Australians are known as the world’s most active social media users, clocking up over 7 hours of social media engagement per month.  When hanging out in various social media environments, according to Neilsen, we particularly like looking at special interest blogs and forums for information and entertainment.

So it’s interesting to observe how different businesses approach online communities.  Some approach it with enthusiasm and excitement at being able to harness the passion of their community. On the flip side, some approach with fear, seemingly resentful of the loss of ‘old school’ approaches.

I’ll give you a couple of examples.  Recently, I went to Fiji for a holiday with my partner and son. Having had a lovely holiday (exactly what we wanted), we filled in the standard paper Customer Satisfaction survey when we checked out.  We were then called by the hotel to thank us for our positive comments and to suggest we post our experience on Tripadvisor which, by no coincidence, is pretty much where we made our hotel choice in the first place.  Props to the hotel manager in question, who is clearly aware of the power of the Tripadvisor community and the potential for travellers to make decisions about where to stay based on the reviews they read online.

At the other end of the spectrum is a group of café owners and restaurateurs who, according to The Age, have been become increasingly irritated by the vast number of food bloggers who are reviewing their work.  Where once they knew the top food reviewers and critics by name, now every diner entering their doors could post a review of their experience.

Most telling is a quote from Sydney chef, Josh Nicholls, owner of the Japanese-Australian Cafe Ish, who said in the article, “There’s a place for food bloggers out there. I just don’t know what it is yet.”

There’s no doubt that any control over the content in reviews has been relinquished by businesses (hotels, restaurants, or any other business selling something for that matter).  And when someone says something negative about your business, it’s hard to not become defensive, given your heart and soul has usually been invested, along with the contents of your wallet.

But there’s massive positive upside to be had from working with (not against) online communities, just as you’d support your physical customer base who you interact with every day.  It’s a given that online communities are here to stay and are certainly a force to be reckoned with.  You can either surf the social media tidal wave or get smashed on the rocks by it.