Better than marching

ONCE, if you had a complaint to make against a large business, your options were limited.

ONCE, if you had a complaint to make against a large business, your options were limited.

You could moan to friends, write a letter to your local newspaper, or petition the company in the vain hope you might get a response.

As Kate Legge writes today, social media has changed all of that. One post on Facebook can now set in a train a series of events that few truly anticipate when they fire off their missive.

Just ask teacher Jane Burney, the wife of a dairy farmer who unwittingly sparked a public relations headache for Coles with her hurriedly dashed words about the discount milk wars.

There are many other examples, but the interesting question is this: why do some posts take off like wildfire, and others sink without trace? Is it something to do with social media algorithms, or, in this age of spin and sophisticated PR, does a genuine plea from the heart achieve better cut-through? Whatever the reason, the phenomenon has many businesses closely examining their social media presence - and their customer relations policies.