Social Media as Modern Sorcery | Harvard Business Review | Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight | Scoop.it

We used to turn to witch doctors when we felt angry and powerless; now we tweet. Those who feel wronged by corporations have increasingly taken to social media to get their revenge. For business, this represents a threat — and an opportunity — that obviously can't be ignored.

 

A 2012 Nielsen survey found that people value advice from online peers on both what to buy as well as what to avoid. Almost two in tree of those who review products online say they do so to protect others; an additional one in four use social media to punish corporations for their own bad experiences. This disciplining of brands through social media is a global phenomenon, but there are important regional differences and corporations would do well to localize their response....