In case any executives haven’t realized the power of social media yet…they should ask Chicago Bears QB Jay Cutler to give them an overview. Just as soon as he left the game in the 3rd quarter, there was a negative backlash on Twitter from NFL players such as Maurice Jones-Drew, running back for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Derrick Brooks, former Tampa Bay Buckaneers linebacker. The title on Yahoo’s Sport page reads, “Unprecented social media attack dooms Cutler“. On an NFL fan site the article reads, “Jay Cutler Branded a Quitter by NFL Players on Twitter“, where you can read some of the Tweets.
Before the rise of social media, even knee-jerk reactions from insiders would have time to simmer down before blurting out a negative opinion without having all the facts. But in today’s world of instant news, and therefore reactions, even a questionable injury can turn into a social media blitz. Now more than ever, companies should be ready to respond to any negativity around their brands. One customer service fumble can get your brand on the injured list.
Football and social media, that should get some attention from anyone not convinced that its time to get involved with social media, right?
Conversations are taking place with or without a brands participation. It’s instrumental that businesses employ Chief Listening Officers (title or no title), because it all comes down to listening and developing metrics around what’s being said, that is the core foundation for any marketing strategy. By listening and interacting both with one’s own brand, benchmarking against the competition, and the key piece being quantifying the results (to gain intelligence from the data) businesses are better positioned to develop and execute a social strategy to monetize these efforts.