A local company is using your social media channels to take credit for creating a community service program you’d launched years earlier. What would you do?
Since launching your own business 20-some years ago, you and a small but mighty team have worked hard to earn the trust of builders and remodelers in your market. You knew it wouldn’t be easy, and you were right. But it has been rewarding, and you’ve tried to always use your power for good with your team, your clients, and your community.
That’s why your company decided to create a special
focus on first responders in your community. After all, when there’s an emergency in the market you serve, the police, firefighters, and emergency medical services personnel are the first to arrive on the scene to help people in times of crisis. Along with your colleagues, you wanted to do your part to give back.
Back in 2016, you started First Responder Fridays, where first responders were invited to stop by for a free lunch and a thank you for all they do. The idea took off, with local restaurants working with you to provide the food, and manufacturer partners stepping up to help as well. It may not change the world, but sometimes small, positive touches can make a difference in people’s lives. Nearly 10 years later, it’s become part of the local culture.
You’ve encouraged your social media manager to use Facebook and Instagram to help spread the word in your community, and to let first responders know they’re welcome. Most of the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, but your social media manager called your attention to a strange comment on a recent post that showed more than 100 hungry first responders enjoying lunch at your yard.
“If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” read the comment, “we’re downright chuffed. We’ve been doing this since 2019. Some call that innovation. Others call it ‘wait, let’s do that too.’”
Unsure how to respond, your social media manager said, “I can’t tell if they’re angry, or need attention, or are just trolling us for sport? The strangest part is why they state that we’re imitating them—when we’ve been doing it for years. What’s their point?”
You’re baffled as well, notably because the company that posted the comment has approached you several times in the past about possibly working together. So, do they want to work with you, or troll you, or … ? It’s awesome that they’re doing something similar, but you can’t fathom how they’d benefit by claiming to have been there first.
What would you do?
Do nothing. First Responder Fridays is not a competition about who did it first. It’s something positive you do for your community. If they want to compete on this, let them.
Correct them. Have your social media manager post publicly that you’ve been doing this since 2016, which predates 2019, and congratulate them on following your lead.
Delete & ignore. They’re poking you to get a public response. Delete their comment, and don’t give this any oxygen.
Red flag. If they view doing good for others as something to brag about and poke others, they may not be the kind of company you’d want to work with.
