In an age where 90% of small businesses use social media (source:
Social Media Today) and 75% of businesses as a whole utilise social networking
for business purposes, there has been a surge in the number of businesses
subjected to social media slander.
Waseem Saddique comments: “Social media has delivered many
positives for businesses all around the world. It has enhanced global
communication on a B2C and B2B scale effectively making the world ‘smaller’ and
simplifying the process of ‘doing business’. However, there is a sinister side
to social media that is becoming prevalent to the extent that it’s receiving
high profile press attention.”
According to leading professional services firm
PricewaterhouseCoopers, 90% of businesses worldwide experience some form of
abuse via social media. Such abuse has led to an increase in court cases as
businesses look to stifle the perpetrators, costing companies thousands in order
to pursue legal action and often to no effect because of ‘freedom of speech’
legislation.
Who are the
perpetrators of social media slander against businesses?
Research conducted by Waseem Saddique Marketing Services
discovered several perpetrators of slander who used social media as their
primary platform for administering abuse. Based on the research, Waseem
Saddique Marketing was able to establish a list of the five most common
offenders for delivering slander via social networking, they are:
· Competitors – Staggeringly it is other
companies, usually under the guise of a hidden identity, that partake in
posting defamatory comments about rival companies in order to sabotage business
operations
· Former employees – Perhaps not surprisingly,
especially if a former employee did not part with former employers amicably,
they are the second most likely to ‘hurl’ abuse at businesses
· Current employees – Usually in the heat of the
moment, current employees of companies have been known to partake in abusing
businesses. However, this often leads to them joining the category above,
dismissed for gross misconduct
· Dissatisfied customers – Social networking gives
customers, who have a particular grievance against a company, the perfect
platform to seriously affect a company’s reputation
· Trolls – Though not necessarily holding any
grudge against a business, trolls are sinister members of the social networking
matrix and, without motive and purely for the pleasure, will set out to
mercilessly damage the reputation of a business
How can a business
combat the slander?
Waseem Saddique states: “There are two essential steps that
a business needs to take in order to combat social media slander. First,
monitor the company name and second, respond quickly.”
Monitor the Business Name
The swiftest solution for monitoring your company name is to
install social media monitoring software. Most monitoring systems can be
downloaded from the internet. It’s designed to issue alerts anytime that your
company name is mentioned. You are often notified via e-mail, allowing you to
take the necessary action. If the mention is slanderous you can move to stifle
it before the slander goes viral.
Respond swiftly
A delayed response to slander gives slanderous comments the
opportunity to spread and it’s then too late to eliminate the negative impact
those comments have. One negative comment made about your business via social
media can become thousands within minutes.
Rapid response indicates that you’re a company that takes
its reputation seriously and that you have a policy in place to deal with
complaints amicably.
Falling victim to social media slander has huge
ramifications for businesses and if not addressed swiftly the viral vitriol
that ensues can put businesses ‘out of business’.
