With a degree in marketing and working in the field in competitive intelligence for the past 10 years, I am always wondering about the extent that companies go to engage their existing or potential consumers on social networks. From posting relevant links to articles, videos and podcasts to asking people to voice their opinions on a product or service, companies attempt to create a strong bond with their target audience. The underlying objective in engaging the audience is to influence them to buy their product or service.
In their haste to talk to their audience using Twitter and or Facebook, some companies overlook the competitive intelligence implications of their social media strategy. Case in point: A consumer - company “tweet up”.
Urban Dictionary.com defines a “tweet up” as “an organized or impromptu gathering of people that use Twitter.” Recently, I came across a tweet for a scheduled “tweet up” for a product which I thought it was a very good marketing move until my “competitive intelligence senses” kicked into high gear. I had to question the strategy of announcing and executing such an initiative. Consider the following scenario from a strategic intelligence gathering point of view.
Sending out a tweet days in advance provides:
1) Competitors who maybe on your list of followers to plan and attend the “tweet up”.
2) Competitors with the opportunity to establish a system to monitor information that is made available during the “tweet up”
3) Competitors to access archives of the “tweet up” courtesy of the company’s Twitter page.
A similar scenario can hold true for a Facebook initiative using the discussion boards or wall posts.
Am I discouraging companies from using the various avenues to engage individuals on social networks? Not at all. What I am trying to highlight is that strategists must be smarter when it comes to communicating with their target audience. Social networks are not only marketing platforms but outlets to collect strategic intelligence as it becomes available. Efforts to prevent significant pieces of data from appearing on competitors’ radar should be taken. Consider:
1) Conducting an audit of your social media marketing outlets - Have someone outside your marketing department to browse your Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts to seek out the answer to the following question, “Do we want our competitors access to this piece of information?”. In addition, use some of the Web 2.0 search tools to cull information that might be available on Web 2.0. This initiative is a part of a defensive competitive intelligence plan. (Please read, “Defensive Competitive Intelligence In A Web 2.0 Environment”)
2) Drafting and adhering to engagement guidelines - When engaging your audience, you may not be prepared to deal with some of the unwelcome comments. These comments can be used against you by competitors. As a result, a set of guidelines should be established to clear state the topics that should be covered, when postings should be done, should hashtags be used, etc.
Are you concerned about what your competitors can learn about when you are engaging your consumers? Tell us!!
