Treat others how you want to be treated.
It’s a concept as old as the human
relationship, and in the age of social media, it translates to marketing ethics
as well. “Put on your consumer hat, explained Likeable Media’s Dave Kerpen
(2011), “and do unto others, as a marketer, as you would want done unto you as
a consumer” (p. 110).
Following the Rule: Zappos
Zappos is the epitome of corporate honesty and
transparency. From the company’s very core spread all the way out across its social
media presence is an authentic sense of honesty and transparency. Zappos’
honesty policy starts at the very top with CEO Tony Hsieh. The company has an
entire blog dedicated to public messages from the COO and CEO. In a blog post titled HowTwitter Can Make You a Better (and Happier) Person, Hsieh cites four ways
in which Twitter has helped him grow personally, the first of which being
“Transparency & Values.” Cited in the same post is a reiteration of Zappos’
10 core values which are also visible throughout its website, social media
platforms, emails, and even its packaging.
Though he is far from what one would consider
to be an avid tweeter, Hsieh has his own personal, verified Twitter account, through which he
communicates with followers honestly and openly, even when delivering tough
news. In the left photo below, Hsieh tweeted a link to an informative blog post
about Zappos restructuring a large production location, redistributing workers
to its sister company, Amazon. Rather than receiving snarky remarks about
corporate culture and the nature of business, many people tweeted their thanks
to Hsieh for being so open, commending him on his transparency.
Zappos’ authentic transparency travels all the
way down the totem pole, too. The company has seven different Twitter handles
for handing things from customer service issues to insights and app
development. The company is quick to attend to any semblance of a customer
service complaint on social media, but it rarely has to as the majority of
comments left on its pages are praising the company’s service. (It’s worth
noting that none of these praises are left un-thanked.)
Unfortunately for the modern consumer, not
every company is a Zappos.
Breaking the Rule: Walmart
Notoriously disparaged for its questionable employment
practices, the biggest corporation in the world has not made things any easier
on itself through its social media presence. With upward of 60,000 social media mentions a day, it’s reasonable not to expect Walmart to respond to every
single @ thrown its way. However the company did not start off on the right
social media foot with its Wal-Marting Across America fake blogging blunder back in 2006. A blog surfaced in
September 2006 featuring the journey of a couple who traveled in an RV to
various Walmarts across America, interviewing employees who to readers seemed
unusually satisfied with their employment conditions. Enough public skepticism and
some digging revealed that the traveling couple was actually a public relations
stunt; they were paid by Walmart for
their blogging. In and of itself, this does not seem like a terrible offense,
but the fact that it was never disclosed that the blog authors were being paid
for their reviews puts into doubt the authenticity of all of the interviews
featured on their blog. Walmart was in direct violation of The Word of Mouth
Marketing Association’s “Honesty ROI.”
 |
| (Kerpen, 2011, p. 110) |
All of the social media expertise in the world
couldn’t save Walmart’s perpetually crumbling reputation, but the corporation
has become more aware of its social media responsibilities in the past few
years. “Thanks to an orchestrated campaign behind the scenes, the company is
starting to gain some traction by engaging with shoppers on social media,
getting out the good word and most importantly, harnessing the power of the masses
that actually like Walmart” (Heller,
2014, para. 2).
Walmart should build out this social media
network of supporters moving forward to try to regain some positive brand
sentiment. Transparency may not be able to win back those with an already
negative impression of the brand, but it can help to retain loyal customers.
“In an age of corporate secrets, a little honesty
and transparency goes a long way toward building trust with your prospects and
long-term commitment from your customers” (Kerpen, 2011, p. 116).
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Sources:
Heller, K. (2014). Is America ready to like Walmart? Forbes. Retrieved http://www.forbes.com/sites/lauraheller/2014/03/21/is-america-ready-to-like-walmart/
Kerpen, D. (2011). Likeable social media: how to delight your customers, create an irresistable brand, and be generally amazing on Facebook (and other social networks). McGraw-Hill.
----
Sources:
Heller, K. (2014). Is America ready to like Walmart? Forbes. Retrieved http://www.forbes.com/sites/lauraheller/2014/03/21/is-america-ready-to-like-walmart/
Kerpen, D. (2011). Likeable social media: how to delight your customers, create an irresistable brand, and be generally amazing on Facebook (and other social networks). McGraw-Hill.
