Virgin hit by online indiscretions
Social media isn’t just a big opportunity for brands, it’s also something that can trip them up. Many of the experiences that people like to share on social networking sites are work-related. Companies will hope that their employees say only nice things about them, but they can’t be sure of this. A staff member who gets browned off with a supervisor or customer can let off steam on his or her Facebook profile, with disastrous results for everybody concerned.
Virgin Atlantic says it is investigating a ‘small group’ of employees who criticised flying safety standards and made ‘malicious’ comments about passengers on Facebook. Chances are, most of us would never have heard about this if it hadn’t acted so publicly. But the brand had no choice. It knows well that this sort of negative comment can easily get picked up on the Internet and spread like wildfire. So taking pre-emptive action was probably a wise move.
As these sorts of incidents multiply employers will need to create policy guidelines that stop staff trashing their good name online. In some cases this could turn out to be a sackable offence. But brands shouldn’t take a purely defensive view of social media. Far from being a menace, it offers the chance to engage in conversation and develop relationships with consumers in a neutral space, and as such is something they should cherish.
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