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Do you remember that ridiculously stupid ad campaign for Mrs Ball’s chutney, that made the rounds sometime last year? It was the “National Skirt Extension Project” campaign, where the readers were made to believe that all the ladies’ toilet signs would need to be changed to show the “ladies” wearing a longer skirt. It was all part of a campaign that suggested that some things are fine the way the are, including …..Mrs Balls Chutney!!!! [...]

Recently, a web designer who had been commissioned to design a website for a client and never got paid, hijacked the client’s website and left the following note on it: Leslie Estate Agents failed to pay for this site During February 2010 Leslie Estate Agents placed an order for a website. Despite numerous promises to make payment by Thursday we have not seen a cent. Now, I would never tell you that Leslie is a [...]

This is an excerpt from my free, downloadable book Should your company be using Social Media?

You can download the book from here. Please feel free to distribute, RT and share with your network!

INTRODUCTION

Social Media allows people to talk and discuss things online. One of those things that will possibly be discussed is your company, and its products. The premise therefore is simple: if you want to be part of that discussion, so that you are not just being talked about, but are actually talking with, then you need to start embracing social media.

It has almost become a cliche to mention, at this point, that the conversation about your company will happen whether you are or are not actually part of it. I tend to disagree with that. Yes, if you are one of the four banks, or an airline, or a major retailer then South Africans will definitely talk online about you in both positive and negative terms. But if you are a smaller business, or one with a very small niche market, with narrow reach, then unless you are absolutely exemplary or absolutely pathetic, the chances are that conversations about you will not carry much impact. At least, not unless you start getting seriously involved in them.

So that leaves a South African company in a curious position. Because the online penetration and adoptation rate by older generations is so much greater in the US, the conventional wisdom there is that companies must be active online, and must engage their customers in regular conversations. That is probably true. But in South Africa, there is no must about it. It is up to you, as company or brand owner to figure out whether such a conversation is worth the time and expense that it will carry.