How often does a business tweet something that costs them money?
My guess. Every-single-day.
Does that scare you? It shouldn’t.
Yes, it means that every-single-day organizations are potentially waving bye-bye to customers. But I’m not sold on the idea that this is a bad thing. As soon as you start diluting your message so your business pleases everyone – You please no one.
Thus, I say piss a couple people off. Say some things that will make them second guess buying your product. Make them question why they “liked” your page in the first place. Was it just for a chance to win a contest? Was it just for a one time deal?
Who knows.
But by you doing this in the public, there will be someone who’s willing to buy more. There will be someone who’s willing to recommend you to a friend and possibly, write a blog post about you and explain what they love about you.
That’s what happens when you become ok with losing customers.
That’s what happens when you find your voice and are okay with it.
You’ve got enemies? Good.
It means you stood up for something you believed in.
I recall a post from Erika Napoletano (@RedheadWriting) a while back which could have inspired this post subconsciously. She wrote a post, “What are the Bleeping Rules? Profanity and the Social Web.” In this post she explained – “No matter whether you use profanity or not, people are going to take offense at something you have to say. What brands have to understand is that not everyone is their target customer and if you tick a few people off along the way, that’s okay!”
Getting people excited and possibly pissed at you can provoke strong emotions across various channels. Don’t be afraid to put your neck out and discuss relevant topics just because they’re “big no-no’s” in the eyes of the competition and others. Rules are meant to be broken and so are industry made constraints. What are you waiting for? Get out there and break some rules!
About the Author
Ross is a digital strategist and entrepreneur with a passion for technology, marketing and industry disruption. He's been featured in Forbes and currently runs a startup called dreamr which is striving to connect young professionals around the globe with unique social experiences. You can connect with him on Google+ and or Twitter
