what to do when social media attacks your brand
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TRANSCRIPT
One of a company’s most valuable assets is its brand equity – that emotional connection that people have with an organization’s product/service that makes you want to continually respond to overtures from them...
While some businesses are not oblivious of the obvious influence varied social media platforms are having on the growth or decline of their brands, it not unusual to see blogs, topics of forums, social networking sites and other forms of social media firing an attack on a brand/product/service.
However, with the rapid influence of internet communities and the explosion of social media in particular, more challenges are being thrown at reputation managers and businesses alike
Consider the case of
British Petroleum (B.P.)
It took me a long time to get the British Petroleum logo –but thanks to Wikipedia
What happened?
BP, British Petroleum is one of the major oil companies in the world and are presently known only for their Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Greenpeace orchestrated an online attack when in frustration, it challenged the public (alongside www.logomyway.com) to design a new BP logo to suit their “dirty business.” The competition garnered over 2,000 entries with damaging designs – the effects can never be wiped
off the web.
While that may be extreme, the simple case of mis-managing your Facebook page after creation can also aggregate brand haters to your brand.
Most big brands have followed the fad of social media without covering their backs or considering the pitfalls of joining the online brand conversation.
Consider the case of Nestle when people began to complain on its Facebook page that the company needed to stop the use of non-renewable palm oil in their production.
The problem started when the moderator became simply intolerant
of inciting comments.
While it was within the purview of the Nestlé moderator to monitor and moderate comments, it should have been in the back of the moderator’s mind to remember he represents the brand image of the company and not to begin to insult its customers and fans.
But it is really difficult when people started commenting and posting with altered version of Nestlé's logo
This underscores the point that even
big corporations, Nestlé in this case, have absolutely no idea what to do when a crisis flares up on their Facebook page or any other social media platform. This isn't about legal rights.
It's about strategy, which clearly Nestlé did not have.
What lessons can we learn here:
Before you jump into social Media
When opening your brand to social media, you relinquish ownership of the brand, so before the case ever comes up you need to be sure if your agency has a community management expertise to avert or mitigate a social media crisis? Have a set of best practices been established? Think again.
1. Have a clear social media strategy
Going online has gone far beyond the era of just developing a beautiful website.
The evolving demand for online media marketing and social media engagement requires clear policies, guidelines and experienced staff that will involve employees in every aspect of your business operations – Human Resource, Customer Service, Branding and Marketing.
It also involves profiling your target audience before pouring resources into Facebook. Several PR tools will be useful in this regard. Don’t be busy spending money on ads if your audience is busy in traffic or with their phones.
Be prepared
Dealing with social media attacks also requires a robust crisis plan. Brand haters exist but unlike the past, a coordinated attack can easily be organized against a brand.
But with no plan laid out, how couldthe moderator know how to handle such a delicate and heated situation?
Consider the Boycott British Airways campaign organized by the Nigerian Village Square and Respect Nigeria Coalition when officials of the UK Police forcefully ejected AyodejiOmotade and about 136 other Nigerians from a Lagos bound flight from the UK.
Thousands of online signatures were collated which later saw British Airways apologizing for its misbehavior.
Classify mud-slings and don’t fight dirty
Ok the deed is done and you have a crisis in your hands, what do you do? The next step is not to have a hurried response to your online audience.
The next step is to determine the type of response necessary.
Reply with thanks!
ú Inaccurate accusations about your product and services
ú Genuine but misplaced concerns
ú Some are just plain brand haters, if you reply, you may draw more attention to the comment
ú Some are really bitter and have first hand experiences ( address them personal and carry the on resolutions privately)
Just ignore and hold your peace
Here are some common suggestions you should have at the back of your mind if you are a moderator of a social media portal ( forum, page, anything)
ú Get personal
ú Don’t ever insult your fans
ú If you MUST delete posts. You need to be smart and fast about it
ú Don’t respond until you have something positive to say
ú There are some comments you just need to overlook
ú If you feel like fighting back, do nothing
ú It doesn’t matter the kind of crisis, one rule is critical - stay positive.
ú Being bitter and negative about comments is the easiest way to expose your brand to bashing
ú When people make useful suggestions, thank them even
if you don’t agree
Finally, in going social, always remember a Facebook page isn’t a Social Media Strategy.
every move counts