Your Social Customers Are Annoying -- Too Bad!

There is no need to mince words: social media users can be very annoying.

As normal, likable consumers leave the judgmental confines of the "real world," a switch suddenly flips. These people who once approached life with a burning desire to avoid confrontation and maintain their popularity suddenly turn into wolves who care about nothing more than hearing themselves speak (or, in many online cases, reading their own writing).

With "argumentation" branded onto the concept of online discussion, the Internet has famously become a battleground for know-it-alls to obnoxiously quibble over trivial facts and details. Without a stigma against complaining, and in fact a thirst for it, the online world has become the ultimate forum for attaining satisfaction by being loud rather than being appealing.

And insofar as the most dominant online voices tend to adhere to a rebellious, individualistic, man vs. system worldview, the Internet can prove nightmarish for brand discourse. If a brand makes a mistake or error in judgment, even one of the subtle variety, online commenters will pounce on the opportunity to relentlessly deliver shame.

Given that reality, there is only one appropriate thing to tell marketing and customer service leaders.

Tough luck.

Yes, it would be great if social customers adhered to the same hesitations they do in the "real world," but they do not. They latch onto mistakes, seize opportunities to play the cynic, rant about hypocrisies and freak out at tasteless double-entendres. They face no deterrence in bringing errant brand behavior to the merciless court of public opinion, and as a result, the burden is on the brand to keep the well of usable material dry.

For if the brand gives the obnoxious online contingent an inch of opportunity, they will fall behind many miles.

Food for Complaints

Every book on social media horror stories contains reference to the "#McDStories" fiasco, in which McDonald’s effort to motivate brand ambassadors backfired. Instead of sharing positive stories about the restaurant chain, social commenters hijacked the promoted hashtag to disseminate negative experiences at the leading fast food chain.

One of the most notorious gaffes in social marketing, the incident was a reminder of how little inherent control brands have over consumer dialogue in the digital age.

And McDonald’s has not been the only victim of viral discourse.

Late last year, Papa John’s caught tremendous heat—and even inspired talk of a boycott on Reddit—after CEO John Schnatter intimidated that the costs resulting from ObamaCare would likely result in price increases and inspire some franchise owners to cut back on their employees’ hours.

While Schnatter rebutted that the comments were at least partially taken out of context (especially since there is a difference between Papa John’s corporate workforce and the franchise workforce), the damage was already done.

Here you had a wealthy executive talking about how his business was going to impose greater costs on customers and cut back on hours for its low-wage employees without acknowledging any willingness to make significant personal sacrifices. Worse, Schnatter was starring in a national ad campaign in which he and Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning trumpeted the restaurant’s plan to giveaway 2 million free pizzas.

Anyone with a hint of business savvy knows that the pizza giveaway was a marketing investment designed to generate a positive ROI. It was not precisely tantamount to the company choosing between free pizza and healthcare for its workers. But to an angry Internet miffed by story after story of corporate greed, it looked bad and it inspired the worst kind of viral response.

Out of context or not, Schnatter clearly neglected to realize that his comments would not be limited to the immediate audience or even the entirety of his workforce, the traditional media and the greater business community. They were suddenly fair game for all to analyze. From ticked off customers to political enthusiasts, Papa John’s was being judged in every light possible by every demographic possible, and the transcript of that outcry was available for the world to examine.

Every Man for Himself

In all my years of watching television commercials and product endorsements, I never once thought to myself, "Man, those people sure are nice going to bat for that brand out of the kindness of their hearts.’ Of course endorsers, celebrity or non-celebrity, were getting something out of the deal.

Apparently my cynicism was not widespread. Either that, or online commenters simply like stirring the pot.

A recent Verizon FiOS campaign touts that its testimonials are from real customers, and it even shares their Twitter handles to inspire social dialogue about the Verizon fiber service. The idea here was that Verizon was taking discourse out of the celebrity realm and bringing it inside the arena of the actual target audience—real people who need Internet, phone and television.

But "real" is not a black-and-white term when it comes to celebrity endorsements. While these individuals were real customers and not celebrities (and thus real people), their official Twitter accounts identified them as, "'This Twitter user is a real FiOS customer incentivized by Verizon to share his/her own opinions and thoughts on FiOS service."

A deeper dig also reveals that the three "customers" are actors who perform on local, New York-area theater circuits.

That these customers are incentivized should neither be surprising (they are endorsing a product!) nor perceived as unjust (they are taking time to answer support questions on behalf of Verizon), but it vexed social users nonetheless. As awareness of their relationship to Verizon grew, so too did troll Tweets, which pressed the Verizon customers on comedic, irrelevant issues like whether FiOS can help someone get over a cocaine addiction or find their long-lost mother.

At that point, Verizon’s ambassadors not only had to deal with preserving the brand reputation amid confrontational customer dialogue but also maintain their personal reputations as they were ultimately communicating as individuals (rather than Verizon employees) on Twitter. When dealing with amusing, but obnoxious Tweets from trolls, that is an extremely dicey position for brand ambassadors.

Social media not only puts the brand on blast but also locks individual company representatives in the crosshairs. Managing employee conduct and strategy on social media is difficult enough in a quiet period; when under attack from know-it-all customers who will not relent until they are proven right, it can be an outright disaster.

It’s All About the Annoying Kid in Class

I know a thing or two about being the annoying kid in class. Throughout elementary school, I was the kid who would always raise his hand to showcase his knowledge. I still feel the need to correct grammar mistakes (seriously, people, it isshould have gone not should have went).

But insofar as I find myself vexed by other know-it-alls, I have grown increasingly aware of how my own behavior can sometimes be construed as obnoxious. I recognize that people do not need a fact-checker to endorse every statement they make. I understand the merit in occasionally letting things go.

Most members of the "real world" share that addiction to the chill pill. Unfortunately, Facebook and Twitter accounts are their nicotine patches.

Once they logon to the social web, they feel a compulsion to voice their opinion and voice their dissatisfaction with the opinions and behavior of others. Brands, who notoriously rely on hyperbole and relaxed versions of the truth are the biggest offenders.

When developing products or product marketing strategies, it is these customers—the most annoying of the lot—that must be targeted. Brands must assure their dialogue and promotion would hold up flawlessly in a room of the most snobby, hand-raising, fact-checking, Twitter trolls imaginable.

It is no longer about delivering a comfortable message for your target audience. You must look beyond that target and look at how the greater social community will process your information—and how you can appropriately respond once they do.

From annoying, obnoxious customers to lovely, loyal ones, you are going to need a proper social media strategy for engaging them and protecting your brand. http://www.socialcrmonlinesummit.com