainly, you want an individual who is passionate about, and knowledgeable of, the company’s core competencies to be the “face”. As such, IMHO you don’t place that much power in the hands of a green, business newbie intern. How can an intern represent a company in the conversation if they aren’t empowered to respond, nor can they do so properly? Or worse, what if the intern doesn’t engage, but simply posts, breaking the most basic rule of listening. I don’t cook, but that seems like a recipe for failure.
Does reality change loyalty?
How would you react if you “discovered” the presence of a faker? Would you feel betrayed? Would the trust be broken? Would you shrug it off, or would your pendulum swing completely the other way, disassociating from or no longer doing business with the company?
Does it depend on the company?
If it’s a technology company that really doesn’t have you interacting with people, does that change things? What if it’s a high-touch service business? More important, what if the service (be it technology or personal) is essential to your business?
Tell me, tell me!
I’m really interested in how – if at all – you would react to this. Please leave your comments for me below.
P.S. How funny is the image? “Faux Call” – text yourself out of a bad situation!!
