The Evening Standard carried a report last night about M&S ex-workers badmouthing their ex-employer on Facebook. There's a group called 'I used to work at Marks and Spencer and detested almost every second of it'. There are even attacks on the customers who are called 'snobbish'. Woolies does better with people trying to save it through Facebook.
I wonder if M&S has got a Facebook policy or strategy? Or is it just one of those places behind the firewall which M&S executives don't believe matters to them?!! There is going to be a massive shift next year in social media communications as companies wake up to the fact that social media communications could be a pretty good cost effective replacement for traditional advertising. However, communications through social media are not one way. Companies like M&S need to develop strategies for Facebook engagement which could be highly valuable for them in terms of gaining customer feedback. They also need to equip staff with clear guidelines in order to protect the reputation of their brands. At the same time, they are going to have to learn to live with criticism rather than being able to remove it. Social Media is real people talking about real things. Social media represents a return to a real marketplace where customers talk directly and honestly to producers. It calls for new models of corporate communication.
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