“Social media isn’t for our company. People might leave negative comments!”

How often have you heard some variation of that line of thinking? Unfortunately, the truth is that if someone has something negative to say about your company — they’re going to find a way. If not on your blog, than on some other social media outlet. That’s why companies need to incorporate “listening” into their communication strategy. People are talking — whether you’re participating or not. (For more on professional listening, see Chris Brogan’s post on growing bigger ears.)

The importance of listening was perfectly illustrated on Jeremiah Owyang’s blog. He wrote a post about the role corporate culture plays in a company’s ability/willingness to participate in social media. The post included an embedded presentation about IBM’s company-wide incorporation of social computing. But, the lesson about listening actually took place in the post’s comments. Jimmy, an ex-IBM employee commented on the post and used the forum to express his deep-rooted frustration with the way the company reacted when he needed time off to deal with a family crisis. His comments painted a very ugly picture.

And that’s why it’s important to listen. Adam Christensen — who, according to his blog, does “social media communication” for IBM — read the original post and the ensuing comments. Adam responded with his own comment to address the accusations:

By inserting itself into the dialogue, IBM diffused a potentially negative situation. Additional comments discussed corporate culture; however, IBM wasn’t the target of further criticism. We can only guess how the thread would have developed if IBM hadn’t jumped in. Maybe readers would have posted more attacks on IBM … or maybe not. We’ll never know — but is that a risk your company wants to take? If not, it’s time to start listening.

Photo Credit: David Plotzki.

These days there is no shortage of blogs about companies who excel at SMO (social media optimization).You know who I’m talking about: Zappos … Intel …The Home Depot…these names come up again and again when discussing online reputation management. In the past week, however, the Costa DeVault team has noticed a few other blog-worthy companies that are effectively using its online presence through Twitter…and in doing so have managed to separate themselves from the pack. Here’s why.

• Whole Foods, Crisis Communication – With the recent salmonella outbreak, Whole Foods has continued to give Twitter updates about what products have been recalled and ones that are safe for consumption.
• Dunkin Donuts, Community Relations – On the Monday after the Super Bowl, Dunkin Donuts offered its condolences up to Cardinal fans by offering a free donut (along with the purchase of drink) to Phoenix-area customers.

• Springpad, Relationship Marketing – Recently Springpad contacted one of our staff via Twitter with information about a new service. The message was personalized and asked for customer feedback.
• JetBlue, Client Communication – JetBlue offers travel tips and flight information. Along with SouthWest Airlines, JetBlue is part of a newly emerging travel industry trend, according to a recent USA Today article.
• Ichiban, Client Communication – Ichiban, a local sushi restaurant, is now accepting orders via Twitter. How did owners come up with this idea? They didn’t. Ted Murphy, local Twitterati, promised he would order from them once a week if they offered the service. He spoke; Ichiban listened.
• Dell Outlet, Sales – This week, Dell announced a one-day only, Twitter exclusive 30% discount on a laptop.

Tell us what you’re doing … and we’ll follow (and possibly blog about) you.