A woman asked me an excellent question about the risks of businesses using social media during a Wednesday lunch-and-learn at which I was speaking. Hopefully, she’ll see my answer here as she had to leave before I could give her an answer.

Her question: If companies engage people with social media, aren’t they opening themselves up to possible critics?

My answer: Of course, they are. But that is not a reason not to try it.

Why? Those critics have loads of places they can go to online where they can complain, hurl abuse or speak their mind about your company, products and services. If your company is not already participating in online conversations, the critic has the upper hand.

However, if you participate in social media, you can establish your credibility. If a critic strikes at you, you can — at minimum — maintain that credibility through openness, communication and answering questions or concerns. At best, you can turn a critic into a fan. Actually, that happens a lot. Check out the book “Groundswell” for several case studies where company critics became invaluable supporters of brands because they felt their voice was being heard.

In short, yes, there are risks in using social media. However, there are bigger risks if you don’t.

Hopefully the questioner will get her answer from here, someone reading this or elsewhere. The rewards far outweigh the risk — if you use social media properly.