Risky business

The strategy of controlling conversations

Jun 05, 2023

Today is Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference, and there are a lot of rumours about what to expect, including a mixed reality headset. So, what exactly is “mixed reality”? It’s basically when virtual elements are overlayed on video from the real world. Maybe it’s just me, but I think “mixed reality” might be the best description for the world we currently live in. 🤷‍♀️

In today’s newsletter:

Strategy: The Pros and Cons of Controlling the Conversation
Blocked: Meta Begins Banning News in Canada
Tip: LinkedIn Scheduling
Follow, Like, Share: A “Notorious” TikTok Creator

Controlling the conversation

Most social media managers (and people!) have had to deal with nasty comments on social media.

A lot of that negativity is generated on Twitter, which has introduced a number of features over the last few years in an attempt to control negative and misleading conversations. While in theory, these features can provide brands with more control, they also come with some risk.

Let’s discuss…

1/4 Hiding Replies

Hiding a reply will remove it from a timeline of a tweet. However, it doesn’t disappear completely. Hidden tweets are stored on a separate page. And all you have to do to get there is click on an icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the original tweet.

Risk #1: Hiding replies can sometimes make them more visible. Part of Twitter’s appeal is in the comments. And many Twitter users are well aware of hidden replies, and love to read them.

Risk #2: Being seen as a censor. When attempting to hide comments that do not violate Twitter’s content policies, or your organization’s social media policies, you could be viewed as a censor and risk further ongoing attacks.

Potential use: When being repeatedly spammed by the same Twitter user, or a bot. Note: In cases of content violations, you can report the content. In cases of repeated spam, you can also block the user. But these actions are only to be used in rare cases, and with extreme caution.

2/4 Leaving a Conversation

This feature allows you to untag your account from an ongoing conversation. This could be from a conversation that your account has started, or one that another account has started.

Potential use: When brands are being brought into a conversation that they did not start, and do not want to be a part of due to a misalignment in brand.

Risk #1: You won’t see future tweets. While this might seem counterintuitive, it’s actually important to know what people are saying about your brand. By removing yourself from a conversation, you’ll no longer receive notifications about what’s being discussed.

Risk #2: Censorship. If Twitter users are no longer able to tag you in that conversation, they may get suspicious about your social media practices. And censorship can be a quick way to a major PR headache.

3/4 Choosing Who Can Reply

When you create a post, you have three options for who can reply: Everyone can reply, people you follow, only people you mention. If you choose “only people you mention” and you don’t mention anyone, then essentially no one can reply. Once you tweet, the reply button will be greyed out. Learn more.

Potential use: If your brand is in the middle of a major PR issue, you might want to use this feature if you’re posting a press release or a response to a situation (in the midst of a crisis, you’re unlikely to get constructive feedback).

Risk: You may anger some people who want to reply. But they can still DM you, and retweet your post with their comments.

4/4 Control With Care

Any attempt to control the conversation on Twitter has the potential to turn into a major reputational issue, and should be assessed carefully and on a case-by-case basis.

Only in the most extreme cases where a platform’s policies have been violated, or actions are contrary to your organization’s social media guidelines, should action be taken to attempt to control an online conversation.

👉 UPCOMING WEBINAR

There have never been so many metrics — and measurement tools — available than right now. And while that might feel like a positive, it can also feel very overwhelming.

Join me on June 22nd for Social Media Metrics in 30 Minutes! You’ll learn about what to track, how to track (including some tips on tools), and how to share your metrics story. Hope you can join!

🧂 SOCIAL SNACK

Meta Begins Blocking News in Canada

Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, says it’s going ahead with a test to block some Canadian users from seeing or posting news on the apps. The move is in response to Canada’s Online News Act (Bill C-18), would require companies like Google and Meta to compensate news organizations for content shared on those platforms. According to the CBC, between 1-5% of Canadian users could be affected during this test, and users will be selected at random. While this test is temporary, in a recent blog post, Meta made clear that if the bill passes, “we intend to end the availability of news content in Canada permanently.” If you’d like to learn more, here’s a great explainer from The Globe and Mail.

ICYMI

Instagram ranking explained (aka, how the algorithm works) [Instagram Blog]
Pinterest survey says “positivity” drives action at every stage of the buyer journey [Pinterest Blog]
Twitter loses its top content moderation official at a key moment [CNN]
Snapchat My AI Snaps: Send photos and receive AI-generated images [Search Engine Journal]
YouTube rolls back its rules against election misinformation [TechCrunch]

❗️TIP: SCHEDULING

Did you know you can schedule LinkedIn posts right in the platform? It’s a handy little feature. But as I recently learned — once you schedule a post, you CANNOT change the text. The only thing you can do is reschedule it or delete it.

Here’s what else you need to know.

❤️ FOLLOW, LIKE, SHARE

In honour of National Indigenous History Month, TikTok recently announced its first-ever #IndigenousTikTok Visionary Voices List. Included in this list is one of my favourite TikTok creators: @notoriouscree. James Jones offers a mix of content that is both informative — such as videos on how to support Indigenous peoples — and beautiful hoop dances. I highly recommend a follow, like and share.