Dealing with Social Media MeaniesRisks and Benefits of Putting Yourself Out There

Carie LewisDirector of Emerging Media

The Humane Society of the United States

@HumaneSociety U SUCK!

My name is Carie, and I’m a social networking addict.

Where We Are

humanesociety.org/connect

How we use social media

Twitter for public relations

Facebook forprogram exposureBoth for relationship building,

advocacy, and fundraising.

Get ready…

Listen > Participate > Ask

Putting yourself out there in social media opens the door to feedback, criticism, and even controversy.

You must be ready to let go of control.

Guess what. You never really had control.

Chances are, people are already talking about you.

People have been complaining to their friends, calling customer service, and posting reviews for years.

Now, its public.

“How many of you have ever had another girl say something mean about you behind your back?”

It’s easy to hide behind the computer…

The difference online is that it’s:

• easier• more accessible• perceived as anonymous• an opportunity to be bolder

Twitter is the new call center!

What you might encounter

Different opinions

Disagreements

Complaints

Irrelevant / Spam

Malicious / Profanity

Personal attacks

* Unofficial Social Media Meanie Meter

What do you do?• Identify repeat offenders quickly•Take the opportunity to clear up misinformation• Pay attention to two things: tone and influence • Be conversational• redirect it to something more positive• know when to back off• address annoying fans (frequent posting, irrelevant, self promotion)• if you’ve taken the time to build community, they will stick up for you. They’ll be your police.•Know how to dig through the noise – follow hashtags, create search columns and follower lists so you see the most important stuff

You cannot take it personal.• Don’t take it personally or say something you’ll regret later.• Always be respectful but don’t be afraid to show some personality.• Know there will always be people who disagree with you. If you’re not thick skinned enough, find help.

Make your commenting policy known. And fair.

We often get accused of deleting comments and members from the oppositionon our Facebook Fan page.

If you delete something, tell your fans and tell them why.

We only delete posts with profanity, spam, personal attacks, or misinformation.Simple disagreements are kept to preserve transparency.

Don’t be afraid to use blocking features – common practice.

If you find yourself in a Twitterstorm

•Listen to the what — and to the who.

• It's OK to say, "We don't know.“

• Address the crowd where it's gathered.

• Tone matters.

• Explain how you'll address the specific issue

• Talk about what you’ll do to prevent it from happening again

People will appreciate transparency & open communication

It’s not new. Just add social media to it.Crisis Communications

Be proactive!• Follow people who mention you or a related subject• Answer all questions, respond to everyone•Thank everyone, be polite, retweet often• Invest time in building community so that people stick up for you• Keep track of your “influencers” and “uberfans” • Engage frequent retweeters and commenters• Participate in related discussions, hashtags, memes

Why? This could happen to you.

The risks outweigh the benefits.If you don’t create it or participate in it,

someone else will and you will have no say.

You can build an army of brand advocates and friends that will come to your aide, drive sales,

help you reach your goals.

The first step is listening.

How to listenListen first. Find out where your audience is most active already. Then join in. THEN ask.

Build a system that works for you.

Start with Google Alerts and Tweetbeep emails

Work up to Twitter search, Tweetdeck, RSS Dashboards, iPhone apps

What you should do right nowSet Google Alerts and Tweetbeep to your email for your name, your blog or website name, business name, etc.

Subscribe to your competition’s blog feed, Facebook fan page, follow on Twitter

What you should do right nowStart a “uberfan” list of frequent commenters on your blog or Facebook, people who use Twitter hashtags and @ reply often, and if you’re a nonprofit, stalk the Facebook Causes leaderboard.

Always moderate comments and have notifications when available.

And now… a word on privacy.Anonymity on the internet is a myth.

Know the privacy rules.

Check your personal privacy settings

Never post something you wouldn’t want your mother or boss to see!

Final thought: social media is STRESSFUL.

.

“If you’re working for the weekends, your s*it is BROKE.

Do what you LOVE!” -@garyvee #sxsw

Thank you!Carie Lewis

Director of Emerging Media

The Humane Society of the United States

Email: clewis@humanesociety.org

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/carielewis

Twitter: @cariegrls

HSUS Networks: humanesociety.org/connect