Who are the keepers of our online conversations?

I started thinking about this after a friend posted something on Facebook that didn’t go quite as planned and ended up with them full of angst, wasting away the day responding to every missed point and accusation.

We’ve all been there. That seemingly innocuous post we made on Facebook. That tweet we forgot about soon after sending.

And then the barrage of notifications inundating us with comment after comment. Ones that are long on ire and not short on opinion.

Conversations are rarely linear. A simple question about where to go for dinner can weave its way into a heated debate about parenting choices and whether restaurants have the right to not allow children. A post about that night’s homework becomes a debate about Common Core and whether schools today are assigning too much homework.

Some people love when a post catches on like a wildfire consuming everyone on the thread into a dizzying stream of opinions, insights and memes.

For others though, a hijacked thread can be the cause of a day’s worth of stress. Anxiety about people missing the point and releasing an opinion genie that, despite our best efforts, simply cannot be shoved back in that bottle. So we delete the thread, keep our head down, and vow never to post anything again.

But what about Brands?

Brands thrive on engagement. Marketing professionals are on the constant quest of increasing likes, comments, and shares. Testing various forms of content. Measuring what content performs best. Forever after the holy grail of their digital efforts taking off, winning over customers and establishing loyalty.

So as Marketers and Business Owners what happens if our post doesn’t go as expected?

Sure, the post and subsequent thread are on our branded page. But who owns that conversation? As stewards of our brand reputation, it is our duty to monitor activity on our social media platforms. But what happens if our thread gets hijacked?

What happens when a post about women’s fashions suddenly becomes a thread arguing about school dress codes and opinions on what teenage girls should – or should not – be allowed to wear to school?

Can we simply delete it and move on?

Are we obligated to engage in threads that have veered off course, or do we simply look away and reassess our content strategy?

I’ll be honest. When it comes to this topic, I have more questions than answers.

Right now, it’s the beginning of the conversation. One that I am certain I do not own.

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Jacqui Genow

Brand & Business Strategist

J. Genow Marketing

Jacqui Genow is the founder and principal of J. Genow Marketing. She works with clients in aligning their brand message, building their marketing roadmap, and helping them stay on track to move their business forward. As a Brand and Business Strategist, her focus goes beyond marketing; making the connections between how marketing decisions made today can impact a client’s business in the future. You can find Jacqui on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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