What’s the opportunity in social media?

According to Wikipedia: Social media is a term used to describe the type of media that is based on conversation and interaction between people online.

Social Media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs are now being used by customers and businesses alike. Facebook pages are filled with customer service enquires and travellers check Twitter for flight updates. These communities offer us a chance to directly engage with our customers and listen to what they need. As well as finding potential new customers we can also find out about issues we need to fix. Virgin should embrace all ways to interact with our fans as well as our detractors.

Why do we need these guidelines?

Whether your job description includes social media activities or not, we’re all affected. If you have your employment details on Facebook, potentially a customer could contact you about business matters. There are customers out there writing about their experiences with your company’s products or services.

We need to be consistent and protect the brand we love. Social media reaches millions of consumers and messaging needs to be quick and frequent. There isn’t time to strategise about each and every post. Therefore, these guidelines offer our thoughts on best practices. They’re not meant to be law. They do not replace any policies or procedures that already may exist in your own companies. Instead, they are our Virgin point of view and should be seen as another tool to help you.

We want to empower all of our staff to participate and we need everyone’s help. Even if your role at Virgin has nothing to do with marketing, public relations or social media, chances are you are still participating in some way in your personal time. There are far too many places for customers to write for us to be able to check them all. If you see something you find interesting or important, let your teams know. We want to encourage all employees to be a scout.

Need any extra help or advice?

If you feel a bit unsettled about a potential post you’re writing, there’s probably a reason. We can all get caught up in the moment and our judgment can get clouded. Ask for a second opinion before it’s posted for the world to see. What you publish is your responsibility.

We’re all learning together and there’s no such thing as a social media “expert”, it’s too new. We’re not pretending to know everything about this space, or where it will end up. But Virgin feels confident that it’s better to join the conversation than hide under a rock. As trends change and the channels evolve so too will these guidelines. In the meantime if you have any comments or questions around social media, feel free to contact Louise.Truswell@virginwines.co.uk.

The 5 Virgin principles in social media

1. Keep it Real


Social media is a conversation. Customers talk to companies online just like they talk to their friends - in relaxed everyday common language. Be human – be yourself! Don’t be sneaky – just say who you are and what you do, whether you’re posting a comment on one of our companies’ Facebook pages or if you’re responding to a blog post in your personal time.

2. Add Value


Make sure your comments add value. Share an interesting link or ask questions and your fans’ answers will create content for you. Be sure to stay relevant to the subject being discussed. Familiarise yourself with the mood and the feeling of the site. And most importantly - make sure you get all your facts correct. But don’t worry, we’re all human. Mistakes do happen. The community will be forgiving, as long as you admit any mistakes and try to correct them.

3. Know your limits


Always stay positive and sympathetic. While most people would like more information or an issue resolved, there are a few that won’t be receptive to our efforts – they just keep complaining. These types of people may be just enjoying the attention and will keep using the channel to air their grievances with little interest in resolutions. Other community members may come out in our defence, but sometimes even if they don’t it’s better to just walk away.

4. Be Safe


Don’t encourage customers with product or service enquiries to give you personal information in a public setting. Be mindful of data privacy laws and instead direct them offline or to a more one on one channel. You should also protect yourself. However relaxed and friendly conversations are don’t share personal information. Never offer contact details or a location that would allow someone to identify you outside the workplace. What you write can be seen by everyone - fellow employees, partners and press. Don’t say anything that could be viewed in a negative light. Just use your common sense.

5. Be Accessible

Once you start participating in social media, you have to be committed. Customers will be visiting your profiles all the time. Keep the frequency of your posts relatively consistent to give visitors new information. They should always be up to date. While you’re not expected to know the answer to every question 100% of the time, you should at least acknowledge comments within a reasonable timeline. Keep checking in with updates and always follow through. Sometimes you’ll have to connect customers to other departments. Don’t just pass them off and assume it will be answered. We don’t expect everyone to be logged on at all times, but there should be an agreement among your team so there’s coverage while everyone is out of the office and protocol in place in the event a situation escalates in non-business hours.

Some basic process things, ensuring key people are responsible for the various areas initially and that you will be managing and monitoring it all centrally

Virgin Wines specific

6. Socially Responsible Drinking

Make sure that you keep socially responsible drinking in mind in your comments and posts. While we want to encourage our customers to enjoy tasting and trying our wines, we shouldn’t be seen to be promoting drunkenness. Don’t forget our slogan ‘drinking is only fun when you don’t overdo it’.

7. Using Social Media in your own time

Whenever you publish content to any form of digital media in your personal capacity, make it clear that what you say there is representative of your views and opinions and not necessarily the views and opinions of Virgin Wines. For instance, in your own blog, the following standard disclaimer should be prominently displayed: "The postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represent Virgin Wines’ positions, strategies or opinions." If a site does not allow you enough space to include this full disclaimer, you should use your best judgment to position your comments appropriately. You should also be very mindful as to what you say about any competitor.