Social networking sites, SEO and the rules of engagement

So, picture the scene. You’re in the pub having a private conversation about the problems you’re having with your BT Broadband internet connection.

Then, a stranger – let’s call her Sarah – wanders over to your table, says she works for BT and offers to help you solve your Broadband problems.

Would you feel delighted at this unexpected intervention or would you be alarmed that someone had been eavesdropping on what was intended to be a private discussion?

In a way this scenario is happening many times each day as firms such as BT, Carphone Warehouse and Easy Jet search the internet looking for negative comments about their products in order to monitor customer satisfaction levels.

According to an article published in the Daily Mail last week, BT uses a software system called Debatescape to see what the public is saying about the company.

And, the Mail reports, BT isn’t just content to listen in to conversations but often ‘interrupts’ and offers help.

The paper gives the example of a man who aired some derogatory comments about BT services on his Facebook page, comments which led to him being contacted by a lady called Sarah from BT who asked “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Obviously there wasn’t as the unnamed man called the offer “Big Brotherish and sinister”.

But it seems that many people in Britain still have a taste for Big Brother ways and practices as BT’s social networking campaign monitors insist that most feedback from customers contacted through sites such as Twitter has been positive.

Simon Davies, director of Privacy International, is not a fan of such practices and told the Mail: “This is nothing short of outright spying.

“The firms liken this to listening to a conversation in the pub. But it is more like listening at someone’s door with a very large glass.”

It is becoming increasingly common for SEOs to use monitoring software. But there is a thin line between keeping your ear to the ground and attracting accusations of eavesdropping.

Engaging with your customers via social networks must be done with care as nobody likes a meddler – no matter how well-intentioned they may be.

Written by: Adam Lee on June 8, 2010.
Last revised by: Adam Lee on February 10, 2011.

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