A recent study by Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology found that 20% of Twitter updates are either requests forproduct info, or responses to brand messages.

With that, companies better not give consumers anything bad to talk about.

As with the 5 case studies below, the consequences can be severe.

1. Honda Product Manager gets caught AstroTurfing

When Honda decided to publish its upcoming Crosstour photos onFacebook, it should be ready for some serious feedback. Within a short time, its fan page was flooded with negative comments regarding the look of Honda’s new CUV. It was clear that most “fans” were not too thrilled with the new design. But not too long later, we saw some really positive comments about the model. Lo and behold, they came from Honda’s product manager who didn’t disclose his own relationship with the company until the angry crowd called him out.

Lessons learnt

Go on, use social media to promote your products but if you do get a bad feedback, don’t try to manipulate it. Social media users are savvy enough to expose you if they want to. Social media does not condone AstroTurfing. Honesty and authenticity are critical to be successful in this space!

Continues @ http://www.penn-olson.com/2009/09/21/5-social-media-disasters/

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