The Social Media Feedback Loop
The old model of feedback before the growth of social media meant that feedback flowed only one way from the community to the company or vice versa. Now the popularity of social media means that communication – both positive and negative – can flow continuously from a company to its community of customers and back again.
However where many companies are committing mistakes is that they fail to acknowledge that if they do not respond to customer feedback, it means that customers will continue in the loop with only their own feedback to respond to. In these scenarios, feeback can become increasingly negative and speculative. Which is why we have seen communities of customers building on Facebook in protest over the actions of companies and so on.
Silence on behalf of a company or brand can lead to negative perceptions. By providing feedback you acknowledge that your community exists and that you value them and this is much more likely to create brand loyalists. Which is why it is important for companies and brands to engage with social media and to keep their ears to the ground all the time, if they are to enhance their social capital.
