Part of my work, both paid and voluntary, involves running social media accounts for various organisations. I often try out different software for scheduling tweets, measuring social media engagement and so on. A year ago I decided to upgrade my Hootsuite account to a Pro (paid) account so I could access the analytics service.
I’ve written before about Twitterwashing, the tactic where organisations butt in on Twitter chats in an attempt to control public conversations about them. BT is the example that springs most readily to mind, but even lovely fluffy ethical organisations make this mistake too.
“If you like it, tell all your friends. If you don’t, just tell us!” It’s a cheesy commonplace and we’ve all seen it on signs. But if you’re interested in the relationship between customers and businesses, it’s worth looking at again.
“If you like it, tell all your friends” acknowledges that word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool. “If you don’t, just tell us!” is the other side of the coin: an acknowledgement that if customers tell their friends about a bad experience with a business, that has the power to hurt the business.
Jeremy Hunt has now announced plans to give out licences for local television stations. Ofcom has identified 65 towns and cities where local terrestrial TV is technically possible and these places will be invited to bid for licences.