Which of the following is considered to be the most important step in preparing to respond to negative information in a social media environment quizlet?

Public communications about various organization matters fall into two categories those you can plan for (therefore have more time to prepare messages) and cries that hit without warning.

The first category arrive includes a variety of announcements, from relatively minor matters such as price increases to major matters such as layoffs and bankruptcy proceedings. For these messages, be sure to match your approach to the situation, consider the unique needs for each audience group, give each audience enough time to react as needed, give yourself enough time to plan and manage a response, look for positive angles but don't exude false optimism, and seek expert advise on legal financial or technical matters you're not sure how to proceed.

To respond successfully to rumors and negative information in a social media environment,
1) First be sure you are engaged with important stakeholders before negative situations occur.
2) Second, monitor the conversations taking place about your company and its products.
3) Third, when you see negative messages, evaluate them before responding.
4) Fourth, after evaluating negative messages, take the appropriate response based on an overall public relations plan. Some messages are better ignored, whereas others should be addressed immediately with corrective information.

The second category of negative organizational news involves communication during times of crisis. Preparation is key for successful crisis management. Although you cant anticipate the nature and circumstances of every possible crisis, you can prepare by deciding such issues as who is in charge of communications, where the press and the public can get information, and what will be said in likely emergency scenarios. A good crisis communication plan includes such items as email and phone lists for important media contacts, website templates for various emergency scenarios, and after hours contact information for key personnel in the company

How has content sharing through social media changed the information gathering habits of many consumers and professionals?

a. They frequently "snack" on large numbers of small pieces of information and bypass larger documents that would take more time to read.
b. Everyone above a certain level in the organization has content readers who "pre-read" documents and messages to select the most important.
c. All major business decisions now rely on the "hive mind," the collective input of a professional's business network.
d. Information that doesn't have a catchy teaser is routinely ignored.

a

To express sympathy to the family of one of your employees who recently died in a traffic accident, which of these media would you choose and why?

a. Facebook timeline post
b. Printed letter
c. Email message
d. Instant message

b

Which of the following is not listed in the chapter as one of the compositional modes for electronic media?

a. Conversations
b. Redacting
c. Comments and critiques
d. Narratives

b

Which of these descriptions best captures the preferred style of writing for social media in business?

a. Businesslike and message-driven
b. Unplanned, unrehearsed, and super casual
c. Conversational, supportive, and engaged
d. Funny, quirky, and intriguing

c

A/an ________ __________ is a group of people united by their interest in and ownership or use of a particular product.

brand community

Which of these best describes the role of a hub in a company's social media strategy?

a. An open-plan office in which all the company's social media users can congregate in order to ensure a coordinated public presence
b. The company's Facebook page or its Facebook page and Twitter account
c. A company-owned web property that serves as the anchor of its online presence
d. An online brand community

c

_______ ________ is a measure of how effectively a company engages with its various online stakeholders in a mutually beneficial exchange of information.

brand socialization

YouTube, Flickr, and Yelp are examples of

a. Consumer-only websites
b. User-generated content sites
c. Social interactivity blogs
d. Content exchanges

b

When someone with expertise or interest in a particular field collects and republishes material on a particular topic, the practice is known as

a. Content curation
b. Media consolidation
c. Blog linking
d. Tagging and pinning

aa

Email hygiene refers to

a. Keeping email safe and productive through such steps as keeping virus protection up to date and not downloading questionable software onto company systems
b. Making multiple backup copies of every message sent and received
c. Always washing your hands before and after you use the keyboard
d. Refraining from using any hard or unkind language in email messages

a

Which of the following is true of email subject lines?

a. Only "newbies" bother to use them anymore.
b. Subject lines should never give away the content of the message because no one will bother to read it if they already know what the message is about.
c. They can make the difference between a message being read right away, skipped over for later attention, or ignored entirely.
d. They should always be in all caps to get the audience's attention.

c

Which of the following is the most effective email subject line?

a. Production line: wiring issues
b. Wiring errors in production: let's analyze the problem and explore solutions
c. Wiring errors on the production line MUST STOP NOW!
d. Careless employees => unhappy customers => fewer
customers => fewer employees

b

You work in a customer service department, answering emails from customers. This morning you received an angry message from a customer who has a legitimate complaint about your company's warranty policies. After responding to the message as best you can, which of the following steps should you take?

a. Forward the message to your immediate supervisor and suggest that the company might want to reconsider its warranty policies.
b. Forward the message to the CEO and suggest that the company might want to reconsider its warranty policies.
c. Forward the message to everyone in the department so they are aware of the problem with the warranty policy.
d. Delete the customer's message; you can't fix the warranty policy.

