Media Skills: Social Networking Joining an ongoing social media conversation, such as a comment thread on Facebook, requires a delicate touch if you work for a company that has a commercial interest in the subject at hand.

Imagine you work for a company that makes audiophilequality headphones, acoustic guitars, or electronic drum kits (choose whichever product interests you the most).

While monitoring a Facebook group for enthusiasts of this product category, you see an active thread in which people are complaining about the quality of one of your competitor’s products. You know that for years this company had a reputation for making high-quality equipment, but quality suffered after a poorly executed plan to outsource manufacturing in order to cut costs. A similar product that your company offers is slightly more expensive but has significantly higher quality, according to a recent survey conducted by a respected and impartial industry website.

Draft a brief comment that you could use to join the conversation. Decide what information you’ll include and whether you will disclose your company affiliation.

Assume that representatives from various companies do occasionally make posts and leave comments in this group, but overt selling is explicitly forbidden by the group’s moderator.