Courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/usfsregion5/ |
(This post first appeared in Tamara's blog on iMedia Connection 29 Dec 2011)
There have been some truly atrocious examples of brands astroturfing: paying people or even using software to flood internet forums and social media with positive comments. Sadly, the practice continues, particularly in emerging markets. Seeding interest in a campaign should never involve using false identities to post. A good seeding campaign is transparent, and builds communities through genuine advocacy. So how do you avoid astroturfing, and seed a campaign ethically?
First, let's look at some of the collateral damage that comes from astroturfing. Econsultancy recently reported that TripAdvisor had to lose the tagline 'reviews you can trust' because there is no way to be certain that the reviews are all from genuine guests rather than competitors trying to sabotage their rivals reputation online. However tempting it may be, it's never a good idea to undermine competitors (from travel and book reviews to posting negative comments about rival products on blogs) nor to create a fake positive review blitz. Some have been known to pay third parties to write rave reviews, or in one case, have their PR agency post glowing reviews on iTunes.
Ethical seeding
But if you create an online campaign, or a new product, you want people to know about it. A genuine seeding campaign isn't about creating dozens of fake profiles to flood forums with fake product advocacy. It's about initiating discussions within communities, and establishing a genuine presence in the online community - giving something back to that community rather than just using it to promote a product. A well-planned seeding campaign carried out ethically could not be confused with astroturfing.
How do you do it? We advise brands on how to seed campaigns, and to follow best practice. Here are my top 10.
1. Plan. You must go into a seeding campaign with a strategy. Know what you want to achieve, and how you can do it openly and honestly. Make sure your agencies and employees know what is and what isn't acceptable ethically, and agree best practice with them.
2. Respect communities. Show respect from the first interaction onwards. Introduce yourself to community leaders; let them know that you represent a brand and that you would like to join the community as a user. If the request is refused, respect the decision. If you are accepted into the community, it is vital that you be a fully engaged community member if you want to avoid being labelled as a spammer. Don't just post about your product, but build a relationship with the community. It shows that you are interested in what other people are doing and thinking, making you look less focused on the brand and more human.
3. Be social. Remember, you're not just there to promote a brand. It's a community and you are part of it. Engage, interact. Accept friend requests when you get them and participate in the community. Be seen as a valuable addition to the community, not a spammer.
4. Be open. Your profile needs to identify you as representing a brand. Anonymity is strongly associated with astoturfing, and gives the brands that use the tactic a bad name. Anyone that spends most of their time talking about a specific brand while pretending to be an ordinary community member is going to be found out and would have betrayed the community.
5. Be polite. Don't talk down to people, publically share information sent to you privately, or try to shoehorn your way into conversations.
6. Listen to criticism and respond constructively. Have a clear strategy and escalation process in place before you initiate a seeding campaign, so you can respond quickly to any issues where you need to get customer service involved, for example. Escalate any specific complaints that people need resolving.
7. Add value. Community members know that you are a brand representative and one way to stand out (for the right reasons) would be to give back to the community by providing valuable content or advice. Some people may have questions about the brand and refer them to you for details. While you need to respond to these requests, listen to the feedback this gets you. You don't want to be seen as pushy.
8. Follow the rules. Most communities have written terms of use which must be followed at all times, but there are also the unwritten norms of the community that are also worth observing and adhering to if you want to integrate rather than stand apart.
9. Revisit your original objectives. Your engagement in the community will have been defined by the campaign's objective, but remember that you might have to step slightly outside the primary objective in order integrate into the community.
10. Avoid overtly promoting the brand. Seeding isn't about direct marketing, it's more about planting the germ of an idea in people's minds. Becoming aggressive or defensive when the brand is criticised is also an important reaction to avoid, as well as wading in to any controversial debates (such as ones about war, politics and religion). There are just some areas where a brand advocate should not tread.