a

Which of the following reasons helps explain why IM usage is overtaking email in some companies?

a. People don't have to be so formal when they use IM; it saves time to use acronyms and emoticons and to avoid using capitalization, punctuation, and other time wasters.
b. IM works better as a broadcast mechanism than email.
c. IM is faster than email and mimics human conversation better than email, so many people find it a more natural way to communicate.
d. IM systems let you communicate using different colors of text, which is vital for highlighting key points and conveying nonverbal aspects that are impossible to communicate in email.

c

Which of these statements best describes how the three-step writing process applies to IM?

a. Because there is no planning step and no completing step in IM, the three-step process does not apply.
b. The real beauty of IM in the business world is that people don't have to spend so much time composing; they just zap out whatever is on their minds and get back to work.
c. The three-step process for IM works exactly the same way as it does with letters, memos, and reports. Every message requires audience analysis, information gathering, and outlining
d. IM exchanges should be planned the same way conversations are planned to minimize confusion and the number of messages required. And instant messages don't have to be great works of literature, but they do need to be efficient and effective, so some degree of care in writing and revising is important.

d

Which of the following types of messages are most appropriate for IM?

a. Long, complex messages
b. Brief conversational messages
c. Confidential or highly personal messages
d. All of the above

b

Which of the following is a good strategy for using blogs to promote products and services?

a. Write in a style that is personal and conversational; minimize direct promotion of your products and services. Focus instead on topics your customers and potential customers find helpful and interesting.
b. To cut through the noise in the blogosphere, promote your products and services constantly. If you don't, your competitors will drown you out.
c. Make sure the blog matches all other corporate communications in both style and content; customers get confused when a company communicates in more than one style.
d. Blogs should never be used for marketing and selling.

a

Which of the following best describes the idea of an "authentic voice" in blogging?

a. A writing style that is scrupulously precise and free from technical and grammatical errors
b. The voice of a real, living, breathing human being, communicating to other human beings on a personal level
c. Writing that is always highly emotional so as to counteract the dehumanizing logic and linear thinking that dominates business today
d. A detached, professional voice that is careful not to take sides, voice opinions, or otherwise inject elements into the conversation that could disturb or disappoint audiences

b

Which of the following best describes the optimum audience of a blog?

a. Always the largest audience possible
b. Only people who are experts in the subject matter so that comments and discussions aren't pulled off track by "newbies" who don't know what they are talking about
c. An audience large enough to justify the time required to maintain the blog but narrow enough to ensure a clear focus
d. Whatever audience happens to find the blog on the web

c

Which of the following is not a good general purpose for a blog?

a. Sharing news from the racing circuit, describing how the racers we sponsor are faring and how they use our products
b. Commenting on economic and social policy decisions that affect the national and international business environment
c. Explaining to the local community why we've decided not to expand employment at the Nampa facility
d. Describing the work going on in our research and development labs

c

Which of the following would be a good use of retweeting for an independent consulting engineer who uses Twitter to build relationships with potential clients?

a. Avoiding retweeting under any circumstances, because it is tantamount to plagiarizing
b. Retweeting every Tweet he or she receives so that clients know how well-rounded and well-read she is
c. Retweeting fun and interesting messages on nonbusiness topics as a way to build an emotional bond with potential clients
d. Retweeting selectively, sharing only messages that meet two strict criteria: providing information that followers can use in their work and portraying the consultant as an expert who is up on the latest developments in her field

d

If one of the attractions of podcasting is its spontaneous, conversational feel, why should podcasters take the time to plan their recordings?

a. Individual podcasts that aren't well thought out can end up being rambling, confusing, and repetitive.
b. Podcasts are more difficult to edit than textual messages, so it's important to do enough planning to help avoid major mistakes.
c. If you don't plan ahead, you could run out of ideas and therefore have no reason to continue podcasting.
d. All of the above are reasons to plan podcasts

d

A/an ______ _______ is an ongoing series of podcasts on the same general topic.

podcast channel

When it comes to routine messages, you can

a. Skip the planning stage
b. Keep the planning stage brief
c. Begin by gathering all the information you'll need
d. Begin by choosing the channel and medium

b

When writing routine messages, you

a. Can assume that your readers will be interested or neutral
b. Should open with an "attention getter"
c. Should use the indirect approach with most audiences
d. Need not allow much time for revision, production, or proofreading

a

When writing a routine request, the best approach is to begin

a. With a personal introduction, such as "My name is Lee Marrs, and I am ..."
b. With a vague reference to what you are writing about, such as "I have something to ask you."
c. With a strong demand for action
d. By politely stating your request

d

What should you do when asking questions in a routine request?

