"Social media acts as an early warning system when something goes wrong"

Fantastic to read a really insightful article on the BBC this week about companies shifting the consumer power of social media sites to benefit themselves. It was especially interesting to see social media referred to as a CRM system in itself and the argument that social media not only acts as a way of putting out early fires with customers, but triggers companies to beat journalists to a damaging story as well. At the end of the day, even if a story isn't necessarily true, if a big source gets hold of a rumour and spreads it to the masses, the damage is already done.

The example of the infamous 'United broke my guitar' song, which the BBC relate to, is a prime example. Picked up early enough, this could've been a simple pay out on one solitary piece of baggage. As it is now, the first thing that comes to most people's minds when you say the words United Airlines is that song. It will takes years and years before that tag is lost.

Companies live in constant fear something like this could take off online and why shouldn't they if they aren't monitoring it? Social media remains in most offices, a source of fear; an elephant in the room that no one really wants to tackle. But imagine being able to use the power to your advantage.

Whilst I concur with the article that the line between headline news and social media comment is becoming fuzzier by the day, it's imperative to not treat them as the same animal. One reason people are so afraid to tackle social media is the sheer volume of content. But with the right tracking tools that needn't be a problem. Take the United story for example again. Of course, it'd be difficult to spot the initial complaint, but if you were monitoring buzz you could've been alerted to the fact that something was spreading like wild fire very early on. The damage could well have been contained.

If companies can learn to use social media in this way, become masters of the medium, fight their fears, then social media could soon shift from being their worst enemy to their best friend. It's all about finding the best practises, putting the elephant on a lead and making it work for you.

We are planning on hosting an online video shortly highlighting some of the best ways to use social media to your advantage. If you'd like to receive FREE access to the video when ready please send a mail here with the subject 'social media best practises video'