Facebook Flop – Real Life Example of What Not To Do

Do you wish Facebook and other review sites would just “go away?”.  If so, you are not alone.  At almost every live event I speak at, there is at least one person who’d love it if all this “social media stuff” would disappear. Unfortunately the genie has been let out of the bottle ... people realize they can now easily vet you before making a decision about whether you are a good choice for healthcare or if they should allow you to deliver the treatment you recommend.  Online research has become a pastime for many people. What this means for practices (and all businesses) is that social media and reviews will continue to either help or hurt your business.

Remember when the phrase, “As Seen on TV” was a great selling point? For years, “As Seen on TV” helped to skyrocket the sales of many products—however what about today?  I recently heard about a cool new product called CitiKitty (you cat lovers will especially appreciate this).  CitiKitty, is a “revolutionary” product that can help you eliminate the use of cat litter by helping you to essentially potty train your cat.  Imagine the sales possibilities. Seriously who wouldn’t want to give up the miserable chore of cat box scooping?

I decided to look into CitiKitty for my smart kitty.  A Google search and visit to their CitiKitty website made their product look great. CitiKitty had a nice little video on the website showing an animated version of how fabulously their product worked.  The product seemed almost good too be true, which is why I was so relieved to see the Facebook logo on their website homepage.  Perfect, I’d visit their Facebook Page and check out what real people are saying about the product. Note that before Facebook came along, I (and likely hundreds of others) could have been “sold” outright on the website presentation alone and purchased the product then and there.  Remember, before the social media genie was let out of the bottle, we didn’t think about researching to the level we do now.

Back to the CitiKitty Facebook Page.  The Page had a spattering of success stories, which had mainly been posted by the Page administrators.  The Page was fortunate enough to have good participation on behalf of “likers”. Many of the  Page posts had several (in some cases 12+ comments), however quite a few of the comments were questions, concerns, or stories about failures (I won’t get into the details about the reported kitty potty failures).  The point I want to make is that rather than respond to questions or concerns, the Page administrators ignored the majority.

So what does this say about CitiKitty?  It might mean that CitiKitty needs to go back to the drawing board and make product improvements.  At minimum, CitiKitty needs to respond to their existing customers.  This situation is a real life example of what not to do on Facebook. Don’t expect to set up a social media presence, post a lot of positive PR about yourself and ignore any questions or concerns that may pop up.  Here is a list of Facebook “Don’ts” that CitKitty (and all of us) can learn from:

1. Don’t ignore your fans or followers. Always respond to comments, questions, or concerns. Good, bad, or ugly. Social media is not the place for complacency.
2. Don’t put your head in the sand. Learn from patterns. Whether consistent themes of kudos or complaints exist, there are lessons to be learned.  What do your clients (or patients) consistently say they like—or dislike?
3. Don’t rely on automation as a solution. To make matters worse, CitiKitty Page administrators have recently integrated their Twitter to their Facebook Page. So at the time of this writing they are not only seemingly ignoring their community, they are also posting loads of (what non-Twitter users will interpret as) non-sensical hashtags and gibberish.

The purpose of this article is not to bash CitiKitty. I think the woman who invented the product had nothing but good intentions.  Perhaps her kitties are just smarter or more trainable than others …  I’d love nothing more than for CitiKitty to go back to the drawing board and find solutions to make this product work on a grand scale. Or perhaps CitiKitty wouldn’t work for every household, but the company had such a positive and well loved kitty community that people bought the product regardless.

This is a great example of the enormous power of social media. It can literally make or break businesses.  Today, it’s not just about how you handle yourself in one on one conversations—it’s also about the way you handle the conversations that are occurring between you and potentially dozens or hundreds of others.  How will you learn from the lessons CitiKitty has stumbled upon?  When patients research you online, what will they learn (and think) about you?

Learn more about Facebook marketing for your practice, check out Rita’s new on-demand webinars here.