a. Begin with the least important question and work your way up to the most important question.
b. Include all possible questions about the topic, even if the list gets long.
c. Deal with only one topic per question.
d. Do all of the above.

c

Which of the following should you do when closing a routine request?

a. Be sure to thank the reader "in advance" for complying with the request.
b. Ask the reader to respond by a specific and appropriate time.
c. Ask any remaining questions you have.
d. Do all of the above.

b

A courteous close contains

a. A specific request
b. Information about how you can be reached (if it isn't obvious)
c. An expression of appreciation or goodwill
d. All of the above

d

Which of the following would be an inappropriate goal for a routine, simple request?

a. Explaining what you want to know or what you want the reader to do
b. Explaining why you're making the request
c. Explaining how you can use your position in the company to force the reader to comply
d. Explaining why it may be in your reader's interest to help you

c

Requests for recommendations and references are routine messages, so you can organize your inquiry using the ______ approach.

direct

If you are requesting an adjustment from a company but you're not sure what the best solution would be, which of the following tactics would be best?

a. Ask the company to assess the situation and offer advice on solving the problem.
b. Don't ask for a solution, because doing so could lead to a suboptimal outcome for you.
c. Subtly hint that legal action could light a fire under the company.
d. Demand that the company solve the problem immediately; after all, it's the right thing to do.

a

If you are making a routine reply to a customer, it's a good idea to

a. Leave out any negative information
b. Include resale information to assure the customer of the wisdom of his or her purchase
c. Leave out sales promotion material, which would be tacky to include
d. Do all of the above

b

A positive message should open with a clear and concise statement of the ________ ________ or ________ ________.

main idea, good news

If a message has both positive and negative elements, you should

a. Always start with the bad news to get it out of the way first
b. Write two separate messages; never mix good and bad news
c. Put the bad news in a postscript (p.s.) at the bottom of the letter
d. Try to put the negative news in a positive context

d

Which of the following is not among the recommended elements to include in your message if you are responding to a claim or complaint when your company is at fault?

a. An acknowledgement that you received the customer's claim or complaint
b. An expression of sympathy for the inconvenience or loss the customer has experienced
c. An explanation of how you will resolve the situation
d. Complete contact information for your corporate legal staff

d

If a customer who is clearly at fault requests an adjustment, you should

a. Ignore the request; the customer is clearly wasting your time
b. Carefully weigh the cost of complying with the request against the cost of denying it and then decide how to respond based on the overall impact on your company
c. Always agree to such requests because unhappy customers spread bad publicity about a company
d. Suggest in a firm but professional tone that the customer take his or her business elsewhere in the future

b

If a third party (such as a shipping company) is at fault when one of your customers makes a claim or requests an adjustment, the best response is to

a. Follow the terms of whatever customer service agreement your company has with the third party
b. Explain to the customer that your company is not at fault
c. Always grant the request; after all, it's your customer, and the customer holds you responsible
d. Forward the message to the third party as quickly as possible

a

The purpose of goodwill messages is to

a. Generate sales
b. Impress others
c. Make yourself feel better
d. Enhance relationships with customers, colleagues, and other businesspeople

d

The most effective goodwill messages

a. Always try to find an "angle" that benefits the sender in addition to the receiver
b. Avoid details and focus on the emotions of the situation
c. Are sincere and honest
d. Do all of the above

c

Which of the following should be a goal of every negative message?

a. To convey the bad news clearly
b. To gain audience acceptance for the news
c. To maintain as much goodwill as possible with the audience
d. To maintain a good image for your organization
e. To reduce or eliminate the need for future correspondence on the matter, if appropriate
f. None of the above
g. (a), (c), and (d)
h. All of the above

h

Which of the following is an effective way to maintain the "you" attitude when crafting negative messages?

a. Make sure the reader clearly understands that he or she is at fault; after all, recognizing a mistake is the first step toward improvement.
b. Make it clear that you don't enjoy giving out
bad news.
c. Show respect for the reader by "soft peddling" the negative news, implying it without really coming out and saying it directly.
d. Show respect for the reader by avoiding negative, accusatory language and emphasizing positives whenever possible.

