The third during-the-conversation principle discussed in the UMSL Department of Communication’s course on the use of social media in public relations is control, or more accurately, lack of control.
When you’re active in social media, you need to be prepared to give up some level of control over your brand’s message. Why? Because the individuals with whom you’re engaging — if they find your content relevant, interesting, unique, and useful — will take it, share it, refer to it, and talk about it in ways you may have never anticipated.
Some brands actively embrace this type of behavior, i.e., they intentionally hand over some level of control to their audience, hoping the audience will respond in kind by spreading the brand’s content to their networks of family, friends, and colleagues. That approach is well illustrated in the efforts of Beyoncé and her team to promote her self-titled album in December 2013. (In this context, mega-celebrities like Beyoncé — or, more accurately, their names and images — can be considered brands in much the same way that product brands are.)
Granted, not all cases of giving up control are intentional, as is evident in the experiences of the Marie Callender’s and Applebee’s brand teams.
So what happens when you do lose control on social media? Burger King’s experience, in early 2013, suggests one possible response: Roll with the punches and don’t take yourself too seriously. What’s more, BK’s experience begs the question of how competitive brand should respond in such situations. McDonald’s and Wendy’s approach may surprise you.
Another important point in thinking about this principle is to be careful. Just because you can’t control everything doesn’t mean you should relinquish all control. In fact, there are circumstances in which exercising a degree of control is essential, if not legally required. Consider the reality of tweeting from Wall Street and disclosing financial information via social media.
