Nov
02
:: The Art of Unperfect ::
More often than I’d like to admit, I’ve seen people representing themselves or their company via social media make a mistake (be it in on-line customer relations or in real-world action) and then defend themselves feverishly instead of actually admitting they made a mistake.
I think it’s partly human nature, for some of us at least, to want to be right all the time. Heck, that trait has almost cost me dearly on a few occasions. But knowing when to raise a hand and spout “mea culpa” is a vital part of building strong relationships in today’s “eyes-on-me” world of real-time communications.
Here’s an example:
This past week, a friend of mine brought me out to see a favorite artist of his, Andrew Bird (side note: is there a more entertaining musical individual out there right now? I’d put him up against almost anyone) and in the very first song that he performed, at probably THE musical climax, the most embarrassing thing that can happen to a singer in front of a packed house happened… he f**ked up the lyrics.
True to his professional reputation, he pushed through the verse and into the instrumental break. During that break, he took the opportunity address the crowd and admit his fault. Immediately thereafter he turned his back to the crowd and hung his head, seemingly in shame.
You know what happened next? The audience burst into applause so loud you couldn’t hear the music. Their musical hero was human and they loved it.
Now, this is an extreme example and obviously Mr. Bird was in a place filled with worshipers in the first place, but the effect of dealing with a mistake appropriately is something that can produce dramatic results and really that should be the objective.
It’s a simple thought really, a vital part of being successful in social media is being authentic. Whether you’re an individual or a large company being represented by individuals, people want to be able to relate to you. Nothing helps people relate like seeing that you make mistakes just like they do. The difficult part comes when you have to decide how to deal with those mistakes. These decisions are especially important when a member or your community has been the recipient of the short end of the stick because of something you said or did. When confronted, some people tend to react quickly in a knee-jerk style that will inevitably make the situation worse. To try and help with times like those, here are a few suggested steps that might be useful:
- Breathe: Take a step back. If you can, approach the situation as if you were a 3rd party. Re-read or re-live what happened to get you to the point you’re at currently at and allow all the information to sink in. If you have the means, maybe even ask a third party for their unbiased opinion.
- Listen first, talk second: Most likely, the person(s) you’re dealing with are passionate about what you’re discussing. Let them know you want to come to a resolution and allow them to state where they’re coming from without getting defensive.
- Common ground: Once you’ve heard what they have to say, proceed to try reach a solution to satisfy both of you. Or, if it’s clearly your fault, make amends.
- Keep it real. And keep it public.: Perhaps one of the most important things you can do is keep the issue public, if that’s the way it started. Like it or not, you’ve got an audience for the whole thing and going off-line for a resolution deprives them from seeing what kind of approach you take to getting there. This is a key chance for you to show people what you’re made of… use it wisely and use it to your advantage.
Having a mistake or fault brought to light in a public manner is never comfortable, but it is a significant chance for you or your brand to turn those involved (and those observing) in enthusiastic brand advocates and fans.
So don’t be afraid to be unperfect.
Agree? Disagree? Have other thoughts as to important things to keep in mind when dealing with this type of situation? I’d love to hear it all. Leave comments here or get @ me on twitter
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All really good points.
You touch on this, briefly…but Andrew Bird (who I will now be checking out) was in front of his fans. A social media strategy puts you in front of EVERYONE. You make a mistake and the people looking to jump on that mistake are right there.
So while – I agree – it’s certainly important that you don’t bullshit through a social media strategy, there are a ton of people out there who simply want to point out your wrongdoings, deliberate or not.
Just sayin.
A valid point Gabi.
Dealing with those out to just to see you fall on your face is as simple (or complicated) as this.
Take the high road.
Do what you can to make the situation right. If it comes down to a place where even your best efforts won’t turn the other party into a advocate, at least you have a public record of trying to correct the situation. Again the key is keeping the conversation public. A majority of the audience will most likely see the other party is unreasonable and stick up for you.
Just like Apple fans did to rebuke the Droid commercials:
iDon’t Care
Nice post Steve.
Earlier this year an Amazon employee made a data mistake which affected 57,000 items on their website. These items were misclassified and customers were making a lot of noise about it. At first, Amazon called the problem a “glitch,” but later publicly admitted their mistake.
My feeling is that for an individual, a company or a brand, “honesty” is the best policy. After all, we’re only human!
“There are no failures, just experiences and your reactions to them.” – Tom Krause
Cheers,
Laura Savard
Brand Expressionist®
.-= Laura Savard´s last blog ..Subtractive Thinking =-.
Great example Laura. Admitting fault is a much quicker way to the inner sanctum of your audience’s trust.
When it comes to larger companies, I guess the difficult part comes with finding someone you trust to man the helm of your corporate social media initiative. A position which formerly was handed over to interns and recent college grads really needs someone who’s a rational thinker, a pr agent, a problem solver, a people person and a true brand advocate. Maybe that’s not so easy to find in these times of rapid job turn over. It should really be considered one of the most important corporate positions on the “new hire” list.