Honda, and how not to use Facebook

Social media does not play by the same rules as old school advertising and marketing, namely, big corporation talks and everybody else listens. While time and again we have seen these old rules fail in the social media space, there always seems to be someone new who doesn't get it.

This time, it's Honda, with its Honda Accord Crosstour Facebook page.

Honda appeared to make two missteps.

First, they did not apparently know their user. While I can not confirm it, it seems as though they skipped user research. User research is a must when building any digital experience, but especially a social media one.

Second, they broke user trust. According to numerous reports, when Honda didn't like what people had to say, they selectively removed comments. In addition, it appears that at least one employee defended the new car, problem is, he did not reveal himself as an employee. This may have been an innocent mistake, but the damage was done none the less.



Ultimately, Honda broke the golden rule of transparency. And while it's not easy to always listen to what people have to say, it's vital (just look at the Chevy Tahoe Apprentice site via 2006; their sales actually went up, even though they left very negative comments on their site).

How can Honda fix this? Well at this point I would suggest they leave up everything that everyone has to say, and take good notes for next time.