d

When using the direct approach with negative messages, you begin with

a. A buffer
b. An attention-getter
c. The bad news
d. Any of the above

c

An advantage of using the direct approach with negative messages is that it

a. Saves readers time by helping them reach the main idea more quickly
b. Eases readers into the message
c. Is diplomatic
d. Does all of the above

a

When using the indirect approach with negative messages, you begin with

a. A buffer
b. An attention-getter
c. The bad news
d. Any of the above

a

Which of the following is an advantage of using the indirect approach with negative messages?

a. Most readers prefer the direct approach for such messages.
b. It makes a shorter message possible.
c. It eases the reader into the message.
d. It does all of the above.

c

The purpose of using the indirect approach is to

a. Help the writer avoid the unpleasant task of delivering bad news
b. Help the reader avoid the unpleasant task of receiving bad news
c. Soften the blow of the bad news for the reader
d. Reduce the word count in your messages

c

A/an _____ is a neutral, noncontroversial opening statement that establishes common ground with your reader.

buffer

Which of the following is a good possibility to consider for use in writing a buffer?

a. Look for subtle opportunities to promote your company and its products.
b. Assure the reader that your company always follows all applicable laws and regulations.
c. Indicate your understanding of the reader's situation.
d. All of the above are useful approaches.

c

Which of the following is an important reason to take particular care to maintain ethics and etiquette when crafting negative messages?

a. In many cases, the communicator needs to adhere to a variety of laws and regulations when delivering negative messages.
b. Good ethical practice demands care and sensitivity in the content and delivery of negative messages, as these messages can have a profoundly negative effect on the people who receive them.
c. Communicators need to manage their own emotions when crafting and distributing negative messages while at the same time considering the emotional needs of their audiences.
d. All of the above are important reasons to maintain ethics and etiquette in negative messages.

d

Which of the following is most characteristic of organizational cultures that emphasize open communication?

a. Managers are willing to listen to bad news from employees, but they understand if employees don't want to deliver bad news.
b. Managers expect employees to alert them to problems so that corrective action can be taken.
c. Managers reward employees who deliver bad news with extra vacation time, extra pay, or both.
d. None of the above are true

b

If you need to reject a solicited proposal from an employee, which of the following approaches is best?

a. Use the indirect approach, but avoid explaining
exactly why the proposal does not meet your needs; it's up to the employee to figure that out.
b. Use the direct approach; rejected proposals are a fact of life of business.
c. Use the indirect approach, and provide a thoughtful and complete explanation of why the proposal does not meet your needs.
d. Don't respond at all; doing so will only create an uncomfortable situation for the employee.

c

Which of the following is not a normal goal when sending bad-news messages about transactions?

a. Modifying the customer's expectations
b. Explaining how you plan to resolve the situation
c. Identifying who is responsible for the situation so that the customer understands you are serious about correcting the error
d. Repair whatever damage might have been done to the business relationship

c

Which of the following best characterizes the nature of crisis management planning?

a. Good managers should be able to anticipate the specific crisis scenarios their companies might encounter and therefore should be able to plan for every crisis in a specific way.
b. Faced with everything from terrorism to technological disasters, there's no way for managers to anticipate which crisis might hit any given business, so it's a waste of time to plan a response.
c. Although you can't anticipate the nature and circumstance of every possible crisis, you can prepare by deciding how to handle such issues as communication with employees and the public.
d. Only negatively focused managers worry about crisis planning; positive managers keep their organizations moving toward company goals.

c

Continuing advances in communication technology make it

a. Easier to control rumors through Internet filters and other means
b. More difficult to control rumors
c. Easier to find the people who start rumors
d. Illegal to spread false rumors about public corporations

b

Why do many experts recommend using the indirect approach when rejecting job applicants?

a. Applicants have a deep emotional investment in the decision.
b. Laws in most states require the indirect approach.
c. The indirect approach is easier to write.
d. The indirect approach is shorter.

a

When explaining why an applicant wasn't chosen for a position, you should

a. Be specific without being too personal, such as explaining that the position requires specific skills that the applicant doesn't yet possess
b. Point out the person's shortcomings as that's the honest way and the only way the person knows what he or she need to improve
c. Be as vague as possible to avoid hurting the person's feelings
d. Avoid explaining why an applicant wasn't chosen

d

Which of the following is an accurate general statement about good ideas in the business world?

a. Newer employees are not expected to contribute fresh ideas.
b. Many good ideas pass unnoticed or are misunderstood because they are communicated poorly.
c. Business leaders always jump on new ideas, even if they are poorly presented.
d. Good ideas speak for themselves and don't need to be "communicated" in today's social media environment.

