You can't see me but I am hidden here in the social media jungle. New weapons and mobile devices now allow me to relentlessly attack your customer experience and rip apart your brand if I decide. If you think you can get away with shabby products and services think again. I can focus directly on your weaknesses and expose them for all to see. It doesn't matter if it's your product or service, if I don't have a good experience I will magnify it for all to see in your ecosystem. If you wow me and my experience is wonderful all will know, and in fact 80% of my Yelps last year were positive. But I have moved to a taller tree with a bigger swamp this year because there will be more and more brands in the swamp that don't meet my expectations.
You can't escape my arsenal of apps now on multiple mobile devices. I can find you anywhere. It doesn't matter what business you are: auto repair, surgeon, dentist, restaurant, bar, hotel or piercing parlor. You don't own your brand anymore, I do. You will feel me but never know it until business drops into the abyss.
- My smart mobile devices now include an IPad and the IPhone.
- AroundMe gets me to more of you than ever and knows where I am.
- Yelp gets me instant gratification when I am happy and not so happy.
- My TripAdvisor reviews will be excellent, good, brutal and fair.
- Facebook and Twitter are extensions of my ecosystem.
- My latest thought: a Social Media Response Index & Score
Last year I became a Social Predator (http://thesocialcustomer.com/peterauditore1/32103/social-predator) and was amazed at the chaos I created at hotels, restaurants and bars. Even online I had a strong reaction to this blog, one professional customer service person was outraged by the power of one and thought it was absurd, but that is the reality of the world of social media. Even my own company thought the Social Predator was too aggressive and censored it. Guess why I am no longer at that company?
Those companies that got it last year like Starwood, UPS and others figured it out, reached out and took very good care of me. Only a few brands ended in the swamp below my tree, but I intend to increase that number this year. I have become more proactive and now have thousands of followers thanks to social media. They follow me on Twitter, Yelp, TripAdisor, and Facebook. My 18 reviews on TripAdvisor have been read by 20,000 and on my 66 reviews on Yelp are now shared with my Facebook friends and have been viewed by thousands. This year I plan to Yelp everywhere I go relentlessly on a path to find the best of the best, because I have the simplest of taste I only want the best.
Enter The Social Mind & the Power of One
Many businesses are not prepared for the social predator and don't pay attention to sound of social media, they still think social media doesn't matter. But that is slowly changing now as even some restaurants are reaching out to me and asking me to Yelp. In the course of a year I went from hundreds reading my reviews to now thousands. There is no question now about the power of social media, and its impact on business and government. But the reality is this is just the beginning, to understand this massive shift in modern communications I have teamed up with several colleagues from the Society of New Communications Research to understand the interrelationships and new dynamics of behavior in the social media world.
The Social Mind Project
Interrelationships between individuals, organizations, thought leaders and influencers are evolving in new and previously unforeseen ways thanks to the advent of social media networks. This paradigm shift represents a major communications innovation in all markets, and is radically changing the way people and organizations engage and behave online.
The Social Mind research project is being conducted by Society of New Communications Research (SNCR) Fellows, and was designed to explore and understand these interrelationships and how they impact the consumption of information across social media channels and influence flow. Social Mind findings are enabling B2B, B2P, B2C or Cause marketers to understand the importance and relevance of content - and - its ultimate impact and influence on behaviors, beliefs, decisions and actions.
The Social Mind research will identify many key characteristics and insights into the engagement behaviors of individuals and social media peer group and provide new insights into how organizations can maximize reach and influence to execute on what we call the new Principals of Engagement in the millennium. Please join us by participating in The Social Mind survey: http://bit.ly/thesocialmind. Until next time I wish you great selling and marketing in the millennium, and stay tuned for the results of The Social Mind project.