SXSW Takeaways – Users are in control

Although users have always been (and should always) be the focus of any system – the rise of social media and the two-way relationships between consumers and organisations has really led to users pushing back as a collective group and having their voice heard.

Clay Shirky discussed at SXSW how social media has become revolutionary, but how it can’t be considered the revolution. He compared how social media was leveraged in Egypt to the release of the printing press. There was just as much push back from the government around the potential for unauthorised or out there messages to become mainstream through leveraging printing press technologies.

It wasn’t the books themselves that was scaring them or was anything revolutionary, it was their potential for abundance. The revolutionary change the print press provided didn’t cause chaos – it was the ease of content distribution that caused the change and really wasn’t possible without being able to leverage the new printing press technology.

Fast forward to Egypt and although there initially was singular loud individuals, the government wasn’t afraid of them – as they could be easily silenced. However, when the tipping point of loud voices was reached – and Egyptians began shouting as one, the government began to have trouble silencing the voice. They were afraid of synchronised groups and really began to listen.

If we take these concepts from the printing press and Egypt and apply them to how brands leverage social media – it’s clear that if there is a group of different people shouting exactly the same message, brands need to listen.

Vodafone really suffered (and still do suffer) after the widely known #vodafail hashtag on Twitter become virally popular. Although there haven’t been many improvements in Vodafone’s services, Vodafone has come out publicly on multiple occasions to apologise because they know they aren’t providing adequate services.

Vodafone could have become extremely defensive and just outright refused to discuss the problems, but they are being open, listening and willing to have a conversation to be accountable for their actions.

SXSW Interactive’s Event Director, Hugh Forrest, is an advocate for listening and actively responding to complaints. He encourages every staff member on his team to review all the negative feedback they receive after the event (and there is usually a LOT) and call ten people (not an email or a letter) and actually have a discussion with the person to understand the core issue with their complaint and try to rectify it as much as humanly possible. Forrest has discovered that those people who have their individual voices heard were more likely to become the biggest ambassadors for their brand.

So what does this mean for Vodafone? Should they be calling as many people tweeting #vodafail and apologising to them to convert them to advocates? For those that complain through more formal channels, it may be the best way for customers to know that their voices are being heard.

Social media is being leveraged by their current customers to complain and have a singular voice, so why not have fun with it? Vodafone is already pretty good with their social media strategy, so why not leverage the free media and start to purchase Twitter/Facebook advertising and trending topics – primarily the #vodafail tag – to provide discounted or free products to current Vodafone customers.

Social media has become a way to revolutionise the way we can connect and share content with people and brands; however brands have to realise that they are no longer in control of their brand and brand perceptions and it is up to them to either ride the wave with the user or get swept away by them.