General Motors Archives - Reputation Communications

General Motors’ Wins Praise with Social Media Strategy

General Motors is using social media to manage customer complaints and its reputation — and using it well. How they are applying social media management is a good case study for other companies in crisis. (The Detroit auto manufacturer has recalled 1.6 million cars and faces roiling legal issues after top management hid defects that caused deaths for 10 years or longer.)

Key examples from a New York Times article by Vindu Goel include:

– GM’s Facebook page. In addition to hosting GM-produced content, it is also an open forum where customers can post comments and complaints. GM staffers are engaging them in real time with assistance and responses.

– @GM on Twitter. Frustrated customers who have spent an hour or more on the phone with GM customer service representatives have turned to Twitter to seek help – and found it in minutes.

“G.M. has a team of about 20 people based in Detroit that manages its social media presence — including monitoring about 100 independent auto forums — and responds to inquiries and complaints seven days a week,” reports Goel.

In addition to managing the crisis using traditional methods – including letters to car owners – GM created a video with CEO Mary Barra to keep customers and employees abreast of how the company is managing the situation.

As more companies use social media to better manage customer relations, they can learn from GM’s example.

The National Labor Relations Board is increasing employee rights to discuss their employers online….and making some companies rehire employees dismissed for their Facebook and other Internet commentary.

Steven Greenhouse reports that the Board is requiring many companies to revise their social media rules to protect employee rights when it comes to discussing work-related matters on blogs, Facebook, Twitter and other platforms.

He discusses the issue in today’s New York Times. Every CEO and HR manager should read it…and the National Labor Relations Board’s three case studies referred to by Greenhouse.

Three notable points:

“The general counsel’s office gave high marks to Wal-Mart’s social policy, which had been revised after consultations with the agency. It approved Wal-Mart’s prohibition of “inappropriate postings that may include discriminatory remarks, harassment and threats of violence or similar inappropriate or unlawful conduct.’ ”

“…in assessing General Motors’s policy, the office wrote, “We found unlawful the instruction that ‘offensive, demeaning, abusive or inappropriate remarks are as out of place online as they are offline.’ ”

In a ruling last September, the board also rejected as overly broad Costco’s blanket prohibition against employees’ posting things that “damage the company” or “any person’s reputation.”

Companies can apparently benefit by collaborating with the National Labor Relations Board on their social media policies to ensure both their and employees’ rights are protected. At the least, reading the case studies in full should help.