The document discusses digital peer pressure and social media engagement by businesses. It provides examples of both good and bad social media campaigns. The good example is of a bookstore owner who honestly shared on social media that the store may have to close, and offered customers a free burrito if they visited. This emotional connection with the community generated many new sales and saved the store. The bad example is of Skittles allowing unfettered user comments on its website about Skittle colors. Without filters or moderation, negative comments were published. The unclear strategy and informal tone may have encouraged inappropriate responses. The lesson is businesses need control and participation in social media conversations regarding their brand.

1. DIGITAL PEER PRESSURE
Author: gurmit singh shakhon
Date: 29.03.12
www.esporis.com
Social
media
is
a
fast
growing
buzzword
hi6ng
businesses
from
all
digital
channels.
Brands
are
facing
a
decision
whether
to
acknowledge
this
channel
or
ignore
it
(which
is
becoming
harder
to
do),
increasingly
we
are
seeing
companies
jump
onto
Facebook,
TwiBer,
LinkedIn
and
other
social
networks.
But
are
they
ready
to
be
there
and
do
they
know
what
they’re
doing
there?
Businesses
are
tesGng
the
waters
of
social
media
to
best
understand
the
long
and
short-­‐term
benefits,
while
others
dive
in
to
reap
the
benefits
of
these
social
communiGes.
So
what’s
the
problem
with
these
half-­‐baked
teams
trying
to
make
a
mark
in
the
social
world?
Nothing
really,
they
can
provide
a
presence
online
and
voice
their
valuable
news
and
opinions
towards
their
audience…Great!
However
this
fundamentally
goes
against
the
principles
of
social
media.
Social
media
means
businesses
have
to
be
ready
to
get
social
with
their
audience
and
be
happy
to
let
lose
the
conversaGons
they
once
fully
owned
and
controlled.
It
means
accepGng
the
good
and
the
bad!
Allowing
customers
to
make
conversaGons
about
your
brand
that
they
believe
are
important,
and
to
build
relaGonships
with
you
on
their
terms.
However
what’s
the
value
of
engaging
with
customers
who
are
allowed
to
talk
about
anything
and
everything?
This
is
not
the
case,
when
engaging
with
customers
on
Facebook
they
must
‘Like’
your
page
before
they
are
allowed
to
interact
with
you.
The
same
goes
for
TwiBer,
people
who
see
your
tweets
are
the
guys
who
‘follow’
you.
Therefore
it’s
safe
to
say
that
the
customer
(or
prospecGve
customer)
has
a
level
of
interest
in
you
and
want
to
hear
what
you
have
to
say.
We
need
to
speak
to
people
in
a
way
that
welcomes
their
parGcipaGon,
allowing
them
to
understand
that
it
is
ok
to
converse
in
this
space.

2. A case study of doing this well - Broadway Books
hBp://www.broadwaybooks.net
hBp://stories.twiBer.com/en/aaron_durand.html
A
small
bookstore
named
Broadway
Books
in
Portland,
Oregon
were
facing
financial
difficulty
during
Christmas
when
they
were
expecGng
a
peak
of
their
sales.
The
bookstore
owner
Roberta
Dyer
was
worried
she
may
need
to
close
the
business.
Her
son
Aaron
Durand
was
taken
back
by
this
and
decided
to
write
a
blog
post.
He
explained
the
situaGon
and
offered
anyone
in
the
area
who
visits
and
purchases
a
book
from
his
mum’s
store
a
free
burrito.
The
results
were
astonishing,
the
bookstore
was
seeing
customers
its
never
seen
before,
books
were
flying
off
the
shelves
and
the
community
was
saving
the
bookstore
from
closure.
What did he do right? He
connected
to
his
community
at
an
emoGonal
level,
he
was
honest,
he
played
upon
the
community
sprit
and
provided
an
incenGve.
Now
this
is
the
fairytale
ending
to
a
real
business
problem
but
there
are
lessons
to
be
learnt.
In
order
to
connect
to
his
community
at
an
emoGonal
level
he
needed
to
understand
that
community,
who
they
are,
what
they
like,
what
they
don’t
like
and
how
to
talk
to
them.
He
was
honest,
honesty
is
really
important
and
a
single
lie
can
seriously
damage
the
reputaGon
of
a
brand.
John
Griffin
the
CEO
of
Addison
Lee
made
a
statement
to
Sky
News
highlighGng
that
his
business
has
grown
from
strength
to
strength
by
being
honest
‘people
will
forgive
the
truth
but
they’ll
never
forgive
a
lie’.
This
concocGon
of
honesty,
community
sprit
and
incenGve
all
played
upon
the
success
of
this
campaign.

