Fear about online users posting comments that reflect poorly on the organization is a common concern that, at times, prevents organizations from committing to social media efforts.
The truth, says John Kenyon, a nonprofit technology educator and strategist who is a member of the Alliance’s Executive Consultant Select Group, is this: “People already are talking about you online—both negatively and positively.”
ALLIANCE PROVIDES SPECIALIZED 1. Collection of how-to resources and informational articles targeted to various needs: measuring social media efforts; being successful with Facebook, blogs, LinkedIn, and Twitter; creating online videos; and fundraising with social media. 2. For additional support with social media questions, contact the Severson Center using the online request form. 3. The Executive Consultant Select Group is hosting two webinars pertaining to social media in 2011. |
Instead of retreating, organizations should be proactive by discussing a few worst-case scenario and developing plans for how the organization would respond. Rather than issuing a knee-jerk response, or immediately deleting the post—unless, of course, the post is completely irrelevant or offensive—organizations should be able to step back and:
- acknowledge the individual’s right to complain;
- apologize for the situation, if warranted;
- clarify in the organization’s policy or reasoning, and correct any misinformed assumptions; and
- assess what will resolve the situation.
Ultimately, in most cases, the organization’s response should be swift and public. By responding to negative feedback in a public way, others who read the exchange gain insight into the character of the organization, learn new information, and understand that the organization encourages dialogue via social media.
“You can’t control what people are going to say about your organization online,” Kenyon says. “But you can choose to inject your voice into that dialogue.”
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