There’s a not so public opinion on social marketing and it isn’t positive. Some brands know about it, some are scared, others are reveling in it. I describe it as the double-edged sword of social. Let’s first focus on the positives.

For the first time in the evolution of human communication, one person can communicate in real time with an unlimited number of people. In it’s simplest form ‘social’ means free speech but at a whole new level. This means that if a person gives a ‘thumbs up’, like or positive tweet, status or comment, hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people get to hear about it. This translates to free marketing by the masses. Add that the message often touches people that the brand doesn’t have direct access to and consider the value of a recommendation from a friend and you end up with something of enormous value.

And so to the dark side. What if that tweet, status or comment is negative? The scary truth is that people can say anything, good and bad about your brand, company, product or service. As a result you can now be publicly trashed and there’s not much you can do about it. In short you no longer own your brand.

Let’s change tack briefly. Personally I don’t go to the movies for two reasons:

1. Why pay the best part of $100 (I have three kids so that is a real number) when I can wait six months and own the movie for $20?
2. I like to escape into a movie, something that is impossible given the noise created by other selfish patrons.

And so to my heroes of the week; the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas. They have a policy: if you’re caught talking or texting during a movie they remove you from the building. But it gets better. After a patron ignored the policy and was removed she left a verbal tirade on the theaters answer machine. Most companies would have deleted the message but not the Alamo Drafthouse. They turned it into a PSA!

I think it’s safe to assume that the patron did more than just leave a message. She probably criticized the theater to friends and updated Facebook ultimately telling lots of Austin residents about the bad people at the Alamo Drafthouse. But the tables have been turned, the PSA has gone viral resulting in great exposure for the Alamo Drafthouse and I’m guessing a somewhat embarrassed ex-patron.

Here’s is the PSA (it’s safe for work). Enjoy and keep those phones in your pocket if you are ever watching a movie in Austin. If you don’t, you might end up as a fantastic ad for your most hated local business 🙂