3. A case study of doing this badly - Skittles
SkiBles
took
a
brave
move
by
transforming
their
main
.com
website
into
a
social
media
campaign.
The
aim
of
this
campaign
was
not
enGrely
clear.
SkiBles
allowed
their
audience
to
tweet
whatever
they
wanted
about
the
different
colours
of
SkiBles.
The
more
tweets
about
a
specific
colour
would
push
the
SkiBle
colour
up
the
rankings
and
be
published
on
the
site.
What did Skittles do wrong? Although
this
sounds
like
a
great
idea
and
‘a
dream
project’
for
many
digital
agencies
SkiBles
didn’t
put
in
place
any
management
precauGons
to
allow
them
to
manage
negaGve
feedback,
not
even
basic
fowl
language
filters!
From
an
external
perspecGve
it
seemed
like
SkiBles
had
fully
handed
over
ownership
of
their
site
to
their
audience.
If
SkiBles
had
more
control
over
this
campaign
they
would
have
had
the
opportunity
to
parGcipate
in
‘their’
conversaGon
and
create
processes
to
manage
negaGve
comments.
Another
contribuGng
factor
is
the
tone
of
voice
/
language
used
on
the
campaign
page.
SkiBles
adopted
a
blunt,
cold,
slang
approach,
se6ng
the
stage
for
the
audience
to
believe
it
was
acceptable
to
converse
in
such
a
way
e.g.
‘Don’t
get
cocky’
(wriBen
by
SkiBles
on
their
campaign
site)
which
could
have
led
to
the
type
of
response
they
were
receiving.

4. Con't: A case study of doing this badly - Skittles
It’s
not
enGrely
clear
what
was
the
social
strategy
was
for
this
campaign.
If
it
was
to
increase
visitors
to
their
site
the
tweets
may
have
lead
to
a
rise
in
links
to
them
however
the
campaign
itself
had
liBle
to
no
content
therefore
removing
any
SEO
value.
Maybe
the
value
was
to
increase
digital
conversaGons
with
their
audience?
If
it
was
only
for
an
increase
in
metrics
this
campaign
would
have
been
considered
a
wide
success!
However
in
reality
most
of
the
conversaGons
were
negaGve
and
had
low
senGment
(at
least
not
enough
for
me
to
change
my
purchasing
habits
from
M&M’s
to
SkiBles).
It
has
to
been
handed
to
SkiBles,
although
the
campaign
wasn’t
an
obvious
success,
their
bravery
to
become
a
socially
engaged
brand
has
to
be
respected.
They
made
some
obvious
errors
and
could
have
targeted
their
campaign
beBer
for
greater
results.
The
management
was
poor
and
opportuniGes
were
lost,
but
hey
we
all
hope
they
learnt
from
their
mistakes.

5. A case study of not doing anything (till its too late) - Domino's Pizza
hBp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtjVEBZWweM
hBp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhBmWxQpedI&feature=player_embedded
hBp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-­‐gvs2Y2368&feature=related
Domino’s
pizza
was
in
a
media
frenzy
when
two
of
their
employees
took
pictures
of
themselves
spi6ng
into
customers
food,
taunGng
customers
behind
their
backs
and
even
having
a
bath
in
the
large
Domino’s
pizza
kitchen
sink.
Once
these
photos
and
videos
hit
Facebook
they
went
viral
and
were
posted
on
peoples
walls
all
over
the
USA
(and
way
further).
The
news
eventually
went
across
the
naGon
and
was
even
broadcasted
on
the
news.
Very
quickly
the
customer
community
up-­‐roared
regarding
this
issue
and
forced
Domino’s
Pizza
to
close
their
store.
The
employees
involved
in
the
incident
were
later
sentenced
to
a
jail
term.
The
USA
president
of
Domino’s
Pizza
made
an
apology
and
took
full
responsibility,
view
the
apology
video
on
the
link
above.
What did Domino's do wrong? Domino’s
Pizza
were
not
monitoring
their
brand
percepGon
across
social
networks,
not
measuring
senGment
nor
the
trends
for
what
people
were
watching
or
talking
about
regarding
Domino’s
Pizza.
They
did
not
monitor
their
staff
nor
regulate
the
use
of
social
media
(or
socially
connected
devices).
They
also
missed
the
opportunity
to
connect
to
the
upset
users
who
were
viewing
the
photos
and
videos
posted
by
the
rouge
employees.
Domino’s
Pizza
held
a
helpless
posiGon
where
they
did
not
speak
or
listen
to
the
social
communiGes
who
were
upset
by
the
behaviour
of
their
staff.
The
outcome
of
this
incident
proves
how
important
it
is
not
to
do
anything.
These
problems
don’t
go
away
in
a
world
of
connected
broadcasters!

6. Social
media
is
being
used
to
empower
the
individual,
bringing
their
thoughts,
ideas
and
concepts
to
the
front
of
the
discussion.
Its
important
we
do
not
become
passive
to
their
views
or
respond
like
a
robot.
The
value
of
social
media
comes
from
the
closeness
of
the
conversaGon
and
conversing
through
technology
as
humans.
Its
important
we
never
forget
this
fact
and
implement
processes
and
technologies
that
support
organizaGons
to
behave
in
such
a
way.
About the author
Gurmit Singh Shakhon is an enthusiastic and experienced
digital professional in the fields of experience strategy, social
strategy and interaction design. Gurmit has worked in some
of the worlds leading digital agencies and been part of market
shifting projects. Gurmit has also worked alongside some of
the most intelligent minds in the industry including Don
Norman, Brett King and Martin Lindstrom.
Gurmit is a partner in Esporis.com promoting the creation of
highly creative social solutions across the UK and Australia.