This visual was inspired by a great post written by Teresa Basich over the Radian 6 Blog: Customer Service is the New Marketing

Social media has the power to magnify every customer experience. Whether it’s in-store, on the phone or online, each individual customer service interaction now becomes a marketing opportunity.

Social media has spread the “service” role across the organization – Procurement, Distribution, HR, Sales, Operations, Management, Ownership -  every employee in every department is now charged with the role of  nurturing customer relationships.

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Are you swimming in clear waters when it comes to your blog commenting practices?

For some in-depth analysis check out the post that inspired this visual: Guess Who’s Talking – Social Media Ethical Dilemmas. Todd Defren highlights two scenarios that illustrate how ethics come into play when working with clients on a blog comment strategy.

Note: This visual in part of a set inspired by Todd Defren’s “Social Media Ethics” series over at the PR squared blog.

Other visuals in the Social Media Ethics Set:

Social Media Ethics – The Agency Twitter Grey Scale

Social Media Ethics – The Ghost Blogging Matrix

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Is it ethical to ghost blog?

For a thought provoking take on the issue check out the post that inspired this visual: In Defense of Ghostblogging – Social Media Ethical Dilemmas. Todd Defren makes some compelling arguments that support ghost blogging.

I was totally against any form of ghost blogging – but after reading Todd’s post my stance has softened a bit. The fact that ghost blogging is not 100% authentic still doesn’t sit right with me and I will continue to recommend that clients learn to establish a capacity for blogging in-house. However, I will acknowledge that under certain circumstances it could be considered ethical to outsource a portion of your blogging efforts – ideally in a transparent manner.

Note: This visual in part of a set inspired by Todd Defren’s “Social Media Ethics” series over at the PR squared blog.

Other visuals in the Social Media Ethics Set:

Social Media Ethics – The Agency Twitter Grey Scale

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Is it ethical to tweet on behalf of a client?

For some practical insight check out the post that inspired this visual: Tweeting Under False Circumstances: Social Media Ethical Dilemmas. Todd Defren walks through a real-life case study and shares some thoughts on how his firm dealt with this issue.

My philosophy is that social media needs to be an authentic & transparent endeavor – and clients need to make the cultural and financial investment i.e. labour, time, etc. in order to be successful. This ideology has developed over time and through personal experience. I’ve justified tweeting for a former employer on the premise that I had a genuine knowledge of the brand and lived the culture – but even this intimate level of engagement has limitations. Without a real commitment from the client, almost any social media initiative will become a hollow exercise.

Balancing the business needs of a client with personal ideology can be a challenge for any agency. Have you come across any ethical challenges using Twitter as a client or agency? Have have you addressed them?

Note: This is the first visual in a set inspired by Todd Defren’s “Social Media Ethics” series over at the PR squared blog. Stay tuned for more.

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