High-Tech firms can learn social media from candy company

Mainstream high-tech firms have been dipping their toes into the shallow waters of web social media for the past five years. But finding a shining example of social media among the fortune 100 firms is a futile search. Take HP, for example. Their websites are designed to present, and sell, to you their prdoucts and services. All well and good, especially as they have made selection easier by customer segment. But conversations with, and among, customers is not visible. You have to go within the Customer Support area to find any kind of forums. And while kudos to the Customer Assurance groups for even having these forums, the content is naturally geared toward solving product issues. And the forum page is filled with legal cautions and warnings HP wants you to know before you dare join a forum (talk about throwing some roadblocks!). Apparently participants can be awarded points, but who knows what those points will get you?
Compare this with the Skittles website, which takes you directly to the conversations from and among customers. Some are very positive, but there are the negative ones as well. How about “I don’t like skittles,” or even “Skittles are (swear word). M&M’s rule.”? This is akin to having customers complain about the price of ink on the HP Home page. Don’t see that happening? Neither do I. But they and IBM and Nokia and others should lean more in the direction of Skittles. What does this say about Skittles? That they have FULL FAITH in thier Brand!
“Some will question whether it’s wise to give up control on the Web–whether this is a good use of social media,” says Charlene Lin, author of business best-seller Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies, consultant, speaker and blogger (altimeter.com). “But they are controlling content in the most important sense, which is that they’re getting people to talk about and engage with the brand. It’s hard to get people to engage with a candy, but this is generating incredible buzz and PR. This is a big brand pushing the envelope toward what a brand will be in the future.”
High-tech marketeers - go take a look at Skittles, and then chew on it.

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