b

Why is the indirect approach often used in persuasive messages?

a. It is more courteous and therefore gives the writer the opportunity to build up goodwill before slipping in the sales pitch.
b. It takes less time.
c. It is the traditional way to do persuasive messages and therefore expected.
d. It lets the writer build audience interest and desire before asking for action or commitment.

d

Which of the following is not a good way to establish credibility with your audience?

a. Support your argument with clear reasoning and objective evidence.
b. Identify your sources.
c. Establish common ground with your readers.
d. Present only your side of the argument to avoid reminding the audience of alternatives.

d

The first phase in the AIDA model is to

a. Do your research
b. Gain the audience's attention
c. Analyze the audience
d. Call for action

b

The body of a message that follows the AIDA model

a. Captures the audience's attention
b. Contains the buffer
c. Generates interest and heightens desire
d. Calls for action

c

Which of the following is a good way to build desire using the AIDA approach?

a. Explain how the proposed change will help your audience.
b. Reduce resistance by addressing objections the audience might have.
c. Explain complex ideas or products in more detail.
d. Do all of the above.

d

The final phase of the AIDA method

a. Provides in-depth information to help generate interest
b. Reduces resistance by increasing the audience's desire
c. Calls for action
d. Captures the audience's attention

c

An argument that is based on human feelings is known as a/ an ________ appeal

emotional

An argument that is based on facts and reason is known as a/ an ________ appeal.

logical

The best approach to using emotional appeals is usually to

a. Use them by themselves
b. Use them in conjunction with logical appeals
c. Use them only when the audience is particularly hostile
d. Avoid them in all business messages

b

Why is it important to anticipate objections when planning and writing persuasive messages?

a. You are legally required to anticipate audience objections in all marketing messages.
b. By anticipating potential objections, you have the opportunity to address them in a persuasive manner before the audience settles on a firm no answer.
c. By anticipating potential objections, you have the opportunity to explain to audience members why they are viewing the situation incorrectly.
d. By anticipating potential objections, you can explain to the audience all the negative consequences of accepting your message.

b

Prioritizing which features and benefits to write about is

a. A waste of time because people don't read in sequential order
b. Important because doing so lets you start with low-priority issues and work your way up to high-priority issues
c. Important because it helps you focus your message on items and issues that the audience cares about the most
d. Important because it helps ensure that you remember to talk about every single feature and benefit, no matter how inconsequential

c

How do marketing messages and sales messages differ?

a. Sales messages use oral media exclusively.
b. Sales messages are "hard sell," whereas marketing messages are "soft sell."
c. Marketing messages move audiences toward a purchase decision without actually asking them to make a decision; sales messages ask them to make a decision then and there.
d. The vast majority of marketing messages are still legal, but most traditional sales messages have been outlawed in both the United States and the European Union.

c

What is the relationship between features and benefits?

a. They are different words for the same idea.
b. Features are aspects of an idea or product; benefits are the advantages that readers will realize from those features.
c. Features tell people how to use a product; benefits tell them how a product differs from the competition.
d. Features are the primary advantages of a product; benefits are the secondary advantages.

b

What is the relationship between features and benefits?

a. They are different words for the same idea.
b. Features are aspects of an idea or product; benefits are the advantages that readers will realize from those features.
c. Features tell people how to use a product; benefits tell them how a product differs from the competition.
d. Features are the primary advantages of a product; benefits are the secondary advantages.

a

Which of the following is not a good guideline for using social media in sales and marketing?

a. Rely on the conventional news media to distribute your messages; frequent outages and too much "chatter" make social networks unreliable.
b. Identify and support your champions, those people who are enthusiastic fans of your company and its products.
c. Initiate and respond to conversations within the community.
d. Integrate conventional marketing and sales strategies at the right time and in the right places.

a

Which of the following steps should you take to make sure your persuasive messages are ethical?

a. Align your interest with your audience's interests.
b. Choose words that offer multiple interpretations.
c. Limit the amount of information you provide to avoid overloading the audience and thereby confusing your readers.
d. Do all of the above.

a

If it adheres to all applicable federal laws, a marketing or sales message

a. Is certain to be both legal and ethical
b. Could still violate some state laws
c. Could still be unethical
d. Both b and c

d

What should be avoided when responding to negative information in a social media environment?

What is the best type of ending for a negative message?

What four guidelines should you follow in writing effective closings to negative messages?

When should the direct approach be used if responding to a request for information or action?